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My History
 
 This is the unaltered history of the Chippewa Snow Chasers. It was written by Jay Wright, Pat Wright and myself. It's the original history. Not the cut version seen elsewhere on the internet.

Original Chippewa Snow Chasers History
 
 At the close of the 1999-2000 snowmobile season, an existing organization announced that they would no longer be grooming 81 miles of trails in the Strongs, Trout Lake, and Hulbert area. A large gap in the groomed snowmobile trail system in the Eastern Upper Peninsula loomed before snowmobiler's and businesses that depended on the snowmobiler's in the winter. A small group consisting of Dale Brelsford, Mieke Brelsford, Ed Carlson, Gwen Carlson, Ric Curnow, Bev Curnow, and Biskit met and began to explore options.
 
 In April of 2000 the preceding group along with other interested snowmobiler's and business owners met and the first meeting of an organization, which would later become the Chippewa Snow Chasers, was held. The prospects were daunting; how could this small group form a snowmobile club, raise the necessary funds to purchase grooming equipment, round up local and area wide support and be ready to groom 81 miles of trails in only eight months. Throughout the summer of 2000 as the small group grew larger and they held fundraisers, (pie sales, yard sales, pig roasts and spaghetti dinners) generating not only some money but also community and statewide enthusiasm. A local bank took notice, but unfortunately the group had been unable to generate enough down payment money for the bank to finance the desperately needed groomers. During those dark days, the Chippewa Snow Chasers never gave up. Our ultimate goal was to have grooming equipment in place and be ready to groom the trails when the snowmobile trails opened on December 1, 2000. We met with the Michigan Snowmobile Association (MSA), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and local businesses, brainstorming ways to meet our goal. Everyone we talked with knew our small group was serious but could the December deadline be met? The alternative was 81 miles of moguls for any snowmobiler visiting the middle of the Eastern Upper Peninsula.
 
 During those dark days, several local residents demonstrated their faith in the Chippewa Snow Chasers by putting their own money on the line. Several individuals and business owners signed personal notes so that the Snow Chasers could meet the bank’s down payment requirements. By October of 2000 the Snow Chasers were able to obtain financing for two used LMC groomers and the machines were transported to Strongs to await the first snowflakes of winter. We now had the necessary machinery and enthusiasm, but another problem loomed on the horizon. How do we operate these things? Only one member of the group (Ric Curnow) had operated a groomer before and he gave the new operators a crash course in grooming. We were now prepared for grooming, but trail maintenance and care is more than driving groomers. Money had been granted to the former club to develop a new section of trail near Hulbert. So that the money would not be lost to the area, club members carved out a section of new trail leading from M-28 to Hulbert. Bulldozers were pushing out stumps and trees were being cut to make the new section of trail and up to the last minute, signs were being erected so that snowmobilers would have a safe ride in the winter.
 
 Eight months after the first meeting of the small group, that became the Chippewa Snow Chasers, the snow began to fall. The groomers hit the trail and the ride that became the 2000-2001 snowmobile season began and what a ride it was to be!!! Besides being new to the grooming game, the club was out on a financial limb as well. Many times we were wondering how the club was going to pay for the next tank of fuel to keep the groomer on the trail, but everyone pitched in, new members signed up and the groomers kept running down the trail. Sometimes things did not go so smoothly. By January and February our two very used grooming tractors were really starting to show their age and equipment started to break down, always it seemed on Friday night when the large crowds of snowmobilers were due Saturday. Again club members donated their time to drive to Petoskey for parts, and work on the tractors in freezing temperatures to get them back on the trails as soon as possible.
 
 In January of 2001 tragedy struck the Snow Chaser family. Bev Curnow, one of our original founding members, passed away after a short illness. Her husband Ric Curnow, our secretary, was left alone with not only the Snow Chasers to worry about but a business which now demanded more and more of his time. Other Snow Chaser members not only kept the groomers running, but many pulled together to help out one of their own members. The 2000-2001 season was to be one where the snow never stopped coming. It was also to be one where tragedy was to pay another visit to the Snow Chaser family. In February of 2001 our President Dale Brelsford and his wife Mieke lost every- thing they owned to a tragic house fire. A lot of Chippewa Snow Chaser paperwork and some money was also lost in the fire. In spite of personal tragedy and the disruption of their lives due to the fire, Dale and Mieke continued their support and work for the club.
 
 The groomers continued to roll until March 31, 2001 when the snowmobile season officially ended. We paid out over $27,000.00 in repair parts for our groomers with all of the labor for repairs being donated by club members. Many times the person who repaired the groomer in the wind and the cold would be the same one to climb in the cab and drive it all night so that there were smooth trails awaiting snowmobiler's the next morning. Few people outside the club knew of the tragedies and personal sacrifice it took to maintain the trails. Fortunately people did notice the smooth trails. On the internet and message boards the Chippewa Snow Chasers were being mentioned and being praised for the work that had been done.
 
