It's not about the money

I was recently forwarded the article on Big Mountain stockholders and it really touched a soft spot with me.

I am a grandson of Brad Seely and up until recently a proud owner of stock in Big Mountain. Although it has changed names, owners and value over many years, in my mind I still owned the "actual original" stock my grandfather purchased in that funeral home behind locked doors.

I have fond memories of when both my parents, Dick and Jane Solberg, of Whitefish, and my grandparents gave us our stock certificates. I would dream with my brother and sisters about which "piece" of Big Mountain we owned. I always owned the Poma lift. When we took a family outing up to the mountain for skiing, I always tried to stand a little taller around others to show my pride in "my" mountain.

Over the years, I was able to pass on stock to my own three children, and we even survived the 2004 stock split by reorganizing our combined stocks so each of my kids had one share and I had the remainder.

My sister, Tina Gemignani, said it best in your article Ñ "It's not about the money. It's about memories, history, and legacy."

I am very proud of my grandfather's legacy, in particular Big Mountain. So with a sad heart, I sent in my recent proxy votes (voting against, of course) knowing it was of no use since the deal was already done.

The best statement in the article was, "It's the local people who determined the culture at Big Mountain, what makes it different from other ski resorts." Maybe I'm just hanging on to memories or just wishing things were "like it was when I was a kid" Ñ simple. Or maybe it's because when I get on a pair of skis, I'm just a kid again.

Sannan Solberg

Missoula