Founded in 1961Roy Deskin, the son of a coal miner, worked his way through Detroit’s steel factories to become a magnate in the auto industry. In 1944 he retired Up North on Torch Lake. Deskin loved entertaining. But he grew weary from driving all over Northern Michigan to entertain his guests. He decided he would build a social establishment of his own. Originally conceived as a private club, he soon realized greater potential in a four-season resort. He broke ground in the fall of 1961. Summit Mountain opened for skiing in December, 1962, while construction on the Lodge would not be completed until the following spring. The 91-room hotel, whose name was based on an old trapper’s shanty located near the [current day] 7th and 8th holes of The Legend, would open on May 30, 1963, as The Lodge at Shanty Creek.
In the mid-1960s, Daniel Iannotti decided to leave a lucrative career as a stockbroker in Chicago. He began tailoring a dream of opening a ski resort resembling a quaint, Bavarian ski hamlet. After looking at real estate sites throughout Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, Iannotti settled on a patch of land just three miles from Shanty Creek. Iannotti’s “never-never land” made its skiing debut on December 23, 1967. It was called “The Kingdom of Schuss” and declared itself a new nation. The Kingdom had its own border-control station, its own currency (Squaller), its own language (Schwiss), and its own time-zone (Central Fun Time). Daniel was King and his wife, Dorothy, was Queen. Their children were dubbed Prince Daniel and Princess Madelyn. After opening Schuss Mountain, like Deskin, Iannotti expanded the resort to include the Schuss Mountain Golf Course. Designed by Warner Bowen, its front nine holes opened in 1972. The back nine were added in 1977.
