Making The Tracks We Follow Today

21st Annual NHSMA Winter Event

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4th Annual ASC Highland Lake Snow Fest

February 18-19, 2006

 By Stephen Burdick
NH Snowmobile Museum Webmaster

This past President’s Day weekend marked the 21^st Annual NH Snowmobile Museum Winter Event in conjunction with the 4^th Annual Andover Snowmobile Club Highland Lake Snow Fest.  The weekend was to include antique and vintage radar runs and show on Highland Lake, a dinner banquet at the Cat n’ Fiddle, an antique and vintage snowmobile show at the NH Snowmobile Museum in Allenstown, and an antique and vintage trail ride through Bear Brook State Park.  With limited snow conditions the radar runs and ride were cancelled, but the shows and dinner banquet went on as planned thanks to the hard work of Andover Snowmobile Club members and the NH Snowmobile Museum Directors.

The weekend started with a cold, but great show at the Andover Fish & Game Club on Highland Lake in East Andover, NH.  Andover Snowmobile Club members prepared a feast of free food for all to enjoy, and manned the grill all day to feed the participants and spectators.  Allan Houle heads up this show and does a great job organizing the festivities.  This years show sleds covered a wide variety of snowmobiling history including Steve Rosen’s newly restored 1924 Ford Model ‘T’ White Snowmobile.  Many great sleds were in attendance and a few even ventured down onto the lake to show the crowd what they could do.  Gary Chaffee drew a crowd as he launched his 1975 Arctic Cat Z 440 MOD into the air and rifled down the ice while Steve Bushway and Ed Vigneault raced back and forth  We all wished the snow conditions would have allowed the radar runs to operate, but we will just have to wait till next year.  The show ended with a nice awards ceremony honoring some of the fantastic snowmobiles.

Saturday evening’s banquet at the Cat n’ Fiddle was nothing less than spectacular.  The food was delicious, including prime rib, seafood newburg, baked ham, scalloped potato, meatballs, assorted vegetables, and desert.  It was a fine buffet and the staff at the Cat n’ Fiddle outdid themselves.  Hobbyists had the chance the talk and mingle as they were entertained by antique and vintage sled videos on the big screen and a special presentation highlighting the “Snowmobile Museums of North America.”  This has become an annual event and a must attend part of the event weekend.

Sunday was just as cold as the festivities moved to the NH Snowmobile Museum in Allenstown, NH.  The museum was a warm refuge for the cold and snow-less event.  The fire was roaring, the TV was running, the stories were flying, and the raffle to benefit the NH Snowmobile Museum was bustling with great antique and vintage snowmobile memorabilia.  Outside the sleds were lined up and ready for a great show.  This years featured show sleds were snowmobiles powered by a Sachs engine.  The day was filled with games, food, and fun things for the whole family.  Many people tried their luck at starting their old sleds with just one pull, and as all the old timers know, on a cold winter day, that is a challenge in itself.  However, a few were able to make their sleds come to life with just one tug on the recoil.  Others tried to maneuver through a timed course at the slowest rate of speed.  The three longest times were awarded certificates for there slow and steady throttle thumbs.  The race sleds lined up to see who could create the most noise.  Some sleds were equipped with stinger pipes and others with short megaphone exhausts.  The sound was deafening, especially when the competitors warmed their sleds up as group.  Certificates were given for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place.  Due to no snow, the vintage ride through Bear Brook State Park had to be cancelled, but the event ended with a classy awards ceremony.

I would like to personally thank each and every person that helped make the weekend of events a success and thank all those diehard vintage sled collectors that displayed sleds despite the cold weather and lack of snow.  Our event sponsors deserve a heart felt thank you, and provide the financial assistance needed to host a show of this stature.  Once again, a weekend spent with the vintage sled collectors of New England, is a weekend well spent.  Can’t wait till next year, heck maybe there will even be snow!!!!

