San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Plan for a Virgin Mary statue at ski area meets resistance
A plan to erect a statue of the Virgin Mary at privately owned Northern California ski park has been met with an online petition to stop it.
The 20-foot statue was a project envisioned by Robin and Ray Merlo, owners of Mt. Shasta Ski Park on the flank of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County, according to a statement on the resort’s social media accounts.
Ray Merlo died in 2020, three years after the couple bought the park, and the statue is to be installed at the top of the Douglas Butte chairlift as a memorial to him, the statement said. The project is “very important” to his wife, “as this was a shared goal” by the couple, it read.
“This statue is a promise fulfilled and a true representation of the dedication to family that we all value so much here at the Ski Park,” the post read. “The goal is not to focus on any one religion but to acknowledge and honor the beauty and spiritual power of the mountain we all love so much.”
The platform is being built this season, the statement said, with the statue to be installed atop it next summer.
Shortly after the post went up last week, a petition was launched on change.org by someone identified as “Joe Skibum” calling for an immediate halt to the project. As of Friday, the petition’s initial goal of 1,500 signatures had been met and a new goal of 2,500 had been set.
“Many of us have been skiing at our beloved local ski park in Mount Shasta since childhood,” the petition read. “It has always been a place of joy, unity, and natural beauty. However, recent efforts to erect a religious statue threaten to disrupt this cherished environment.”
According to Ski magazine, the U.S. Forest Service owns the upper slopes of the ski park and leases them to the resort. The ski park’s online employee handbook says it has special use permits for Forest Service land adjacent to privately owned park property.
The petition calls on the Forest Service to stop the statue.
“The religious icon currently under construction threatens to alienate members of our diverse community who do not share the same religious beliefs,” the petition states. “Local gathering places, whether private or not, should remain neutral spaces that promote inclusivity and respect for all visitors.”
But Ski Park reps insist it is an allowed usage and that the statue is already permitted. A spokesperson for Mt. Shasta Ski Park could not be reached for further comment.
Mt. Shasta Ski Park offers 635 acres of terrain serviced by one quad chairlift and three triple chairs, It has not yet opened for the season. The controversy over the statue was first reported by KTVU TV.