The history of snowmobiling and fun is a family affair

I became a part of the sport of snowmobiling when I married him in 1976.

My husband was the son of a man deeply involved in snowmobiling. Even before we got married, I was invited to go snowmobiling to “the farm.” He had no experience riding a snowmobile at the time.

After I got married, the first event I was invited to was the Hetteen Cup oval race in Alexandria, Mn. in 1977. His parents invited us newlyweds to the weekend event. We stayed in a hotel in Alexandria and met some of his friends at dinner that night. I remember how exciting it was to see racers compete on snowmobiles from many different companies. I also remember that Scorpion won the race and Brad Hulings was the race driver for that winning bobsled. Arctic Cat’s owner came down to shake hands, present the trophy and a boat to the winner. It was a wonderful event.

It was fun being part of a family that snowmobiled together on “the farm” in Wanaska, Mn. I learned to ride my own sled that first year instead of double riding behind my husband. He was driving a 1976 Pantera with a mid-mounted gas tank, black and orange accents, a cross between a panther and El Tigre. I remember it well. I got to use the 1975 Panther, which was also a good sled. The snowmobile trails were part of Hayes Park and then traveled along the ditches towards Roseau, Mn. Go and get something to eat, just a round trip, ending back at “the farm” to play cards and share stories of the trip.

The children in the family learned at a young age to snowmobile using the powder-covered track of Grandpa’s plane to practice before they could take to the trails on their own. We made shorter trips for the day the children came. Grandma was famous for her potato/carrot foil packets that she would put on an open fire to cook for us to eat along the way. The hot chocolate in a thermos was very attractive to drink when we took a break on the road. Many times we were a larger team and would stop at Bemis Hill to go sledding and light a fire in the building’s fireplace. In the 1980s and 1990s we experienced riding Polaris snowmobiles like the 1990 Polaris Indy Sport GT and the 1994 XLT.

In 1998 his parents moved to Grand Rapids, MN. We still continue to snowmobile the trails and our son married his wife. And then our daughter married her husband. That added more members to the family, including more children. We extended our trail ride to other areas like Ironwood, MI and Superior, WI, doing one weekend at a time.

We continue to have many experiences with the trails in Grand Rapids, Mn. when we moved there also in 2006. Our married children and grandchildren continue to come on winter weekends to enjoy the beautiful trails in Grand Rapids, Mn. The resource of snow in abundance comes and goes and riding a snowmobile stays in our blood. The old go to new horizons and babies continue to be born in the family. Stories of experiences young and old are told to grandchildren and the story of snowmobiling lives on.