Snowmobile Show season is coming to an end in North America just as Winter is nicely beginning to introduce itself (a light dusting of snow is on the ground outside my window as I write this).
For as long as I can remember, hitting the closest autumn snow show was central to the yearly snowmobile experience. It was THE place to grab trail maps, brochures of cabins and resorts that catered to sledders, as well as catalogs from every company doing business in the sport.
Way back in the olden days, pre-Interwebz, snow shows were pretty much the only way to see and digest a wide array of info about snowmobiling. As such, it fueled the anticipation for the upcoming riding season in a way that seems quaint by today’s standards, what with the instantaneous access to every video, picture and informational tidbits that are just a few clicks and taps away.
Recently I ran across a few photos of one of the early first-ever Wisconsin Snowmobile Show while perusing some of the historical artifacts at the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wis.
As the poster shows, the first show was held at the Brown County Arena in Green Bay in October of 1969, it offered sledders (and those who aspired to be) a chance to see and touch the 1970 model lines of a bunch of brands. Judging from the black and white photos of the subsequent 1972 show, A LOT of people showed up those early years. And many were decked out NOT in neon FXR onsies, but rather in the same suits and dresses they wore to Sunday church service.
It was a different time for sure, but I gotta believe those men, women and children got the exact same charge out of seeing all that sled candy that we do now when cruising social media, Webz and magazines (not to mention the many snow shows and events that still exist today).
Enjoy the pix. If you want to see larger images, right-click and save the pix (I sized them larger than most of the images I host on the servers).
Thanks for reading.
