In December 1941, William W. Robinson and Gordon H. Brown founded a ski club at Northeastern University known as the Hus-Skiers. Over the years, the Hus-Skiers became more involved in other outdoor activities, and the club’s name was changed to the Northeastern University Hus-Skiers and Outing Club, or NUHOC for short. The goal of the club is to provide opportunities for Northeastern students and alumni to take part in outdoor activities together.
Thirty years after the club’s creation, members wished to establish a home base to run outdoor trips from. In March of 1970, the club created its Land and Facilities Committee, who toured plots of land across New Hampshire in search of somewhere they could call home. After many unsatisfactory plots, the committee finally stumbled across the perfect location, six and a half chains from the split of Connor Brook Road and the Hastings Trail in Shelburne, NH. A lease was signed that June, and the remainder of the year was spent preparing to build a lodge on this newly obtained property.
The original lodge was designed and built entirely by club members. A design contest was held amongst the students, with Mike Rodrique’s final design chosen as the winner. The support beams and flooring for the lodge were salvaged from an old warehouse, which several club members dismantled in a single day. Funds were raised from alumni and students throughout 1970. The winter was spent planning construction and training club members in tool skills.
The main structure of the lodge was built throughout 1971, with construction beginning as soon as the snow had melted. The framing was completed in May, the rafters and siding in June, the stone chimney in July, and the windows in October. Once the windows were in, the lodge was fully enclosed and functional for the winter. Over the next couple years, the kitchen and remaining interior was built, the pump was dug, a propane gas system was installed, and this once bare plot of land in the woods of New Hampshire had become NUHOC’s new home. It was named the Brown Memorial Lodge in honor of the club’s founder, Gordon H. Brown, who had died in an aviation accident.
For 44 years, the Brown Memorial Lodge hosted generation after generation of NUHOC, uniting countless friends and creating untouchable memories of adventures in the outdoors. The Lodge Committee was formed to run and maintain the lodge property, requiring club members to complete certain requirements to gain membership. Lodge committee members earn keys for life to the property, so that they may always be able to give back to the lodge. Eventually, the lodge and its surrounding property became known as the Loj.
Sadly, in January of 2015, the Brown Memorial Lodge burned to the ground. Thankfully nobody was injured in the fire, but the lodge structure was completely destroyed. This devastated the club and its alumni, as this place which had been special to so many was suddenly gone. But although the Brown Memorial Lodge was no more, NUHOC and the spirit of the Loj were still going strong. We would not give in to despair, and give up on this place that had given us a home for 44 years! We would rebuild!
In January 2017, a yurt was constructed on the Loj property in the location that the Brown Memorial Lodge had originally stood. It took 24 hours straight of work from dedicated NUHOCers to raise the yurt, which became a temporary new home. In 2021, the first new permanent structure since the fire was built, a large tool shed dubbed the ‘War Barn Home for Tools’. These were both milestones leading towards the ultimate goal of rebuilding a new lodge. Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of NUHOC’s build committee, the Loj Committee, and NEOCA’s support, construction of the new lodge building is set to begin in Spring 2023! Once the snow melts, the yurt will be taken down and the new lodge will be built where the original stood!
Just like the original lodge build 50 years ago, the new lodge will be entirely designed and built by students. In 2019, a new lodge design contest was run, with Aidan Sullivan’s design chosen. In 2021, large wooden beams were reclaimed from an old barn to be used as the framing for the new lodge, just like the original. And just like the original build, we are relying on alumni donations to support this massive undertaking!!!
Help us create a NEW HOME for college students and alumni to enjoy the outdoors together! A place for new friends to meet, and for old friends to reconnect. A place for memories to be made. A place that we can all enjoy. Help us rebuild the Loj.