The results of the retired dentist’s 15 years of work now can be seen in “A History of Ski Jumping in the Iron Mountain Kingsford Area,” a book that chronicles its rich tradition here, especially at Pine Mountain.

“I always felt there should be a written history of Pine Mountain. I’ve felt that ever since I was a kid,” said Dougoveto, who was a junior and Class B ski jumper at Pine Mountain from 1958 to 1967.

Although everything in the book can be confirmed by public record, Dougoveto said had it not been for the late LaVern Trepp, he “wouldn’t have known where to start.”

Trepp was a charter member of the Kiwanis Ski Club and was involved in building Devil’s Hill, the first ski jump in the area.

DR. JOHN DOUGOVETO was a recreational ski jumper and an accomplished alpine skier in the area in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Dougoveto said he was grateful to have had the chance to sit and talk ski jumping with Trepp before his death in 2005.

“None of the pioneers are really around anymore. Trepp made me a one-hour cassette tape, where he dictated all his ski jumping memories of early ski jumping in this area. He remembered the people who were involved and how it all came about,” he said.

The in-depth history includes how jumping started in Dickinson County, beginning with the early hills such as Devil’s Slide, Valley Hill — later known as Miron — and Big and Little Lightning, plus the first jumps at Pine Mountain.

The book includes results of every tournament by date, as well as acknowledgments whenever Kiwanis Ski Club jumpers finished in the top 10.

He also recognizes athletes from the local area who not only jumped at Pine Mountain but who represented the area in tournaments throughout the world.

Stories about the “Father of Pine Mountain,” Harold Eskil; the Flying Bietilas; Art Torkle; Walter Brottlund; Art Devlin; Joe Perrault; John Bednarz; Willie Erickson; Butch Wedin; Cussie Rahoi; Jim House; Jack Paquette; Mark Konopacke; and Eric Hiatt.

Events such as reconstruction after the 1975 fire, and when Therese Altobelli in 1978 became the first woman to jump off giant Pine Mountain.

Dougoveto said he ended up with so much information, some material simply didn’t make the cut.

“If I included everything,” he said, “you would need a wheelbarrow to carry it home.”

The 76-year-old Dougoveto said he can remember missing only five tournaments in his lifetime: four during his college years and U.S. Air Force duty and once when he had measles.

His favorite tournament was in 1960, when the eight-man U.S. Olympic team was in town and included three Kiwanis Club members — Dick Rahoi, Willie Erickson and Butch Wedin.

Although Dougoveto acknowledges that changing styles make comparing jumpers over the decades difficult, he thinks when you look at the records, “Willie Erickson and Mark Konopacke stand head and shoulders above anyone else.”

Both men were three-time national champions and competed on Olympic and FIS teams.

“Next best was probably Dick Rahoi. He was on two Olympic teams, one FIS team and he was a national champion,” he said.

The Kiwanis Ski Club at one point was the top jumping club in the United States, according to Dougoveto, and the hill considered a prime competition venue.

“All the great ski jumpers from the United States have jumped at Pine Mountain at one time or another. At one time, the Pine Mountain ski tournament was the biggest winter sporting event in the entire midwestern United States. Many world distance record-holders have jumped here,” Dougoveto said. “I’m told 22 to 23 foreign countries have jumped at Pine Mountain.”

Dougoveto also gives credit to past Iron Mountain newspaper reporters for tracking the events over the decades.

“This book would of never been possible without two people — Buck Erickson, who kept meticulous records of everything that happened at Pine Mountain, and Dick Ferris, who took quality ski jumping pictures. Before Dick Ferris, it was hard to come by a good profile pictures of a ski jumper at Iron Mountain,” he said.

Dougoveto’s sister, Ann Martin of Iron Mountain, spent hours editing the book before publication.

“When you work with Ann, you don’t fool around. She is all business,” Dougoveto said, claiming his sister wouldn’t even stop for a coffee break.

A lifelong resident of the area, Dougoveto and his wife, Sharon, have six children and 18 grandchildren.

During the tournament, Dougoveto usually can be found at the bottom of the outrun. A group of former skiers from Ishpeming, Milwaukee and Florida will begin gathering for coffee at the Pine Mountain lodge four to five days before the event.

“We spent our days hanging around the hill until the tournament is completed. We call it the ski jumpers’ board meeting,” he said.

Published by Barb Reisner and RRR Publishing in Iron Mountain, the book will be available at the Meet the Skiers event Feb. 8 at Pine Mountain Lodge, in the food concession building during the tournament, or by contacting Dougoveto or Reisner.

After the tournament, the book can be purchased at Greenway Books on Stephenson Avenue in Iron Mountain or online at RRRBOOKS.COM.

But Dougoveto describes the book as “a labor of love, not a money-making project.”