EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. -- Merlyn Werner once drove five days and nearly 2,800 miles - 2,794, to be exact - to buy a rare snowmobile he tracked down in Quebec.
The snowmobile was a 1971 Rapido 500 Snow Cruiser, and Outboard Marine Corp., best known for Johnson and Evinrude boat motors, built fewer than 100 of the sleds in a short-lived attempt to get into the racing market.
“It’s kind of a disease,” said Werner, 54, a vintage snowmobile enthusiast from East Grand Forks. “You buy one and you get two and then two leads to three, and pretty soon you have 15.”
Talk to just about anyone who collects old snowmobiles, and they’ll have similar stories.
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Another time, Werner drove to Ogden, Utah, to buy a snowmobile produced in 1969 as part of a one-year partnership between the Sears catalog company and Evinrude. The Sears Hillary - as it was called - has a double-wide track and was named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the first confirmed mountaineer to scale Mount Everest.
“They put his name on it figuring they were going to sell a ton of snowcats, and it didn’t work,” Werner said with a laugh.
“Snowcat” - for those of you newbies out there - is northern Minnesota-speak for snowmobile.
Unlike his pilgrimage to Quebec, Werner downplays the drive to Utah as only a small detour because he and some friends were snowmobiling in Wyoming anyway. The Sears Hillary was quite a find, and the rusty orange-colored sled looks like it just came out of the showroom.
For good reason: It’s never been driven.
“It’s not the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, but it’s still brand-new,” Werner said. “It has never had gas in it, nor will I ever put gas in it.”
Vintage showcase
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Werner’s not alone in his passion for old snowmobiles and the history behind them, a fact that will be obvious during the third East Grand Forks Vintage Snowmobile Day set for Saturday at the Blue Moose. Werner and fellow vintage snowmobile enthusiast Allen Seydel, also of East Grand Forks, are among the show’s organizers.
The event is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in memory of Anna Kozel, an East Grand Forks woman who died of cancer in May 2010 at age 45. Kozel’s son, Kyle, 25, also is helping with the show, which returns after a two-year hiatus.
Snowmobile enthusiasts Erland Greendahl and Steve Renslow organized the first two vintage snowmobile shows.
“We’re trying to get it established as far as having the show again,” said Werner, a driver for Federal Express. “It’ll basically be a fun afternoon of talking about snowcats.”
Werner and Seydel, 51, grew up in the 1970s, which were the heydays of snowmobiles. At one time, there were more than 100 snowmobile manufacturers churning out brands such as Sno-Jet, Viking, Johnson, Evinrude, Moto-Ski, Rupp and Scorpion, to name just a few.
“It seemed like back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, everybody had them,” Werner said. “It was something to look forward to, and back then, there was no such thing as vintage because that was the current model year.
“We thought we had the world by the tail because it couldn’t be any better.”
Today, Polaris, Ski-Doo, Arctic Cat and Yamaha are the only brands remaining on the market, and the futuristic-looking machines are a far cry from the early sleds that have captured the fancy of vintage snowmobile lovers.
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The new snowmobiles have a smoother ride and are more dependable - to put it mildly.
“The ride is probably the biggest thing, and the groomed trails help now, too,” Werner said. “There’s a trail system no matter where you’re at. It’s nothing to put on 100 miles.”
Family fixtures
Seydel says there always were snowmobiles in the family’s yard when he was growing up. His dad, Art, raced snowmobiles, competing in local races across the region and showcase events such as the Winnipeg to St. Paul International 500.
“He was always working on someone else’s snowcat, so we’d go out and test-run them for him, and ever since then, we’ve always had snowcats,” Seydel said.
A Polaris man, Seydel says his favorites are a 1976 Polaris TX440 and a 1979 Polaris TX340.
“Right now, I’ve got about six, and I’ve got about three that are running, but that’s it,” said Seydel, who works for ICS General Contractor. “The rest are in the process.”
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Vintage snowmobile shows and rides are big events across the Snow Belt, and Seydel says there’s a show or swap meet somewhere almost every weekend, even during the summer, for enthusiasts who want to travel.
The collecting doesn’t stop at snowmobiles.
“We also collect vintage clothing, snowsuits, helmets, hats, sweaters, whatever we can find,” Seydel said. “If we don’t have it, we try to pick it up. It’s just something we grew up with back when we were kids; we just enjoy it. We’ve got some stuff we’ll probably wind up selling eventually, but for now, we’ll just hang on to it.”
Wide interest
Werner said he’s had calls from as far away as Saskatchewan from collectors interested in displaying snowmobiles at the East Grand Forks show, which he expects to feature at least 75 sleds.
The shows, he said, help carry on the tradition and history of the vintage machines.
“You might run into somebody at the Blue Moose who thinks, ‘This is really neat, I’m going to find an old snowcat,’ ” Werner said. “Their dad maybe used to drive John Deere, so they’ll be in search of a John Deere.