NHSMA Game Winners

One Pull Competition

(Sleds that start on the first pull - on a cold start)

Ed Vigneault - 1970 Arctic Cat Puma MOD 793
Gary Neil - 1976 Polaris TX Starfire
Dave Mullaney - 1979 Scorpion Sting
Tom White - 1976 Merc Trail Twister
Adam Houle - 1974 John Deere 400
Bud Gordon - 1974 Sno-Jet Thunder Jet

Slowest Sled

(Slowest sled through a timed course without coming to a stop)

1st Place:  Dave Gallant - 1961 Ski-Doo K-61
2nd Place:  Bill Clark - 1962 Mathews Trail Maker
3rd Place:  David Field - 1966 Polaris Super Pacer

Loudest Sled

(Sled that registers the loudest at idle on the decibel meter)

1st Place:  Jay Egan - 1979 Moto-Ski 250 S/S (124 db)
2nd/3rd Place:  Jeff Filleul - 1973 Polaris Starfire (122 db)
2nd/3rd Place:  Bud Gordon - 1974 Sno-Jet Thunder Jet (122 db)

 Farthest Traveled To Show A Sled
Sam Polito - Webster, NY

Most Sleds Shown (6)
Bud Gordon - Weare, NH

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NHSA Easter Seal Ride-In

Antique & Vintage

Sled Show

Lancaster, NH

February 4, 2006

 By Stephen Burdick
NH Snowmobile Museum Webmaster

The sun was bright, the temperature was warm, the smell of racing fuel was in the air (thanks to Steve Bushway), and the antique and vintage sled collectors were enjoying a wonderful day in the Great North Woods of New Hampshire.  22 Antique and Vintage Snowmobiles turned out for a day of reminiscing, riding, and a few even ran the radar run.  This antique and vintage show has been going on for as long as I can remember…… or at least it seems that way and Brian Stiles always does such a nice job assembling some of the best antique and vintage snowmobiles in the area, and this years event was no different.

Lancaster is home to the oldest snowmobile club in America, The Lancaster Snow Drifters.  This club helped put on a wonderful weekend of events, including the radar runs on Saturday, which proved to be a favorite of many vintage sled collectors.  Lancaster has a significant place in snowmobile racing history, and it was great to see some race sleds of yester-year hit the radar runs.  Brian Stiles’ 1966 Arctic Cat Big Mouth Panther ran 35 mph, The Burdick Family’s 1966 Ski-Doo Olympique ‘S’ was clocked at a strong 25 mph on the downhill portion of the track, Steve Bushway’s Yamaha GPX’s ran a stong 50 mph, The Burdick Family’s Alouette Super Brute ran 50 mph, and Bud Gordon’s Thunder-Jet pulled the top vintage speed of the day at a blistering 72 mph.  Thanks to the Lancaster Snow Drifters Snowmobile Club for this very exciting opportunity.

As with all events of this nature, it is the people involved that make the event a big success.  It is always a blast to spend the day with friends and family, putting around on something with a track and a couple skis.  The conversations revitalize interests in projects put on hold, and remind us that snowmobilers are just darn good people.  Thanks to all that helped put on this years 34^th Annual NHSA Easter Seal Ride-In, and thanks to all that took the time and energy it takes to bring their antique and vintage sleds out of the barns for a day of fun.  I look forward to the next time I get to hang out with all my vintage sled buddies.

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The World’s First Snowmobile

Who invented the first snowmobile? Who is the true father of snowmobiling? The Alexander Grahm Bell of our beloved sport. Was it Edgar Heteen with his rear engine Polaris Snow Traveler, Joseph A. Bombardier with his front mounted engine and one piece rubber tracked Ski Doo, or Virgil White with the Model T Ford “Snowmobile” Conversion Kit? The answer to this question probably depends on who you ask..............

This past summer my wife and I embarked on a two month cross country motorcycle trip covering 12,071 miles across 19 US States and 4 Canadian Provinces. In the little town of Sayner, WI, just northwest of the Snowmobile Capital of The World - Eagle River, WI, - John Eliason Jr. (Carl Eliason’s Grandson and Owner of Eliason Lumber & Hardware Company) and Faye Taylor (Vilas County Historical Museum Curator) have no problem giving you their answers to this question. In fact, they were more than willing and excited to share their knowledge of the machine that put Sayner, WI on the map.

