By Dan Balkin
HoliMont has some consecutive lucky numbers: 63, 64, 65, 66. Those were the years that charter HoliMont members Ollie and Marcy Hazard fell in love with each other and with HoliMont. In the Fall of 1963, HoliMont founder Bill Merk met Ollie at his fledging new club to show off the recently cut slopes. Impressed, Ollie sold a boat to raise the $685 he needed to become a member and acquire a building lot on the hill. Ollie reminisces that the first HoliMont lift was operating by the end of the season, and he began his remarkable continuous streak of skiing 61 years in a row at HoliMont! In 1964, Ollie and Marcy met each other while enjoying the summer at Crystal Beach, Ontario. Ollie had just met Marcy and was doling out $5 bills ($51 in today’s inflation adjusted value!) to a variety of people heading back to Buffalo for a few days – Marcy included – to purchase some provisions at the new Duty-Free shop that everyone could enjoy at next weekend’s beach party. The party that following weekend became a milestone in Holi-History: Ollie and Marcy felt a spark that ignited into a deep and abiding love and were married in 1965. By the winter of 65-66, Ollie and Marcy were skiing together and built the first incarnation of their ski chalet shortly thereafter.
a beach and blossomed on a ski slope. Ollie reminisces
that the fi rst HoliMont lift was operating by
the end of the (‘63) season, and he began his remarkable
continuous streak of skiing 61 years in
a row at HoliMont! By the winter of 65-66, Ollie and
Marcy were skiing together and built the fi rst incarnation
of their ski chalet shortly thereafter.
HoliMont has another lucky number: 16. HoliMont founder Bill Merk informed Ollie that he was the 16th person who signed up to join HoliMont. Legendary financial guru Warren Buffet would call it a wise investment! Ollie was only 23 when he joined HoliMont, and many of the other charter members were already in their late 30s or 40s. That is why in 2025 Ollie and Marcy are among the longest continuous members of the club, and as mentioned before, Ollie is the only club member to ski here every year since the club’s inception. Ollie and Marcy fondly remember the special bond that formed between HoliMont’s charter members and others that saw the Holi-Light and joined the club in its formative years. Operating on a shoestring budget, the club’s original chalet had a gravelly stone floor and occupied approximately the same area where Dina’s kitchen prepares and serves food. Great friendships were formed and enhanced at après ski potluck dinners. After the revelers headed home, HoliMont’s lone grooming machine was parked where everyone had earlier been mingling on the chalet’s stone floor.
Like HoliMont families through the generations, Ollie and Marcy recognized that HoliMont was a wonderful place for their children. Andrea, Tina, Eric, and Lisa formed a lifelong passion for skiing, and developed enduring friendships while spending winter weekends and vacations at the club. This is not surprising as Marcy Hazard shared that the first time she skied, she fell in love with the sport. Several months before meeting Ollie at the beach, Marcy related that her passion for skiing remained undiminished when she broke her leg (fortunately not severely) while skiing at Ellicottville’s now defunct Poverty Hill in 1964. This memory prompted Ollie to say that HoliMont’s former T-Bar came from Poverty Hill after the ski area closed. Prior to skiing at HoliMont, Ollie was an avid skier at Holiday Valley. Ollie and Marcy maintain an active connection with The Valley as longstanding members of The Ellicottville Ski Club. The Ellicottville Ski Club is a beloved local institution that is beautifully nestled near the base of a slope at Holiday Valley.
Ollie and Marcy’s love story was born at a beach and blossomed on a ski slope. They both loved skiing and sailing and passed these passions along to their children. Along with priceless family time spent on winter’s snow and summer’s water, Ollie and Marcy are immensely grateful for the friendships and comradery that skiing and sailing have afforded them and their children. There are two more lucky Holi-Numbers: 60 and 85. This year Ollie and Marcy will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary, and on January 6th of this year Ollie turned 85 while making ski turns! Ollie assures us he will stop skiing when he gets old…