Pictured here is all the Erickson Brothers with presenter John Kniesly and the skis they used in the 1950's

Pictured here is the Erickson Family. Everyone turned out in great support of the

Erickson Brothers to see them take part of this special event

     The Erickson Brothers

    Brothers John “Skip”, Charles “Chuck” , and Harry “Bud” Erickson were water ski heroes on Lake Maxinkuckee (Culver, IN) and also members of the Indiana State Ski Club (ISSC, the forerunner to the IWSA) and the AWSA. They were active in tournament water skiing of that time. Skip was the oldest, born in 1931, while Bud was the youngest of the twins, born minutes after Chuck in 1935.
    In tournaments the Erickson brothers, from Logansport, IN, were known for their prowess on Jump skis, even competing in the Slalom event on their jumpers, causing much consternation among those who rode slalom skis for that event. According to surviving brothers Chuck and Bud, the slalom skis of that period required ideal water conditions for skiers riding them to perform well. They recall that one of the smaller lakes they competed on was Center Lake in Warsaw, so water conditions at tournaments of that era were rarely as good as we enjoy today. In fact, until Bud skied in the 1956 US Nationals he had not been beaten in the Slalom event by anyone riding a slalom ski.
    In 1947, not two weeks after the day the trio learned to ride on a new pair of skis purchased by Chuck and Skip (Bud bought the rope), the fellows were drawn in by Tom Perrine’s and Dick West’s (other ISSC members from Lake Maxinkuckee) 6 foot jump ramp. Adventuresome Bud attempted his first jump ever and promptly broke one ski in two, damaging himself a bit in the process. Learning that special skis were recommended for jumping the boys borrowed a pair to learn. The jump hook set, they traveled to Nokomis, IL to the Hedlund Hydro-Flite factory where each purchased a pair of wood jump skis, hand picked off the Hydro-Flite production line, along with bindings, hardware and spare parts.
    A few years later, rather than travel across to Lake Maxinkuckee’s east side each time they wanted to jump, the Erickson’s purchased the jump from West and Perrine and towed it to anchorage in front of their West Shore Drive summer cottage. These early jump ramps were without any safety curtains or fiberglas surfaces, and the watering system was a brother or friend tossing buckets of water onto the ramp surface from the front of the float frame. The Erickson’s made their jump available to others who wanted to try as long as their skis passed inspection. A few had unplanned appointments with the local MD for repairs afterward, according to the brothers.
    The tour boat “Maxinkuckee” stopped on its twice daily round-the-lake trip whenever the Ericksons were jumping, allowing passengers to get an up-close view of these water ski daredevils. Under different laws than those in force today two of the brothers could ski double and jump in tandem, or perform the “over-under”, while the third brother operated the boat without an observer. Also, safety vests were not required of skiers. Absent what we call jump shorts theses early jumpers were required for their own good to land squarely on top of their skis (sit down landings cost tournament jumpers points and provided a cold-water enema). The resounding crack of wooden skis smacking the water brought instant realization by those out of eyesight, but not earshot, that something exciting was happening on the water.
    After seeing the Erickson boys run his slalom course ISSC member Dick West convinced the trio to enter the 1953 ISSC State Meet held in the lagoon at Lake Wawasee. The Erickson brothers took 1st (Bud), 2nd (Chuck) and 3rd or 4th (Skip) in Slalom. None of the boys jumped in that first state meet, and each ran the slalom course on their jump skis. Of interest is Bud’s recollection that the slalom course did not have boat guide buoys, so the driver followed a centered path as best he could. None of the Erickson’s knew much about tournament jumping, scored for both distance and style then, and not thinking themselves good enough to place in jump they didn’t enter that event. Bud’s recollection is that not much was known by the three about how tournaments were run. Dick West and Fay Ensinger, ISSC members and Indianapolis residents, told them where to go for the meet, but not much else. (NOTE - Years after, the late Skip Erickson went to great lengths to advise John Kniesly, then an 18 year old, what to expect at his first Slalom meet at Bass Lake’s OPPO Open. Other than the absence of a two-handled ski rope his advice was accurate and helpful. - JBK)

