On March 4th, the 14th annual Snowmobile Ride & Show was held at the Wanamingo Fire Station. This event is held to raise money for the 4th of July fireworks, and for equipment for the volunteer fire department. It is one of two fundraisers held each year. The other event is the 3rd of July dance, and is also held at the fire station.
All kinds of activities were scheduled. There was a line up of over 150 snowmobiles of all kinds in front of the station, and in the lot across the street. Old and new, flashy and vintage, 104 of them were registered for the ride and the judging that gave awards for Best of Show, best ride and other categories. Registration was held at 9 am, and the judging began at 11 am. Once the judging was completed, over 100 sleds took off for a 12 mile ride to Cherry Grove Township and back.
Sixty gallons of "House Chili" was served at 11 am throughout the day to those who purchased a ticket that entitled them to all the chili they could eat. House Chili is the name of the winner of the very first chili cook off in 2010, made by Jason Bauer. Then from 3 to 4 pm this year's chili cook off was held, and judged by anyone in attendance who wanted to participate in the fun.
At 3:30 the awards for the snowmobiles were given out, and the raffle was held along with the silent auction. All kinds of merchandise was set up for the auction. The Ride & Show sponsors generously donated all kinds of "toys" to be bid on. Local businesses also donated a variety of items to help raise the money needed.
The official sponsors for this year's event were Moto Proz of Mazeppa, Midwest Sign Tech, M & M Lawn and Leisure, and Cannon Power Sports. The firefighters want to give a hearty thank you to this year's sponsors and businesses for their donations and support.
Registration for the Bean Bag Tournament began at 4 pm. A $5 entry fee to participate was collected, and the registrants names were put into a hat. The names were drawn from the hat to assign partners, so you never know who your partner would be. The tournament commenced at 4:30.
While covering the event, I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Benson. Bob moved to Wanamingo in 1962 from a farm just south of Roseau, Mn. He worked at building bridges as a crane operator. His hobby was, you guessed it, snowmobiling, and he was a wealth of information. He had dozens of pictures of snowmobiles, or "Snow Travellers" as they were originally called. He shared pictures of the earliest snow machines, and Polaris posters from way back with the people who attended the Ride & Show.
In 1969, Bob purchased the Polaris dealership from Otto Olson, and ran it until 1986.In the years he owned and operated the dealership, he collected the pictures, posters, books and knowledge he shares with us today.
It seems that Otto Johnson built the first Snow Traveller in 1917. Almost 40 years went by before David Johnson, Otto Johnson's nephew and an employee of Edgar and Allen Hetteen's Hoist & Derrick Company in Roseau, Mn had a request for their company to build a way to get hay to a herd of cattle through the snow. Using a conveyer belt as a track to move it along, the apparatus was assembled, and the era of the modern snowmobile began! Bob had a picture on his table was a picture of one of the first sleds built, and it had a half steering wheel off a 1955 Ford Model T attached to steer with. Not long after that, Polaris was born! According to Bob, even though Polaris was the first to manufacture the machines, Ski Doo was the first company to go into production of the machines , so they got the credit for that.
In any case, if you are a snowmobile enthusiast, and like to hear about the history of the machine, Bob Benson is the man to go see! He left me with a quote to share. "It's what you learn after you think you know it all that really counts!" Thanks, Bob, for teaching me something new!
Carl Majerus is the "unofficial" coordinator for this event, and I was able to talk to him about the department itself, and the volunteers who take care of our town and the surrounding areas when a crisis occurs. There are about 29 official volunteers in Wanamingo who can be called upon when needed. There is a county wide mutual agreement that they all help each other when necessary with extra manpower and trucks. When a situation requires more than what one town can handle, volunteers from other towns in our area can be called upon to assist in whatever way they are needed. This ensures a quick and safe outcome for any problems that may occur. All of the Fire Fighters wish to thank the businesses in town who are willing to let their employees who volunteer leave their jobs a the drop of a hat to serve in their position of keeping all of us safe in any emergency that may occur. It takes a village!