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“This not only is good for the people that already have the vintage sleds, but hopefully we can get more people hooked on it and keep it going.”
That’s basically how Kozel got into vintage snowmobiles, even though he wasn’t born during the heydays of snowmobiling. He’s friends with Seydel’s son, Ricky, who helped spark his interest.
“Ricky went to a show in Thief River like two years ago, and he was telling me the story of how he had a blast with these old snowmobiles,” Kozel said. “His dad, grandpa and uncle are into it, and I’ve always been fascinated with old things.”
Kozel, who works for Eagle Electric, grew up riding his grandpa’s Polaris two-up Indy Trail and found an old Polaris TX340 that belonged to his uncle sitting in a tree row.
“And that’s where it started,” Kozel said. He now has a 1977 Polaris TX440, and his wife, Alyssa, has a Polaris TX250.
Kozel also makes the circuit racing vintage sleds with Ricky Seydel.
“I never really called it vintage, but now I do,” Kozel said. “I didn’t know anything about it until somebody told me, and now I think about it every day - all day.”
If events like the upcoming East Grand Forks show help spark interest in the old machines, all the better, he says.
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Besides, the show is for a good cause.
“We’re just trying to get new people and get it out there and say, ‘Hey, you know, this is another fun hobby,’ ” Kozel said. “And it’s to help out with Relay for Life, and that’s another great thing.”
Vintage snowmobile brands vary from town to town
As a driver for Federal Express, Merlyn Werner of East Grand Forks, Minn., gets a glimpse of snowmobile history as he drives across the region.
“It’s kind of funny,” said Werner, one of the organizers for Saturday’s vintage snowmobile show at the Blue Moose in East Grand Forks. “You can tell what vintage dealership was in that town.”
Drive through the area near Cooperstown, N.D., he said, and it’s not uncommon to see old Evinrude or Rupp snowmobiles, two popular brands that went by the wayside when the industry nearly collapsed in the 1970s. Get closer to Lakota, N.D., and Johnson snowmobiles - or what remains of them - are more common in tree rows and other places.
Near Lawton, N.D., in Ramsey County, Werner said, a local farmer had a dealership for Massey Ferguson Ski Whiz snowmobiles, known for their twin headlights and boxy looking hoods.
Vintage snowmobile shows also tend to reflect the brands that were sold in a particular area, he said.
“Some of these shows you’ll see different sleds than at other ones,” he said. “It all depends on where you’re at.”
Registration for Saturday’s vintage snowmobile show is from 9 a.m. to noon at the Blue Moose in East Grand Forks, Minn., and snowmobiles will be on display along the bank of the Red River outside the bar and restaurant until 3 p.m. There’s a $5 registration fee, and snowmobiles must be 1980 or older.
There’ll be an awards presentation at 3 p.m. with trophies for first, second and third places in the People’s Choice, Media’s Choice and Mayor’s Choice categories. There’ll also be door prizes for registered participants, along with a silent auction, and Relay for Life gear will be for sale.
For more information, contact Merlyn Werner at (218) 779-6161 or Allen Seydel at (701) 740-7552.
Here’s a partial listing of other vintage snowmobile shows and rides across the region:
Feb. 15: 11th annual DL Vintage Rally and Swap Meet, Detroit Lakes, Minn., in front of Zorbaz on Big Detroit Lake. Registration from 8 to 11 a.m., 20 trophy classes. Info: Wayne Schlauderaff, (218) 849-3069; www.ultradl.org .
Feb. 15: 17th annual Fish Lake Classic Snowmobile Challenge, Eagle Nest Resort on Fish Lake near Duluth. Ride begins at noon at Eagle Nest Resort, and round trip is about 20 miles. Info: Tammy at Blue Max Resort, (218) 721-4255.
Feb. 16: Archie’s Old Time Ride, 1 p.m., Menahga, Minn. Info: Steve, (218) 544-0083.
Feb. 22: Fourth annual Vintage Snowmobile Show and Ride, Legion Recreation Center, Halstad, Minn. Registration from 9 to 11 a.m., with show and display from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and trophy presentation at 11:30 a.m. Ride from Halstad to Hendrum, Minn., and back begins at noon, and there will be a midpoint bonfire with hot dogs and refreshments served; 1982 sleds and older; registration fee $5 per sled. Info: Jay DeLong (701) 430-9515 or Jeff Kolnes, (218) 790-3730.
March 1: Eighth annual Warren, Minn., SnoDaze vintage sled display and run. Sled registration will begin at 10 a.m. in front of Mick’s Bar and Grill, and judging will take place at noon. Registration for the vintage sled run begins at noon, and snowmobiles will leave Mick’s Bar and Grill at 1 p.m. for the Lightning Bar in Alvarado, Minn., leave the Lightning Bar at 2 p.m. for ride to Johnny Bravo’s in Oslo, Minn., and then travel back to Warren. Door prizes will be drawn after the ride at Mick’s Bar and Grill. Info: Daryl Olson, (218) 201-1248.