 In our first year the Chippewa Snow Chasers went from the original seven members to well over 400. People had noticed and better yet they were joining as members, largely because of the work that had been done on the trails by some very dedicated and giving people. Since the club had proved itself in one short year, they were the recipients of a grant to purchase a new groomer. The snowmobile trail permit fund administered by the DNR would pay 60%, the club would need to pay 40%. The group chose a big blue New Holland groomer and it was scheduled to arrive the first of December 2001. The Snowchasers now needed to raise the 40% of $98,000 in order to cover the cost of the new groomer. Do the math! That is $39,200.00! Where would the money come from! Of course we would have fund raisers and in our second year we had a yard sale, a pig roast and more importantly a snowmobile raffle. The rest of the money would come from the trail permit fund when we groomed the trails. The club is paid $3.50 per mile to groom the trails. That money not only pays for the fuel and repairs, but also pays for the groomer itself. Since our groomer drivers are all volunteers, we are able to put all of the money earned from grooming in the bank to pay off the loan and pay for fuel and repairs.
 
 Our second grooming season began on December 1, 2001. Unfortunately Mother Nature was not told about the beginning of the snowmobile season. All through December there was no snow and warm weather. By Christmas there was a whopping one inch on the ground in Strongs and the week that usually finds restaurants, hotels and motels full all over the snow belt was a complete bust. An ATV was more appropriate on the trails than a snowmobile. The big blue New Holland sat unused in the parking lot awaiting snow. If the groomer doesn't run, no money is earned, but the payment still needs to be made to the bank at the end of the season. A partial reprieve came after New Years, when snow came to the areas North of Trout Lake. It was possible to do limited grooming, but not all of the trail system had enough snow to support snowmobile activity. By February Mother Nature had been a bit kinder, but waited until the end of the month before really giving the snowmobiler's what they wanted, snow over the entire Eastern U.P.. In spite of all of the setbacks the club pulled together. The sale of our oldest LMC, a well attended poker run and a successful snowmobile raffle have helped the bottom line, but there is still much to do. The highlight of what has otherwise been a dismal year for snowmobiler's is the new Chippewa Snow Chasers web site. Our Vice President Biskit has single handedly put up the site which on some days received 10,000 hits. As you navigate your way through the site, you will find that it is chock full of current information on trail conditions, weather, club activities and general information about snowmobiling. We are being noticed!!! We are the club with the awesome web site that everyone is talking about.
 
 The fall of 2002 represented the start of the third year of Chippewa Snow Chaser operations. An August pig roast kicked off the season for about 250 members and guests at Trout Lake Park. Thanks to the DNR we were able to get a second big blue New Holland tractor and drag to start the season. The old LMC, which had caused us so much grief the initial year, made it through the second season without major breakdowns or repairs, but the new groomer would give us the dependability we needed to keep the trails in top condition. Remember the new groomer was not free! Again the club would need to dig deep and come up with 40% of the $110,000 purchase price. Do the math folks and you will see that the club needed to raise $44,000.00 before we could call it ours. The start up money as well as grooming money would be needed to make the payments, buy fuel and take care of necessary maintenance.
 
 The fall season brought some snow near Whitefish Bay and offered a little teaser for those anxious for the white gold. By December 1 when the trails officially opened, Snow Chaser trails were dry and brown. An ice storm glazed the trails and roads, but still there was no snow anywhere to be found. By Christmas the ice had been covered by an inch of snow, but the groomers were still in the barn. No snow, no grooming money and few snowmobilers in Snow Chaser country. On the web site Jerry reported that we were not grooming because there was no snow to groom. There was snow in Grand Marias, Paradise, and Newberry but nothing South of M-28. Conditions in 2001 were being repeated in 2002, no snow except in a very few areas and thousands of sleds chasing too few snowflakes. Again as January ended, mother nature relented and gave the snowmobilers what they really wanted, lots of snow. Once the dam broke Snowchaser country had good snowmobiling conditions until the weather warmed toward the end of March.
 
 It has often been a tough and a difficult road we have traveled for the past two years but a fantastic group of people have made the Chippewa Snow Chasers what it is today. We not only work hard but we play hard as well. Our club has fun social events and fund raisers scheduled throughout the year and we would love to see our members and our fans at any or all of them. Just bookmark our website and visit us when you can. If you would like to be a part of a great bunch of people and a member of one of the fastest growing clubs in the State visit the "Become a Member" section of our site.