Peggy Sayre & The Snow Train
how the Hanover Inn's general manager became the voice of skiing for the Boston & Maine Railroad
In the late 1940s, as television sets first began appearing in living rooms across New England, a brief weekly broadcast flickered across those screens—bringing the thrills and joys of skiing to life and inviting viewers north for a winter experience still new to many. The host of this television segment was a familiar face to Dartmouth graduates tuning in to WBZ-TV on Thursday evenings: Peggy Sayre, the Hanover Inn’s indomitable General Manager (along with her husband, Ford) during the 1930s and 40s.
Peggy & Ford were legendary members of the Upper Valley community, closely entwined with a movement that brought skiing to new audiences and helped forge its popularity in the imagination of households across New England.
Recently, we were given access to a small collection of family artifacts by way of Ford Sayre Jr., the son of this dynamic duo, who grew up in the hotel while his parents served as co–General Managers. Among these materials is a script from one of Peggy’s television segments on WBZ-TV. This remarkable relic from the dawn of ski tourism offers a rare glimpse into a formative moment for the sport, and we are delighted to share it here.
The Birth of the Ski Weekend
In its earliest days in New England, skiing was a leap of faith. Equipment was constantly evolving, trails were nascent, and safety standards were only beginning to take shape. Alongside other storied hotels in the region, The Hanover Inn took early notice of the uptick in winter interest arriving at its front desk. From the start, Dartmouth’s long legacy of winter sports expertise helped establish the Inn as one of the earliest in-town, ski-friendly hotels in the Upper Valley.
Yet even as towns near skiable terrain drew growing attention each winter, the idea of a casual weekend escape to Northern New England remained impractical for most travelers. Limited rail schedules and the ever-present threat of impassable roads were obstacle enough for the uninitiated.
Executives at the Boston & Maine Railroad saw an opportunity to change this. With the tantalizing prospect of unlocking a new stream of tourism revenue amid the financial hardships of the Great Depression, a new idea took shape—one that brought together several key players in the emerging ski craze, including some of the region’s foremost hoteliers and ski experts. Peggy & Ford, as it happened, checked both of these boxes.
The Winter Sports Sunday Train
The idea was first spurred when a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club pitched a concept— inspired by a recent train journey through the Swiss Alps— to Boston & Maine Railroad agent Frederick T. Grant. Grant immediately recognized its potential and proposed a special weekly ski excursion, departing each Sunday for the best New England ski conditions that could be reasonably offered to passengers.
In this ingenious partnership, the B&M provided the trains, the AMC supplied mountain conditions reports, and a weatherman at Boston radio station WEEI contributed meteorological insight. Convening each Thursday during the inaugural season, the group reviewed their findings and selected the destination for the coming weekend’s train.
In January 1931, the first Winter Sports Sunday Train departed Boston’s North Station carrying nearly two hundred skiers north to New Hampshire. The train featured an Equipment Rental Car sponsored by a Boston outfitter and fostered a lively, social atmosphere from the moment it left the platform. Demand proved immediate. Thousands rode the train that first winter, validating the experiment and prompting expanded routes and additional dates throughout the White Mountains. Over time, the excursion evolved into a full weekend experience that promised adventure in the mountains until the snow melted each spring—and was ultimately rebranded as Boston & Maine’s fabled Snow Train.
Selling a Winter Wonderland
With demand firmly established, the Boston & Maine Railroad moved quickly to ensure it endured. From the outset, the Snow Train was supported by one of the most ambitious winter tourism marketing campaigns New England had yet seen. Beginning in 1931, the railroad enlisted Boston newspapers and radio stations—and later television outlets—to promote weekend excursions north.
By 1948, the railroad turned to a new medium to extend that momentum. Booking fifteen minutes of airtime each Thursday night with WBZ-TV, Boston’s newest television outlet, Boston & Maine set out to create a weekly program that could bring the excitement of winter sports tourism directly into homes across southern New England. What the format required, however, was not just promotion—but a trusted voice. For that, the railroad looked north, to Hanover, New Hampshire.
Hanover’s Winter Hostess
Throughout the formative years of the Snow Train, the General Manager of Dartmouth’s Hanover Inn, Peggy Sayre, emerged as one of the most respected and recognizable figures in New England’s ski community. During the 1930s, she and her husband, Ford Sayre, helped solidify Hanover’s reputation as a base for winter travel.
This rare combination of instruction, hospitality, and authority made Peggy an obvious choice when the B&M sought a personality to front its new television program. In 1948, she stepped effortlessly into the role, becoming a welcoming ambassador for skiing—beamed into living rooms across WBZ-TV’s broadcast range in Boston and beyond.
We are proud to share in the legacy of Peggy & Ford Sayre and deeply grateful to the Sayre family—especially Ford Sayre Jr.—for entrusting us with this remarkable piece of winter history. Without further ado:
TRANSCRIPTION: The Winter Sports Special (February 10, 1949)
THE BOSTON AND MAINE RAILROAD PRESENTS
“THE WINTER SPORTS SPECIAL”
(Music: Fanfare)
ANNCR: The Boston and Maine Railroad presents — “The Winter Sports Special.”
