Burton H. Boyum of Ishpeming, Michigan is probably the most influential person behind the founding of the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and Museum. The concept and detailed plan for the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame were presented and adopted at the 1948 Central Ski Association meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Boyum chaired the committee presenting the plan. The new facility was dedicated in Ishpeming in 1954 and Boyum was named its first curator.

Burton H. Boyum was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 4, 1919. He began skiing in his youth and was an active member of the University of Minnesota Ski Club when he was a student.

He served organized skiing on the local, regional and national levels for more than forty years. He was president of the Ishpeming Ski Club for several years and president of the Central United States Ski Association from 1951 to 1953. He was also CUSSA secretary in 1984-85 and served as its treasurer.

On the national scene Boyum attended nearly every National Ski Association and United States Ski Association Convention for over forty years. From 1954 to 1956 he was the national chairman of the International Competitions Committee of the National Ski Association. At this time the I.C.C. adopted the threefold policy of national training camps, inviting foreign skiers to compete in this country and sending American skiers abroad to compete in off years. This policy was the first step in bringing the American skiers to the same level as their European counterparts by giving them the opportunity to gain valuable experience racing these fine athletes in their own competitions.

An avid historian, his interests lay in all areas of history, particularly in the State of Michigan and the mining industry within its borders and neighboring states. He published several articles and contributed to several books on the subject. He was a member of nine professional societies.

A volunteer whose efforts to several organizations inside and outside of skiing were legion, he gave his heart and soul to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame. He was an unflagging fighter for the organization whose dogged persistence kept the Ski Hall of Fame in its original home of Ishpeming. He served as its president from 1985 to 2000.

Well educated, well-traveled and well versed in his scope of interest, Burton H. Boyum was a man that positively influenced everything and everyone he touched. A great asset to skiing on all levels, Burt indelibly left his mark. Many described him as a “Nice Guy who got the job done”.

Burton H. Boyum was elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1965.