Sonny & Fanny Korfanta - Interview Excerpts Jan. 17, 2007

Sonny: The Skinner Brothers’ dad (Clem) ran a dude ranch at Soda Lake. He quit and they moved to town – into the next block.

Fanny: The little white house (on the NE corner of Magnolia and Franklin). They lived there. We lived across the alley from where we live now (219 N Maybell) and they used to come to our house all the time. This was even before our girls were born.

Sonny: I used to take them water skiing in the summertime – usually Monte & Bob. Quentin & Ole were quite a bit younger. As they grew up we built the ski lift. The boys used to fool around on skis at Soda Lake and the minute we got the ski area – why they’d be over at the house at 7:00. They wanted to go skiing!

Fanny: We weren’t even out of bed and they were knocking on the door. They were ready to go!

Sonny: That’s how I got involved with the kids skiing. Bob and Monte and Courtney and then Quentin and Ole got on. We’d ride up and they’d get to ski. We never charged the kids anything. They just skied free. We charged the adults a dollar. I had a Chevy car, a sedan, and the minute they heard I was heading for the ski lift, I’d come out of the store (Pinedale Drug) and there’d be a dozen kids out in front wanting a ride up there. I took the back seat out of the Chevy car, so we could haul more kids. Then in the summer I had a boat and we spent the time water skiing. When Quentin & Ole were older, they would be around most of the time. Bob and Monte had a job somewhere. Courtney didn’t fool around with it. Every now and then he’d show up and come. After our kids got bigger I’d take them all to Jackson, Sun Valley, Salt Lake. They’d have tournaments and they got pretty good in racing.

After the older boys went on their way, I’d take Ole & Quentin to all the ski races. We’d go up to Sun Valley during Christmas vacation and find a place for us to stay and we’d ski all day, usually 4 or 5 days and then come back home. The oldest brother, Bud, was the best. But Bob was really the best one in racing. And Monte. Courtney was racing, but he’d never be with the bunch of us. He was always on his own. He was quite a promoter. He’d get in a group and before you knew it, he knew them all.

Fanny: Their mother (Vi Skinner) was a really, really nice lady. She was a hard worker.

Sonny: They had a good life with their mother. When the kids got in high school – Bud, Monte, Bob and Courtney – they’d work in the hay field for Carl Jorgensen. They made about $150. for 6 weeks of haying. They used to bring their money to the store and have us put it in an envelope and put it in the safe. Every time they’d need some money, they’d come in.

Fanny: A dollar at a time!

Sonny: That’s how they got their money. Prior to that, when I used to take them in the car, I’d just pay their room and they’d have a couple dollars to eat on, but that wouldn’t last long.

Fanny: Their mother really raised those kids into what they are. Vi worked for John Mackey (attorney) for years. She was a good seamstress. She’d alter the boys' suits from one to the other for the Prom. She was family oriented. Everybody called her ‘Vi’.

Sonny: Bob was real polite and well-mannered. Monte would get madder than heck. Quentin and Ole were good kids. Quentin kept Ole under his wing. Bud was the leader of Bob and Monte. Ole was the baby, but he was a good little sport. They never got into any trouble. I never had any problems with them. They appreciated what we did for them. One time during the war (WWII) Monte was home on furlough. Clem and Bybee – he owned Lakeside Lodge – were timbering logs up at the head of Fremont Lake. Monte wanted to see his dad so we skied up there and stayed overnight. We skied from where you turn to Wises to the head of the lake. The next day Clem hooked a team of horses to the sled and we all skied behind. We got about to the end of the lake when the lake started turning to mush. They had some hay on the lake and it all sank. These logs they were cutting – they stacked them on the lake and bound them with cable so they’d just float down when the ice went out. Those logs got to about where the lake narrows and the cable broke. There were logs all over the lake. The Forest Service made them clean it up.

Interview by Judi Myers