Bart Culver
2004 Hall of Fame Inductee
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Bart grew up in the northern lakes area of Indiana, where most of his water time was spent on Webster Lake in North Webster. Bart was an avid baseball player and shared his time between his favorite high school sport and water skiing. Bart is a graduate of North Webster High School and went on to graduate from IU with a degree in Biology education. If there’s a bug, leaf, tree or weed your curious about Bart could probably tell you what it is as he still has a passion for wildlife and the environment. Bart started skiing with his family and friends on Lake Webster where there is still today an active show ski club called the Webster Ski Bees. Bart went on to perform in many of the ski show acts such as the over and under, trick ski exhibition, pyramid acts, ski jump stunts, and barefooting, as well as the ski show director. It was told that if Bart saw you tipping a few and stumbling through your act in practice, good chance you might get cut from the show.
Bart teamed up with an avid trick skier, Dick Osborne, who together went to hone in their trick skills and took their skiing to local tournaments. Bart skied in many state tournaments where he helped the Ski Bees win the state team trophy at the beginning of their 9 consecutive titles from 1966 through 1975. In 1965, Bart was the Indiana State Boys Trick Champion with 1418 points. He also finished 7th in slalom, 9th in jump, and 3rd place overall. One of the things that made the Webster Ski Bees so successful is the will for members to take other kids under their wings and teach them the basics that were taught to them. That’s what Bart did. Bart was responsible for getting many involved in the sport of water skiing and show skiing, including a young girl named Janney Peckenpaugh. Bart got Janney started trick skiing and later she went on to be one of the first national trick champions in Jr. girls and girls from Indiana.
Through high school and college, Bart worked at Sock’s Marina, the local marina on Lake Webster. Through the marina he started to see his potential for selling skis. In 1972 after college, Bart rented a house, where he would live and actually started to sell whatever skis he had off his front porch. Eventually Bart moved his living quarters upstairs and sold skis in the house downstairs. Customers wanted him to send them a list of what he had available at Christmas time, we all know the joys of ski stuff at Christmas. Things started to take off with these little one page fliers Bart would send out at the Holiday season. Things got big fast, at one time Bart was the largest Maherajah dealer in the Mid West - if not the US. Bart obtained a mailing list of members from AWSA and - VOILA’, the rest is history. Bart had to have started one of the first mail order anything. Bart quickly became International, finding himself talking to King Hussain himself of Jordan. In just a few short years Bart was forced out of his house to his first shop in North Webster which has been added on to before building the current building they’re in today. Bart still enjoys an occasional ski ride on the lake and keeps a boat on Lake Tippecanoe.
IWSA wants to congratulate Bart and thanks for all he does for the sport, not only in Indiana but for the whole nation.
Bart teamed up with an avid trick skier, Dick Osborne, who together went to hone in their trick skills and took their skiing to local tournaments. Bart skied in many state tournaments where he helped the Ski Bees win the state team trophy at the beginning of their 9 consecutive titles from 1966 through 1975. In 1965, Bart was the Indiana State Boys Trick Champion with 1418 points. He also finished 7th in slalom, 9th in jump, and 3rd place overall. One of the things that made the Webster Ski Bees so successful is the will for members to take other kids under their wings and teach them the basics that were taught to them. That’s what Bart did. Bart was responsible for getting many involved in the sport of water skiing and show skiing, including a young girl named Janney Peckenpaugh. Bart got Janney started trick skiing and later she went on to be one of the first national trick champions in Jr. girls and girls from Indiana.
Through high school and college, Bart worked at Sock’s Marina, the local marina on Lake Webster. Through the marina he started to see his potential for selling skis. In 1972 after college, Bart rented a house, where he would live and actually started to sell whatever skis he had off his front porch. Eventually Bart moved his living quarters upstairs and sold skis in the house downstairs. Customers wanted him to send them a list of what he had available at Christmas time, we all know the joys of ski stuff at Christmas. Things started to take off with these little one page fliers Bart would send out at the Holiday season. Things got big fast, at one time Bart was the largest Maherajah dealer in the Mid West - if not the US. Bart obtained a mailing list of members from AWSA and - VOILA’, the rest is history. Bart had to have started one of the first mail order anything. Bart quickly became International, finding himself talking to King Hussain himself of Jordan. In just a few short years Bart was forced out of his house to his first shop in North Webster which has been added on to before building the current building they’re in today. Bart still enjoys an occasional ski ride on the lake and keeps a boat on Lake Tippecanoe.
IWSA wants to congratulate Bart and thanks for all he does for the sport, not only in Indiana but for the whole nation.
