Robie Point neighborhood name honors local activist

There is no historical marker, no commemorative plaque or concrete statue. Robie Point is just an Auburn place name, but it honors a man who had a tremendous impact on the city, the state and the world of sports.Its namesake is long gone, but the Robie Point neighborhood ? a collection of odd and awesome homes jutting out into the American River canyon ? keeps his legacy alive.Wendell T. Robie was the descendant of a pioneer foothills family that grew wealthy from their interests in logging, milling and operating lumber yards before founding the First National Bank of Auburn, the Auburn Savings Bank, and the Central California Savings and Loan Association. Groomed for the family business, Robie attended UC Berkeley and the Arizona School of Business before returning to Auburn, marrying Inez Benzie and eventually managing the savings and loan company.An expert outdoorsman, Robie spent his leisure time traversing the rugged canyons of the Sierra Nevada on one of his prized Arabian horses. He also enjoyed downhill skiing and helped co-found the Auburn Ski Club (ASC) in the late 1920s.When winter storms blocked access to their ski jump facility at Canyon Creek near Baxter, members of the club cleared the road themselves, wielding shovels and snow-removal machines to reach their private recreation venue. Although there was increasing interest in the burgeoning sport, the inability to reach the scenic slopes above the snow line kept it a local amusement Skiers needed an all-weather route into the high country and succeeded in getting it in a roundabout way: In the autumn of 1930, Robie ? along with fellow Auburnites Dr. W.F. Durfer, P.B. Goss and Senator Bert Cassidy, and winter sports enthusiasts from throughout the north state ? attended a meeting of the California Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco to promote the idea of establishing a state-wide ski club. They showed a motion picture taken of ski jumping in the Lake Tahoe and Bax-ter areas, spoke of how the Sierra?s snowy grades were rivaled only by Switzerland, and reported on the growing attraction of the evolving sport.After a 30-minute discussion, the state Chamber of Commerce approved the formation of the California Ski Club, with Robie eventually nominated to serve as its first president. Over time, the organi-zation?s name was changed to the Far West Ski Association, which is still in operation.The efforts of the Auburn and California ski clubs helped push legislation to create a year-round vehicle path into the Sierra. In the early 1930s, ASC members put the sport in the spotlight in a variety of creative ways.After moving their ski facility farther up the mountains to Cisco, they hosted a competition that attracted so many people that their 2,400 cars created a massive traffic snarl at the snow-blocked pass. Invited state leaders were impressed by the level of enthusiasm for the chilly pastime and saw potential in using a gas tax to help fund an all-weather route into the winter playgrounds. They returned to Sacramento ready to support the movement. A few years later, ASC members packed box cars with snow, shipped them to UC Berkeley and staged ski jumping demonstrations on a makeshift slope on campus, drawing more than 10,000 spec-tators and garnering gobs of press coverage. In 1939, at the World Exhibition on Treasure Island, another demonstration jump was erected to give international exposure to California?s ski industry.But Robie?s affect on competitive recreation wasn?t limited to skiing enterprises: He is credited with initiating a race that led to Auburn proclaiming itself the endurance capital of the world.Arguing about the ability of modern horses to maneuver the craggy landscape as well as their ancestors, Robie placed a wager that he and his Arabian stallion could ride from Lake Tahoe to Auburn in one day. He and his steed followed nearly hidden pioneer paths through the forest, won the bet and began an annual event that grew to become the Western States Trail Ride; informally known as the Tevis Cup.Decades later, when a local rider left his mount behind and attempted the course on foot, the Western States Endurance Run was born. Today, these two summertime competitions bring entrants from around the world to challenge the perilous landscape of mountains, canyons, chasms and streams between Squaw Valley and Auburn.Now enmeshed in the 35,000-acre Auburn State Recreation Area, Robie Point is near the end of the trail, at the top of a steep climb from the combined North and Middle forks of the American. Most houses on this fist of land are cloaked by towering pines and oak boughs, sitting on irregularly shaped lots. The ones lodged on the lip of the gorge smile down on the wooded hillsides and the silvery river snaking through the boulders far below.Hiking and equestrian trails twist through the hilly terrain, sewing the recreation area into the pockets of the neighborhood. Although there are several subdivisions in the vicinity, they meld informally into a tract bordered by Boardman Street, Virginia Street and the Boardman Canal that?s casually referred to as Robie Point.There are no historical site signs; just the name of a man who left his mark on the history of the foothills.