In October 1968, a group of Grand Forks-area snowmobilers decided to organize a club for like-minded enthusiasts, and the Red River Snowmobile Club was born.
Snowmobiling has experienced its share of highs and lows since that early meeting-including winters with lack of snow and an industry that went from more than 100 manufacturers in the 1960s to four main brands today-but through it all, the Red River Snowmobile Club persevered.
And now, it's time to celebrate.
Friday, May 3, the Red River Snowmobile Club will mark its 50th anniversary with a party at Muddy Rivers, 710 First Ave. N., Grand Forks. The festivities will get underway at 6:30 p.m., and the evening's agenda includes a meal and entertainment by comic/ventriloquist Kevin Horner.
You can bet there'll be plenty of stories, as well.
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"We're trying to invite a lot of people, the old members and presidents and some of the people from the Minnesota state organization and North Dakota state organization," said Steve Magnuson, president of the Red River Snowmobile Club. "We'll have some pictures and just visit and tell some stories."
The Red River Snowmobile Club was an East Grand Forks club back in those early days, Magnuson said, but eventually became a club for Grand Forks, as well, after a local club called the Prairie Ramblers disbanded.
"I don't know what year, but they disbanded so we kind of became the club for both cities," Magnuson said.
Over the years, club members have worked on trails and conducted snowmobile safety training classes, in addition to club rides to snowmobiling destinations around the region.
"They probably trained-we were going to call the DNR in Minnesota to see-at least 2,000 students and probably more than that," Magnuson said.
Also on the agenda for the 50th anniversary party is a showing of "Winter Safari," a 30-minute TV program filmed in 1972, which featured club trips to destinations near Detroit Lakes and Park Rapids, Minn.
"That was kind of a big deal for them" at the time, Magnuson said.
As trail systems developed throughout the region, giving snowmobilers a place to ride in a more controlled environment with signage and groomed surfaces, the club became involved in signing and maintaining trails, Magnuson said.
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The development of trail systems alleviated many of the problems that developed from snowmobilers riding where shouldn't and reduced the risk of hitting hazards hidden under the snow, Magnuson said.
The club still maintains the trails to Crookston, Magnuson says, and trails within Grand Forks and East Grand Forks city limits in years the trails are available.
"That's one of the big reasons it was put in was safety," Magnuson said of trail systems. "If you're on a trail, you're not going to have a post under the ground you're going to hit."
Like local organizations throughout the country, the Red River Snowmobile Club isn't what it once was, said Magnuson, who's been a member since 1989.
"There's probably 30 families," he said. "I looked back at some of the minutes of the early years. The first year, within about a month, they had 80 members."
The lack of snowfall, especially during recent winters-this past one excluded, obviously-likely played roles in the downtrend.
"We bought our own groomer in 2001, and I think the first two years we had it, we never groomed," Magnuson said. "There was no snow, and in the 2000s, it seems like either there's been no snow or lots of snow."
The price of snowmobiles also is a factor.
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"Back in the '60s, you could buy a snowmobile for probably $699, and a lot of families had multiple snowmobiles," Magnuson said. "If you buy carryovers, you can still buy one for maybe $6,500 but people always look at the higher-priced ones, the $15,000 to $18,000 ones."
On the upside, the snowmobiles of today are considerably more sophisticated than the early machines, which were rough riding and prone to breakdowns. Time was, Magnuson says, when riding from Grand Forks to Crookston and back was quite a trip.
"Seems to me I remember the club went to Crookston, there was a place called Vikingland Chalet east of Crookston by the Red Lake River, and then a bunch of people took off with pickups or cars with trailers behind and picked up the ones that didn't make it," he said. "It was, leave in the morning and come back late at night. Now, you can go to Crookston and back if the trail is groomed nice in probably 35 or 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back."
• On the Web:
www.facebook.com/redriversnowmobileclub .
