Matthew Meinhold retired from the Park City Fire District this month after 20 years of service. Though he’s a longtime local, Meinhold didn’t expect to end up in Park City.
But after his father, Arthur Meinhold, sparked a lifelong love for skiing, it just made sense.
Meinhold said his dad, who died last year, put him on skis at just four years old. At the time, the family lived in Southern California and they would travel to Brian Head Ski Resort in southern Utah.
“There's pictures of me on little plastic Mickey Mouse skis with, you know, six-foot snow banks on the side of the road,” Meinhold said.
The family moved a lot due to the elder Meinhold’s career as a pilot in the Navy and Grumman Aerospace flight instructor. They lived in Texas, New York, California and even four years in Iran.
Still, Matthew Meinhold always knew he wanted to keep skiing.
“I'm very grateful for the fact that he taught us to ski, because that really changed the trajectory of my life, and that's primarily why I ended up in a ski town,” Meinhold said.
After attending college in New Hampshire, he headed west to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There, Meinhold worked as a ski patroller, but couldn’t find a place to live. So, he ended up in Park City on a friend’s couch.
“That was the winter of ‘92 and it turned out to be a pretty epic winter. So I stuck around,” Meinhold said. “After that, summertime was amazing, and you hear it from a lot of people that they come for the winter, but they stay for the summer. That's exactly what I did.”
Meinhold spent over a decade bussing tables at various restaurants on Main Street and doing seasonal work, including as a heli-ski guide in Alaska. Eventually, he realized he needed a steadier job — one with benefits and a retirement plan. That’s when he landed on firefighting.
The work was satisfying and Meinhold loved serving the community. His favorite part of working at the Park City Fire District, however, was the people.
“It was an exceptional bunch of people, and it was an honor and a pleasure to work with them,” Meinhold said. “The friendships that you develop in that line of work are lifelong, and that's something that I'll never forget.”
In retirement, Meinhold plans to travel with his wife, Bridgette, and do a lot of hiking, biking and skiing.
He also plans to continue being a ski guide for Ski Utah’s interconnect tour.
