sleds of the past

Despite what we are used to seeing today, "snowmobile" is reallya generic term that's been used for many types of powered vehicles thattravel over ice and snow. Patents for powered sleds date back to the late1800s. Early examples ranged from motorized toboggans to converted ModelT Fords.

Modern snowmobile design can be traced to the troop-carrying snow vehiclesthat Canadian Joseph Armand-Bombardier developed in the 1930s. However,as late as the 1950s, there were few snowmobiles in regular use.

In the last 40 years or so, all this has changed. By the 1980s, overthree million snowmobiles were in use and more than a quarter-million sledsa year were being produced. Some of these old machines are now becomingcollector items that snowmobiling enthusiasts bring out to shows. The FifthAnnual Waupaca Antique Snowmobile Show, held on Feb. 16, 1999, drew morethan 200 old time sleds to the Rustic Woods Campground a few miles southwestof Waupaca, Wisconsin.

"We had 185 sleds registered in classes for older machines and weknow that over 200 actually displayed," said Terry Purvis, co-founderof the event. "We always have some guys who hate paperwork and otherswho get there late and just put them in without signing up."

Purvis' personal interest in older sleds dates back to 1987, when hehelped found the Vintage Snowmobile Club of America together with a manfrom Massachusetts. "He asked me to work on signing up members in theMidwest, so I became number two in the VSCA," Purvis explained. Todaythe club has about 2,200 members nationwide.

Five years ago a man named Mike Kohn, who now lives in Madison, Wisconsin,decided to hold the first antique snowmobile show in Waupaca. "Mikeand I got the news out by word of mouth," Purvis recalls. "When50 sleds showed up we decided that we were going to try to keep it goingand get it all organized better." The move to Rustic Woods Campgroundcame for the second year of the event.

"The County Line Trailblazers Club has its headquarters at RusticWoods," Purvis noted. "So we enlisted them to serve food duringthe show and to help in a lot of other ways." In addition to the 200snowmobiles in the show, about 250 other sleds carry area snowmobilers therevia the local trail system. Others arrive by car.

The Waupaca Antique Snowmobile Show has about 14 classes and 53 trophieswere handed out at the 1999 event. "In most classes, we give first-,second- and third-place awards for original sleds and first-, second- andthird-place awards presented to sleds that stand out for various reasons."They may not necessarily be the best of their kind, but they reflectenthusiasm for our sport," said Purvis. "Like maybe a kid bringsa beat-up older machine that we know will never really be restored, buthe's trying to improve it as best he can."

According to Purvis, the best thing about the show is that it was startedfor fun. "We appreciate the efforts of our sponsors, like the VSCAand the Antique Snowmobile Club of America, to help us grow over these fiveyears," he said. "But right now we are about as big as we wantto be, because there's getting to be a shortage of room and we like it atRustic Woods."

Anyone seeking information about the Sixth Annual Waupaca Antique SnowmobileClub show in the year 2000 should contact Terry Purvis, N6985 N. Long LakeRd., Waupaca, WI 54981 or call 715/258-2750. He can also be reached viae-mail at purvis@vsca.com.