    In 1954’s ISSC State Meet Bud was 1st in Slalom on his jumpers and 3rd in Jump. Chuck was 3rd in Slalom. Skiing later in Michigan in his first Midwest Regional meet Bud won Slalom.
    1955 would prove to be a great year for Bud. In the ISSC State meet he was 1st in Slalom, again on jump skis, 2nd in Jump, and donning trick skis just for a ride through the Trick course he officially competed in Trick and, thus, was 1st Overall. Again competing in Michigan’s Midwest Regional Bud took first in Slalom, his only regional event.
    In the 1956 Nationals held at Pine Lake, LaPorte, IN, and skiing against, amongst others, the great Alfredo Mendoza, Bud ran a full Slalom pass at maximum speed on his jump skis, and took a shot at the first rope “cut” before failing. He finished 4th in the Men’s division, winning a pair of Aqua Sport water skis.
    Bud recalls the looks that he and his brothers got through the years from slalom course skiers unaccustomed to their choice of ski equipment. After seeing his success some showed up at the following years’ meets with jump skis modified in some unique, even if ineffective, ways. One skier had angle iron attached to the edges (to keep the ski from skidding!) yet still could not match the Erickson brothers’ performances.
    Bud was an early experimenter in using the double wake cut to the ramp to generate more speed and distance. In one ISSC meet Bud kept motioning for the driver to move farther away from the ramp. Feeling he was driving a path dangerously far from the jump (where there were no marker buoys) the driver’s reluctance to move further out caused Bud to pass the ramp twice on the left side, scoring no jump. The 3rd pass Bud had to turn back toward the ramp to get on the ramp. Later, still working on the double wake cut technique, Bud suffered a serious injury to shoulder, elbow, and hands (bones broken or dislocated) when he jumped behind a boat going much faster than the 35mph tournament norm. Taking much more speed to the ramp than he was accustomed to he got such huge air he was unable to land properly, with damage inflicted to his body.
    Bud recalled an incident which undoubtedly contributed toward the Slalom boat guide buoys being made a part of the course. Against competition he usually dominated in Slalom he recalled coming up short, missing a buoy in a pass in which he saw the spray from the towboat hitting one of the skier turn buoys. After appealing for a re-ride, and thinking he had been denied his request by meet officials, Bud loaded his gear into his car and was preparing to leave the meet when word came that he had just minutes to get his gear back to the dock and prepare to ski, again. Out of breath and a bit frazzled he took to the water and skied a miserable (for him) pass, still unable to reach the score he expected of himself.
     While Bud enjoyed the most success of the skiing Ericksons in organized competition, all three brothers created a following among impressionable youth at Lake Maxinkuckee who marveled at what these young men were doing on their water skis. Their boats had strange looking after-market ski pylons bolted behind the front seat. Their ski collection was unmatched, with equipment not seen in the marina ski shop showroom. Amongst their water toys: a mahogany water ski “cycle”, with a seat, short handle bars connected to a rudder, and a single ski mounted in-line where one would expect to see bike wheels ; the fore-runner of the air chair, a pair of skis bolted to a hydro-foil (I can only imagine the agony this set-up caused!); a twelve foot White Bear slalom ski designed to be ridden behind under-powered outboards became a novelty as Chuck and Bud could together deep water start and ride the ski tandem style; and finally, a beautiful water ski jump (their second) purchased from owners at Lake Wawasee, with tandem towing wheels and a rock maple surface.
    The Erickson boys also had SCUBA gear even before Sea Hunt and Mike Nelson (Lloyd Bridges) made the TV airwaves. The three assisted in the recovery of a seaplane that flipped and sank in Lake Maxinkuckee, diving and filling the fuselage with chunks of styrofoam until the plane floated to the surface.
Wood rot and increasing responsibilities of young families caused the Erickson brothers to abandon their beloved jump in the early 60’s, but not before extending the idea of flying while skiing to a host of new enthusiasts.
Skip’s decline in health and death in 2001 brought to an end of the Erickson family history on Lake Maxinkuckee. The dramatic rise in value of lake property created a problem in settling Skip’s estate and the surviving brothers agreed to sell their summer home. In 2001 Bud’s and Chuck’s families, and Skip’s children and grandchildren enjoyed their last summer at the lake as homeowners.
    Both surviving brothers and their wives are now retired, Bud living in Shelbyville and Chuck in Logansport. Their children and grandchildren are sprinkled about the Midwest, mostly in Indiana.

    For the Erickson brothers’ enthusiasm for the sport, innovation in both tournament skiing techniques and extreme skiing, success at the state, regional and national level, and influence they had on dozens of “big lake” skiers at Lake Maxinkuckee in the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s, the Indiana Water Ski Association inducts into the Indiana Water Ski Association’s Hall of Fame, Skip, Chuck and Bud Erickson.

IWSA thanks the Ericksons for their part of  History of Waterskiing in Indiana