Reprinted in memorial, originally published March 2006

Frederica “Freddie” Anderson

Legendary ski instructor dies at 101

Family: Husband, Henry (died in 2000); Children, Christina, Karen, Carla

Sport: Downhill Skiing

Occupation: Founder/co-director of Schenectady Ski School

by Shannon Brescher Shea

It’s early March 2006, and Frederica Anderson smiles as she’s closely watching a line of young skiers snaking back and forth down the bunny hill. She turns her own skis down the slope, and follows the students with the grace one can only have after 82 years spent on skis.

Known as “Freddie” to her instructors and students, Frederica is best known as the founder of the Schenectady Ski School. However, her love for the snow began at the age of three, when her parents first took her skiing on the Mohawk Golf Course in Schenectady. Her father and mother were always involved in winter sports, and hoped to share that passion with their daughter. “My parents were skiers back in the early 1900s,” she said. “They were my example.”

Her childhood love for the sport blossomed into a professional desire when she took a required athletic course at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. When the instructor discovered Frederica was the best skier in the group, she recruited her as an assistant. After Frederica realized how much she enjoyed teaching, gaining the white pin worn by Certified Ski Instructors became her career goal. In 1948, she reached that goal, becoming one of the first women in the US to be an instructor with the NYS Professional Ski Instructors Association. In an industry dominated by men, Frederica helped pave the way for other women to be able to teach skiing, get their certification, and be taken seriously on the slopes. Currently, Frederica’s jacket bears a gold version of the pin that attests she is a Lifetime Certified Ski Instructor.

Between attending Smith College and earning her “white pin,” Frederica met her co-conspirator in skiing adventures, Henry Anderson. The two met at a Schenectady Wintersports Club meeting in 1942. Because of the gas rationing, the group walked over a mile on Saturday mornings to catch a 6am bus in Schenectady. Then, they boarded a 7am train in Troy that brought them to the newly opened Bromley Mountain in Manchester, Vt. “These trips back and forth that winter blossomed into a romance with Henry Anderson,” she said. “My marriage was a skiing romance.”

That winter, Henry made a promotional film for the North Creek Ski Bowl, the area where the Gore Mountain Nordic Center currently operates. Called “Adirondack Hickories,” the film featured Frederica and demonstrated the couple’s willingness to be quite silly for the sake of skiing. One among a variety of humorous sketches involved instructors sliding down a mountain on a chamber pot (portable toilet). Later on, Frederica’s skiing continued to showcase her quirkiness, like when she became known by the Mount Mansfield Ski Patrol at Stowe as the woman who wore a kilt for spring skiing.

That spring, Frederica’s family invited Henry on their family vacation to Mont Tremblant in Quebec. The couple married about a year later.

 However, Frederica did not forget her dream of becoming an instructor. She founded the Schenectady Ski School in 1950, teaching her friends’ children at the Schenectady Municipal Golf Course on Saturday mornings. The next year, Frederica started training her skiing friends as instructors, expanding the school beyond herself. 

In 1967, the ski school moved to the Maple Ski Ridge ski area near Schenectady and has kept the area as its home base ever since. “It’s an ideal learning environment,” she said, explaining why the arrangement has lasted so long.

Despite her long history of teaching, Frederica’s excitement over watching students improve remains undiminished. “The pleasure that teaching skiing gives me is paramount in my life. I wouldn’t be happy to be going out skiing every day for my own pleasure. It would get boring,” she said.

She especially loves working with beginners, because of their rapid improvement. Watching them advance from gliding on flat ground to controlling their speed, making turns, and changing direction never ceases to bring her joy. “My favorite part in teaching skiing is seeing the progress of a student who has never been on skis,” she says. “Whether it’s a child or adult, the excitement is always the same for me.”

All of Frederica’s instructors have embraced her zeal for teaching. Alice Moon, a junior at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School and an instructor at the Schenectady Ski School, said the most important thing she has learned from Frederica is to “be enthusiastic.” She said that she has also learned, “If you’re having fun, they’ll have fun. Don’t force them to do anything. Earn their trust.” Likewise, Anthony Lucier, a supervisor and snowboard instructor at the school said that Frederica’s goal is “to see the kids having fun.” He continued, “Kids or adults, she wants to make sure the class is having fun and learning at the same time.” He said that she wants to inspire students to continue skiing and learning long after they finish their lessons.

Frederica’s fervor for teaching and skiing has extended in influence far beyond the ski school. “Because of her, there are literally thousands of people who enjoy winter sports,” said Christina Anderson, Frederica’s daughter, and co-director of the school. “She has provided inspiration for people ranging from a 14-year-old instructor to people who grew up to be PSIA examiners, and nationally known skiers.” Beyond those Frederica has personally taught, she has also trained numerous instructors who have gone on to affect others. 

Christina herself has helped keep that dream alive. From Henry and Frederica’s marriage until Henry’s passing in 2000, the couple were partners in the business as well as in marriage. Christina moved back to the Capital Region from Texas in the fall of 2000 to help run the school. “When he passed away, it was obvious the business was too big for one person to run by herself,” she said. “If Mom wasn’t able to teach and ski, she’d fall apart so I wanted to make sure her passion stays alive.”

Frederica was also a professional photographer, tennis player, swimmer, sailor, and lifelong member of the Mohawk Golf Club. She served as president of Schenectady Planned Parenthood and was involved with the Schenectady Junior League and Smith College Alumni Club.

Despite the deep love Frederica has for teaching, she has not forgotten her own skiing. She continues to take great delight in the act of moving her skis nimbly across the snow.

“The pleasure I get out of skiing is … the physical pleasure I get out of making a well-executed turn,” she said. “I can no longer ski the steep and the deep because of my lack of muscular power, but the fact I am out there every day is the goal of my life.”

Freddie continued to ski until age 95, and she lived independently until 2019, when she moved to Kingsway Manor Assisted Living in Schenectady. She was awarded a lifetime honorary membership in PSIA, the national organization of ski instructors she helped organize in the 1960s, and in 2006 Ski magazine named her one of “10 great instructors [in the country] to bring out your best.” A memorial celebration will be held in the spring, “after the snow has melted,” according to daughter Christina. – Phil Johnson, Ski Lines column (Dec. 21, 2022), Daily Gazette

The family is requesting donations in Freddie Anderson’s memory be made to the PSIA-AASI Eastern Education Foundation (easternsnowpros.org) or Emmanuel Friedens Church (emmanuelfriedens.org).

Shannon Brescher Shea is the mother of two awesome kids with her husband. She grew up in Clifton Park and lives near Washington, DC. Shannon has been a writer since she could hold a pencil. Pick up her book, Growing Sustainable Together: Practical Resources for Raising Kind, Engaged, Resilient Children. Learn more: welleatyouupweloveyouso.com.