Carl Eliason was born in 1899 in the UP of MI, and moved with his family to Sayner, WI in 1909. At a young age he was interested in hunting and trapping and started operating his own trapline. Carl had been born with a chronic foot problem that made it difficult for him to check his trapline during the winter months. Snow-shoes were nearly impossible to use due to his foot problems, so he began experimenting with other forms of winter transportation.

In 1924, Carl Eliason began working on an over-the-snow vehicle he called a Motor Toboggan in his newly opened General Store in Sayner, WI. It was powered by a 2 ½ hp, liquid cooled, gasoline powered, Johnson Outboard Marine Engine, mounted on a long toboggan, steered with skis under the front, and driven by a rear, single, endless track. The engine was mounted in the front and the operator’s seat was located above the track. In 1927 Carl received a patent for his Motor Toboggan.

Carl Eliason produced roughly 30 machines out of his Sayner based operations over the next 16 years until World War II began. A rumor of a possible order from Finland for 150 Motor Toboggans was on the horizon and Carl began negotiating to sell his patent to The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company (FWD) in Clintonville, WI in hopes of filling this large military order. FWD was responsible for building the first successful four wheel drive automobile and would produced approximately 200 Motor Toboggans between 1941 and 1947 at their Clintonville, WI plant. While the rumored order from Finland never panned out, the US Army ordered 150 Motor Toboggans for use in Alaska that were to be painted white, to match their surroundings.

In 1947, FWD was experiencing a growth in their truck sales and a decrease in Motor Toboggan sales. This prompted them to move production of the Motor Toboggan to the Canadian FWD plant in Kitchener, Ontario. The 1953 Eliason Motor Toboggan Model K-12 built in Kitchener, Ontario was the snowmobile that gave Polaris Industries in Roseau, MN design principles to consider as they began designing their rear engine snowmobiles in 1955. Production would remain in Kitchener until 1963 when FWD would sell off their parts inventory and manufacturing rights to Carter Brothers of Waterloo, Ontario. Carter Brothers would produce the Eliason Motor Toboggan for only one more model year and end production in 1964, thus ending the 40 year production run Carl Eliason began in Sayner, WI.

Throughout the 40 years of production the Eliason Motor Toboggans utilized engines developed by Johnson Outboard, Henderson Motorcycle, Excelsior Motorcycle, Indian Motorcycle, Salisbury Engine and Drive, and Briggs & Stratton. Each engine supplier would hold a chapter in the advancement of the Motor Toboggan as a viable snow traveling vehicle.

Carl Eliason died in 1979 and was later inducted into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in 1991. He will forever be remembered for his dedication to the development of winter travel for the outdoorsman. Just think, the 1924 proto-type utilized a liquid cooled, front mounted engine, and rider over track design..........something that other manufactures would introduce much later in history.

Making The Tracks We Follow Today

The Polar Bear Snowmobile

As a collector of vintage snowmobiles, I have always been interested in finding a sled that was manufactured in the Northeast. While surfing through an online auction site, I found just the sled. It was a pair of 1972 Polar Bear Model 399, and they claimed to be manufactured in the Northeast. After making a reasonable deal with the current owner, I made arrangements to pick up the two sleds. Then the fun began with researching just what I had found.

It turns out that the snowmobile was manufactured by a company located in Wallingford, Connecticut, by the name of Raybon Manufacturing. I contacted my good friend and follow collector, and snowmobile historian Bud Knapp and he told me to contact a friend of his that used to work for Raybon Manufacturing, and I did just that. I had the great pleasure of talking with and then meeting Irene Roberts (formerly Irene Curtis) who had worked for Raybon Manufacturing and she provided me with a great amount of literature and knowledge of this company. It also turned out that the two sleds that I had purchased where made for a park in Hamden Connecticut to be used to patrol the park trails. That explained the colored beacon that was mounted to the rear bumper of each sled.

