When Matt Morrissey began working at Chapman Hill 20 years ago, it was an unlikely destination for Durango residents. The hill was made up of a marginal ski hill, Rollerblade rink and dirt parking lot.

Now, as Morrissey leaves, Chapman Hill is a bustling ice rink and ski hill and a popular destination for Durango residents.

After 20 years of working at Chapman Hill, 19 as the operations supervisor, Morrissey has taken a new job as the director of base operations at Grand Targhee Resort in Wyoming.

In 1997, Morrissey began working for the U.S. Forest Service, but needed work in the winter. His future wife, Jennifer Zahratka-Morrissey, started working at Chapman Hill in 1999 and told Morrissey the hill was looking for additional help.

Morrissey was hired in 2000, just after a roof had been placed on the rink to try to develop a sheet of ice for skating. However, there was no refrigeration, so the ice did not last long and was inconsistent.

When Morrissey first started, “we basically would just go over there and put the open sign up. Some people would come in and rent skates. We had like 40 pairs of skates or something like that,” he said.

After installing hockey boards on the ice rink, in winter 2000, Chapman held the first adult hockey league. There were nine teams. The league was forced to finish the season on Rollerblades because the ice melted before the season ended.

At that point, Morrissey was “just sort of helping out,” but he got sucked in when they asked him to help with the ski hill.

“They asked me to do the snowcat, and I couldn’t say no to that,” Morrissey said.

Shortly after, the Chapman Hill operations supervisor left and Morrissey was hired in 2001 to replace him.

After he was hired, there was a concerted effort to ramp up operations at the ice rink and ski hill. The Chapman Hill Improvement Association began to raise money to install refrigeration for the ice rink. Morrissey coordinated with the city, and when Chapman opened in January 2002, the ice rink was refrigerated. Hockey seasons would no longer be finished with Rollerblades.

“That was truly the moment that everything changed,” Morrissey said. “Back then, we were a dirt parking lot with a recycling center and a water dock with a rink that kind of wasn’t working and a ski hill that wasn’t being used a lot.”

The rink was able to ramp up programming and build a competitive youth hockey program. The adult hockey league also grew quickly, from nine teams to 40.

“That’s the largest adult hockey program in Colorado with one sheet of seasonal ice,” Morrissey said.

To show the success of the ice rink, Morrissey proudly pointed to state championships won at all levels by the youth hockey program, especially the high school club’s win last year.

The second key event that helped transform Chapman into what it is today, according to Morrissey, was the choice to start making snow in 2009.

The ski area dates back to 1952, when a rope-tow from the Tenth Mountain Division in Leadville was relocated to Durango. However, snow can often be inconsistent in town, so the skiing was not reliable.

In 2009, the hill borrowed snowmaking guns, but was able to purchase its own in 2010. The next year, Chapman brought in a snowcat and hired an experienced grooming staff. With consistent snow, the hill quickly became a busy place. The ski team started practicing at the hill after school and residents used a closer and cheaper ski option.

“When I first started there, people would tell me, ‘Oh, I grew up skiing there and it’s such a great place, but it’s never open anymore,’ and now people come up to me and say, ‘My kids learned to ski there!’” Morrissey said.

Refrigeration for the ice rink and snowmaking were the two changes that made Chapman what it is today, “which, I think, is one of the shining stars of Durango,” Morrissey said.

“We’ve come a long way in 20 years,” he said.

When Morrissey first got the promotion in 2001, he knew the community did not look favorably on Chapman.

“I think the overall community assessment of Chapman Hill was that it’s a waste of money. I would challenge anybody to say that now,” Morrissey said. “... There are hundreds of kids playing youth hockey now, not 10. There are hundreds of kids training for alpine skiing and freestyle ski training. Not five kids, like hundreds of kids.”

Humbly, Morrissey said a lot of the progress has little to do with him.

“I think we’ve done a really good job as a department. ... I try to not give myself too much credit because I think it was sort of the times that made it happen,” Morrissey said.

Despite deflecting responsibility for the progress, Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Metz attributes much of Chapman’s advancement to Morrissey.

“He has done a tremendous job with the success of Chapman Hill,” Metz said.

The city will miss “his dedication to provide the very best, high-quality services at Chapman Hill. ... He always went that extra step to make the community feel welcome and make sure it was a safe and enjoyable experience,” Metz said.

For Morrissey, walking into Chapman the past 20 years meant more to him than just another job, and when he left Tuesday, “It was one of the most emotional days of my life,” he said.

It was especially meaningful to see all the opportunities created for kids, he said.

“I think my favorite thing in the world was sitting up at the top of the ski hill when you’re making snow and you’re looking at the town and you see Chapman with the snow gun blowing and the skating rink and the mountains and the La Platas and knowing that all those little kids and parents are about to come out to your hill and skating rink and have smiles on their faces,” Morrissey said.

Morrissey’s passion for creating opportunities for the youths of Durango was evident to those who worked around him.

“Matt has a big heart. Chapman will miss his passion for making things good for everyone in the community,” said Tim Kuss, who was hired as a groomer. “He kind of worked on behalf of the little guy, you know kids who aren’t necessarily privileged. ... That was definitely his mindset.”

As he starts his next job in Wyoming, his time in Durango won’t soon be forgotten.

“It was an honor that the community let me serve them for 20 years through good times and bad,” Morrissey said.

smarvin@durangoherald.com