VAIL — In the mid 1970s, Americans trusted the CBS Evening News to tell them they way it was.

And the way it was in Vail was that President Gerald Ford was skiing and enjoying life in the Colorado Rockies’ hottest ski resort.

Every night. Millions of homes seeing the president smile and ski and smile some more.

Ford is credited by longtime locals with first bringing Vail to international prominence. During his presidency, he was such a regular on the slopes that the White House press corps began calling Vail “The Western White House.”

That moniker was beamed into living rooms all over the country, along with shots of Ford and Chief of Staff Dick Cheney skiing. In the background, Walter Cronkite, “The Most Trusted Man in America,” told America “That’s the way it is.”

It was incredibly effective.

“Prior to that, when I went to New York to do the buying for Pepi’s Sports, I had to explain that Vail was a new resort between Denver and Aspen,” Sheika Gramshammer said recently. “After he became president, people would say, “Oh! You live where the president does!”

Then, as now, Ford brought a constant stream of international political and government officials to town. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was around. It wasn’t unusual to find a quorum of Ford’s Cabinet around a table in a local restaurant.

“If you really stand back and look at Vail and it’s maturing, he was the one individual who had more impact than anyone else,” said Vail Mayor Rod Slifer. “While he was president he brought focus here.”

Sheika met the Fords when they first came to town, Christmas 1967 when Ford was a Michigan congressman. The Fords connected to Vail through Ted Kendall, who built the Christiania Lodge and was from Grand Rapids, Mich., the city where Ford was born and raised. Kendall’s father was Ford’s Boy Scout scoutmaster and helped Ford become an Eagle Scout.

“Pepi was his ski coach while he was in the White House,” Sheika said. “He always liked to ski close to the trees where the good snow was. Pepi used to get mad at him and yell at him to stay away from those trees, but he would just grin and wave.”

<b>One of us</b>

In the “us” versus “them” mindset that often pervades the American mindset, Ford will always be comfortably one of us.

Steve Jones, former owner of Beaver Creek Stables, got to know the Fords when he started taking the family on carriage rides. He later gave riding lessons to the Ford children, especially daughter Susan, and took the kids on horseback trips.

“My business grew because of my acquaintance with them,” Jones said. “I became part of the Beaver Creek community more than just a horse hand.

For about 15 years, Jones and his family were invited to the Fords’ annual summer barbecue at Rancho Mirage, Calif.

“They’re wonderful people,” Jones said. “They’ve been a huge asset to the community.”

The Fords were well-established in the valley when Harry Frampton arrived in 1982 to run Vail Associates, but all of them were new to Beaver Creek.

“Beaver Creek was struggling in the early ’80s,” Frampton said. “When he elected to build a home there, it was the ultimate message, the ultimate Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.”

Frampton, who worked with Ford on several projects, said the Fords’ involvement with Vail shows their love of the place.

“For 25 years they’ve lit the Christmas trees at Vail and Beaver Creek,” Frampton said. “I’ve seen Betty Ford on her hands and knees pulling weeds at the gardens. They’ve given money and they’ve raised money.”

That involvement included more than the big things.

“When my kids were at Vail Mountain School, (Ford) came to give a speech on the separation of powers in the government,” Frampton said. “Those kids will remember that.”

Frampton believes the Fords got so involved in the valley’s life because they came to consider it their home.

And with an adopted hometown come some mundane problems, too.

“It used to be that the head of Vail Associates was head of the Beaver Creek property owners, too.” Frampton said. “At my first meeting, I was at the head table, and President Ford and Betty were out in the audience with about 20 other people. When I asked if there was any new business, President Ford raised his hand.

“He had a complaint about the pay-TV rates and asked about a multiple-TV discount. He got his discount, and so did everyone else in the same situation.”

Ford on Vail skiing • “We have enjoyed it because we thought then Vail was the finest place to ski, and we still feel the same way.” • “We rented a place in Manor Vail and saw them build the first wing of the Lodge. We moved into the Lodge and kept a place there up until I became president. The Secret Service saw they might have problems with security, so we rented a place on Mill Creek through the time I was in the White House and several years after. In 1982, we were one of the first homes in Beaver Creek.” • “We have never regretted our decision to come to Vail. We fell in love with it and noted with great enthusiasm the growth of the valley and everything west of here.”