ANNCR: Let’s go skiing on the Boston and Maine Railroad. Up into unspoiled Northern New England where nature gives us her blanket of white. If you’re a winter sports enthusiast and want to taste of the great outdoors go B and M to winter’s playground. This evening our program is devoted to the unsung heroes of the trails and slopes of ski land. Those red-flagged guardians of your safety on winter weekends — the Ski Patrol. Our guest this evening is Mr. James Lowell, better known as Donie, to skiers, and President of the Eastern Division of the National Ski Patrol.
(Commercial — 60 seconds)
ANNCR: And now let’s move our cameras to the B and M Show Train Lodge, where I’m sure we’ll find Peggy Sayre Marshall and her guest Mr. James Lowell.
(Camera cuts from exterior shot of lodge to interior through window; opening on long shot of interior set.)
(Peggy and Mr. Lowell are standing stage right and he is explaining equipment, part of a toboggan used by ski patrol.)
(Peggy turns around and looks into camera.)
PEGGY: Good evening folks. We have a grand show for you tonight and also one that will give all you skiers some valuable knowledge. This gentleman on my left is Mr. James Lowell, President of the Eastern Division of the National Ski Patrol.
(Close-up of Lowell.)
LOWELL: Well thank you Peggy and I want to say hello to all my good friends out there which includes both skiers and members of the Ski Patrol. I was just showing Peggy here one of the main pieces of equipment used by patrols on accident cases.
PEGGY: Well excuse me for interrupting you Donie but let’s make ourselves at ease over here on the sofa.
(They walk over and sit down.)
PEGGY: Donie, I’d wish you’d tell our audience just what the National Ski Patrol is and what its functions are.
(Close-up of Donie.)
DONIE: Well Peggy the National Ski Patrol is made up of seven different divisions, this area being the Eastern one. Of these seven divisions there are now two hundred and sixty-three registered patrols, with our Eastern division having one hundred and thirty of them. Our National President is Mr. Minor Dole whose official duty is to act as a coordinating head for all patrols. The patrols themselves have two main functions, the first and foremost being to look after skiers and be the safeguard against accidents on the slopes and trails of the different developments. Second duty is a coordinated one with the National Ski Association to be the judging and governing body at both professional and amateur ski meets.
DONIE (continued): All ski patrol men themselves must pass a rigid ski and first aid test so that they are equipped to handle with precision and care any accidents that will happen on the ski developments. More large developments carry a regular staff of paid patrolmen, some of the smaller ones are handled by volunteer patrolmen who devote their time and knowledge so that skiers may enjoy themselves and be sure of adequate safety on the slopes.
(Two-shot of Peggy and Donie on sofa.)
PEGGY: I’m sure Donie that we have acquired the complete story of the National Ski Patrol and its functions. I was wondering if you had any human interest stories in regard to work that the Ski Patrol has done.
(Donie turns his chair about, the picture was broken and was carried; you are brought down to ambulance by ski patrolmen.)
DONIE: I think Peggy that those pictures we are going to see tonight showing a ski patrol in action will give our audience a much better picture of a patrol in action than I can possibly describe.
PEGGY: We’re going to see those pictures right now Donie.
(Cut away to motion pictures of ski patrol in action.)
DONIE: Well before we do Peggy I’d like to mention one thing and that is the fund drive of the National Ski Association. We are trying to acquire $143,000 for the organization of skiing in America. This money will be used to improve skiing conditions for the skiers themselves. Our receipts are acquired solely from contributions and it boils down to the fact that a skier will get out of this fun just what he puts into it. So I’m asking any of you out there tonight who have skied or have an interest in winter sports to mail what you can to the Finance Committee of the National Ski Association.
(Tight close-up of Peggy.)
PEGGY: Well Donie I can only reiterate your statement and I know all of the Boston and Maine Winter Sports Special audience will help this drive reach its goal. And now those motion pictures of the ski patrol in action.
(Cut to long shot of commercial set.)
(Commercial — fifteen seconds: First girl D. showing bandaged up skier coming back from ski ride.)
(Return to set.)
(Close-up of Peggy.)
PEGGY: I certainly put a much higher esteem upon the word Ski Patrol after seeing those stirring pictures.
(Two-shot of Peggy and Donie.)
DONIE: To us the patrol have always felt Peggy that if the public knew more about us our reward would be more appreciated, and I want to thank you and the Boston and Maine Railroad for giving me an opportunity to express our story.
PEGGY: Thank you Mr. Lowell for coming over to Ski Train Lodge tonight, and I know you have added a program to the Winter Sports Special that has been commendable and interesting. And here is a familiar scene that tells a story in itself.
(Cut to long shot of commercial set.)
(Commercial — ski trip humorous commercial.)
(Return to set.)
PEGGY: I hope you’ll be around next week when we have our final show and as my guest I will have Mr. Roland Peabody, operator of the Aerial Tramway at Cannon Mountain plus some action movies of skiing on Cannon Mt., and of course that final sequence of Hannes Schneider ski instruction. Good night all.
ANNCR: Be with us again next week when we bring you the final edition of the Boston and Maine’s Winter Sports Special.
(Music out on trademark slide.)