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Greg Morrill
Earl Eaton was born Dec. 10, 1922, in Eagle, Colo. Like most families in the Eagle River Valley, the Eatons scratched out a living through farming, ranching and logging. In the early 1900s, the valley was actually one of the largest growers of lettuce in the United States.
Earl began skiing as a child after his father made him skis. By 7 years old, Earl was already skiing what now is Beaver Creek. He grew up hunting, hiking and skiing the nearby mountains.
In 1940, Earl went to work for the Civilian Conservation Corps on some of the nearby projects they tackled. Shortly after he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served in the Army engineers. Despite being a skier he was not part of the 10th Mountain Division. Between the CCC and the Army, Earl learned a lot about heavy construction.