By Peggy Shinn
Photography by Hubert Schriebl
In this country, the Caldwell name is synonymous with cross-country skiing
It's a dank morning in late August, and John Caldwell has just returned from a morning row in a double skull on the Connecticut River. "We went five miles this morning," Caldwell says-a statement, not a boast.
But beyond the fact that he's 78 and out rowing in the rain, the Putney resident has a lot to brag about. Not that he ever would-he chuckles when someone refers to him as an icon in the world of cross-country skiing. The former Olympian and Olympic coach didn't set out to achieve legendary status. He simply loved the outdoors, loved to ski, and instilled that love in a generation of cross-country skiers, including his four children.
In turn, his children are carrying on the Caldwell legacy. Tim competed in four Olympics, earned a World Cup silver medal, and his now a lawyer in Hanover, N.H. Sverre is continuing his father's coaching legacy as the head of one of the most successful Nordic ski programs in the country at the Stratton Mountain School. Peter who was undefeated in ski racing in college, is the assistant headmaster at St. Andrews School in Delaware. And Jennifer, who was on the U.S. Ski Team, lives in Wolfboro, N.H. and has become one of the best flat-water canoeists in the country. Now their kids-John Caldwell's 10 grandchildren-are starting to make their mark in sports from rowing to lacrosse. And yes, cross-country skiing too....