Here is a little history of the company that manufactured the Polar Bear Snowmobile. The owner Ray Bonell had a successful machine shop and fabrication business that serviced the growing aircraft industry and other local business. With about 30 employees at the time Ray thought that we would like to diversify and have his own product. The snowmobile industry was growing and gaining interest with the general public so it seemed like a good venture. The first production model was produced in 1971 and they continued designing and producing new models until 1977. Raybon Manufacturing was not interested in being the biggest manufacturer, but intended to make a quality product. They pressed out their own aluminum frames, designed the fiberglass molds and most other components for their snowmobiles. They went outside for items such as skis, fuel tanks, engines, tracks and clutches. They also produced their parts list by hand. Irene remembers that production numbers were probably about 500 sleds total from 1971 to 1977 with dealers in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York and one in Michigan.

One of the company’s advertisements was DON’T “HIBERNATE” THIS WINTER! Come ALIVE with the latest and greatest winter sport ...SNOWMOBILING!

• Durable all aluminum construction, riveted and welded for extra strength.
• Hinged fiber-glass metalflake hood.
• Full factory warranty
• Meets state rules and regulations.

They also had a suspension design that utilized a patented torsion bar with 12 bogie wheels and 2 take-up bogies for track adjustment. This torsion bar suspension made for on of the smoothest rides on the market for its time.

I know that I have enjoyed gathering information and learning more about this particular Northeast manufacturer. If you have one of these snowmobiles and you would like more information, I can be contacted at (603) 768-3951.

NH Sled Museum Vintage Display at the

NHSA Grass Drags & Water Crossing

We had a great showing of antique and vintage sleds for the 2005 NHSA Grass Drags & Water Crossing Antique & Vintage Sled Display. This is the largest grass drag and water cross event in North America, attracting 16,000 spectators annually. The NH Snowmobile Museum assembled a collection of snowmobiles from some of the Northeast’s finest and most dedicated collectors. Sleds ranged in years from a 1960 Bombardier Ski Doo to a 1980 Kawasaki Drifter. Rare race sleds brought back memories of races from yester year and included beautifully restored 1976 Skiroule Sno Pro Racers originally ridden by racing greats, Jacques Villeneuve and Gilles Villeneuve. Many of the sleds reminded event spectators of their first snowmobile rides on a bubble nose Ski Doo or a Kawasaki Invader, while other makes and models made people scratch their heads and say, “I knew they made those things, but I never got to see one back in the day.” Whether you were a fan of race, antique, vintage, or rare sleds there was something in this display for everyone.

The Dodge Dealers of New England sponsored the NH Snowmobile Museum and supplied a 40’ X 60’ enclosed tent with lighting and electricity to run a TV/DVD/VCR. We watched vintage sled videos non-stop for 3 days, while the record rains of the weekend fell hard on the roof of the tent. While attendance was down from previous years due to the heavy rains, an estimated 10,000 people worked their way around the event site. Mud stranded many a sled trailer and truck, but under the shelter of our tent our sleds were kept dry and we even managed to maintain a walkway with the use of hay and pieces of plywood. Who says sitting around on a rainy day is a drag.

The NH Snowmobile Museum sponsored a “People’s Choice Award” which was awarded to the snowmobile that received the most votes during the 3 day event. All spectators and visitors were encouraged to cast a ballot for their favorite antique or vintage snowmobile. This year’s award went to the Burdick Family Collection for a 1973 Alouette Super 340.

As with most events, it is the people that make the event. Snowmobilers are good people, and this group of collectors from the Northeast is no exception. Gentlemen, you made the event a great success through your efforts and your sleds. I look forward to each and every chance to spend time with my Vintage Sled Buddies. GREAT JOB GUYS!!!!

For More Info Visit Us On The Web At: www.nhsnowmobilemuseum.com or call Stephen Burdick at 603-735-4354.

2005 NHSA Grass Drags & Water Crossing
Antique & Vintage Display