A new chairlift on a Canadian ski hill is being named The Fenster for two Holocaust survivors who founded Belle Neige episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 22, 2023 · 22 MIN

A new chairlift on a Canadian ski hill is being named The Fenster for two Holocaust survivors who founded Belle Neige

from North Star with Ellin Bessner

More than 60 years ago, in 1961, Saul Fenster and his older brother, Henry—two Jewish siblings from Poland who had survived the Holocaust—bought a swampy plot of land an hour north of Montreal with the dream of opening a ski resort for families. And so, the Belle Neige ski hill in Montreal’s Laurentien mountains was born. Saul had learned to ski after the war in Switzerland, where he had been sent to try to cure his tuberculosis after the brothers survived a half-dozen death camps—including Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Belle Neige is honouring its founders this weekend with the opening of a new $4-million quadruple chairlift that has been named in the Fensters’ honour. Although both patriarchs have passed away, their families will be on hand for the inauguration ceremony in Val Morin, Que., on Feb. 25—which also happens to be the one-year anniversary of Saul’s death. Two of Saul’s sons, Mark and Elie Fenster, join The CJN Daily along with Nicolas Vallieres, the Belle Neige general manager, to describe how their family created its snowy field of dreams. What we talked about:. Read more about the Fenster’s founding of Belle Neige Read the obituary of Saul Fenster in the Montreal Gazette Credits:   The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Feb 22, 2023

Embed this episode

Ready to play

A new chairlift on a Canadian ski hill is being named The Fenster for two Holocaust survivors who founded Belle Neige

0:00 22:08

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of North Star with Ellin Bessner?

This episode is 22 minutes long.

When was this North Star with Ellin Bessner episode published?

This episode was published on February 22, 2023.

Can I download this North Star with Ellin Bessner episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!