1967 stanaback twin track

It was back in mid 1967 that my old friend and fellow snowmobile collector, Erv Anderson of Velva, North Dakota alerted me to a rumor of a snowmobile being built right under my nose in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This disturbed me somewhat because I thought I knew every snowmobile being built at that time and where it was built. I knew that the state of Minnesota led all states and provinces in the number of manufacturers and I chose to push my friend's tip to the furthest part of my mind - certainly no one was building a snowmobile right in Grand Rapids because we are into office furniture and automobile parts.

So it went - in nearly every letter Erv asked about the rumor and having been a tap dancer in school I called upon my dancing skills to get me out of one more tight squeeze. The next letter that I received from my well-intentioned old friend was dated January 4, 1997 and once again he asked if I had ever acted upon his thirty year old rumor. What a persistent old buzzard he was and I thank him today for his bulldog tactics or I wouldn't today own my "Stanaback Twin Track."

To get on with the story I wrote a letter to Mr. Ken Stanaback on January 10, 1997 asking about the sled he was supposed to have built. On January 16, 1997 I received a letter from Harriet Stanaback telling me that her husband Kenneth had passed away in 1989 but the snowmobile that he had built was still stored in an outbuilding - and best of all she gave me permission to see it. She told me that there were two sleds built - the first featured a Villiers engine and the second employed the use of an easier to find Lloyd. The first sled wasn't too great and Ken had given it to his grandson to experiment with. She thought that this sled had been relegated to the scrap pile many years ago.

On September 18, 1998 I wrote Mrs. Stanaback to tell her that I would be coming home from a business trip in Wyoming on the 28th and we could set up an appointment to view the sled after that date.

Up until his point, I had hoped to gain information about the sled for my library but in a letter to me dated September 23 she indicated that she would be willing to supply me with all of the paperwork involved from patent searches to the finished product if I wanted it. On October 10 I wrote her thanking her for her kindness.

I could hardly contain myself with happiness and I called her to set up an appointment to view the sled. Between this date and November 4, I took two trips to her home to finalize the loan of library material. During the last trip I asked if she had ever considered selling the sled. She replied that she would be willing to consider a deal that would assure the sled's future rather than see it sitting on top of a scrap metal heap. She was most reluctant to set a price and told me that she would rely upon my honesty to make a fair deal. My wife and I discussed a figure on the way home that day and the next day I submitted an offer that was fair. She was very pleased with the offer and turned over the paperwork involved. Later in the week I conned two of my nephews into helping me load up the sled and bring it to its new home.

Since the sled has been stored for thirty years, I knew it needed much attention and I turned to my good friend and Master Restorer, John McGuirck, to undertake the project. The rebuilding process began immediately and has been completed. By agreement the sled is now co-owned by John and myself.

During the 2001 Naubinway Sno-Sho held in February, the Stanaback was awarded a first place plaque as "Best Restored Antique." For now and forever the Stanaback name will have a page in the Snowmobile History Book.