no stopping bobs skidoo

A long spell of little snow and poor snowmobiling in Massachusetts ended last year when a bumper crop of wonderful white stuff covered the state. As the spirits of snowmobiling enthusiasts lifted, sled sales increased and the sport took off again after a temporary dry spell. Bob's Ski-Doo Inc. of North Easton, Massachusetts, took advantage of the state's good fortune and began remodeling its showroom. Ski-Doo crates from 1969, the dealer's first year in business, were set along the wall as decoration. Four 1995 sleds, as well as the new line of Ski-Doo clothing were on display. An end-of-September Open House was scheduled to showcase the store's new look. Everything was going according to plan until the store and merchandise went up in smoke.

At approximately 10:45 p.m., Tuesday, September 13, a Easton teenager crashed his motorcycle into the shop, setting off a blaze that destroyed the most of the building. "We couldn't stop it," said Easton Deputy Fire Chief Ted McNeil in the Wednesday, September 14 issue of The Enterprise, the Brockton, Massachusetts newspaper. "The gas in the tank exploded and it just set everything off." Bob Holmberg Jr., son of the store's owner, arrived at the scene 30 minutes after the explosion. His immediate reaction was one of sadness for the teen who died and horror at the sight of what was left of the recently remodeled showroom. "I feel bad for whoever died there," he said in The Enterprise. "It was a horrible thing. We can't understand why or how it happened."

When the horror of the situation subsided, reality set in. Bob's Ski-Doo was in the middle of its hottest selling month of the year and the selling floor and merchandise were ashes. Holmberg said he felt devastated, but not hopeless. With the help of customers and Ski-Doo Headquarters, Bob's Ski-Doo Inc. was back in operation within a week. A tragic explosion that took a life and a building only temporarily delayed the progress of Holmberg's 25-year-old business.

Sweat and cooperation, coupled with luck, were expended in getting the dealership back in business. Luckily, the dealer's service building, which sits behind the site of the former showroom, was not harmed. In fact, on the day after the fire, the service department conducted business-as-usual. Two semi trailers replaced the front building to serve as a showroom, office and parts storage. A huge order of clothing and accessories sent by Ski-Doo, reached Bob's within a week. "Ski-Doo was great in helping us out," says the younger Holmberg. "They bent over backwards." The cooperation didn't stop there. Customers and neighbors helped Bob's Ski-Doo move into its new environment. "Business wise, people have been great," he says. "They want to do anything to help out. That part of it keeps you going. You have to look past the tragedy and have a positive outlook. We are having a great season this year and we're going to go right along."

From an outsider's point of view it looks as if there's every indication that business at Bob's hasn't suffered. Bob Jr. says most of the upper-end models have sold and the Open House ran as scheduled- September 29 - October 1. "It went very well," says Bob of the Open House that was held under a tent instead of in the store as previously planned. " A lot of our old and new customers came to see the our merchandise. I can't even estimate how many people were here. This is a very good season."

Out of the tragedy came growth. As Richard Johnson, store mechanic for 20 years, puts it, "It's a sad situation, but it just made us stronger." Holmberg sees the incident as a new beginning. "It was an extremely tough break because we were up there everyday renovating the showroom ourselves," he says. "But now we're planning a new showroom. We've been here since 1969 and we're not planning on going anywhere."