The Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-03-13, Page 11Ti
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THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 197 5."
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SECOND SE,C VON
Sno wm�biI� trail
windtowar
The first order of the day was to register the pledges and go route was not clearly marked and had to be explained ,at the
over the course with one of the Foresters. The hastily planned beginning.'(staff-photo)
Thesmellsmell of exhaust fumes,
the sound or laughter and the
clinking of coins were all
evident on Sunday at the
• Benmiller Foresters' Lodge in
Benmiller. The. sights . and
sounds were all part, of a
snowmobile marathon spon-
sored by the lodge.
The marathon, the first in
what the Foresters hope is an
annual event, was organized to
, raise funds for the Canadian
Cancer 'Society , and the Ben -
miller ballpark. The lodgemen
hope to split the proceeds
evenly between the,two causes.
Over 100 snowmobilers took
part in the all daysventure that
included a winter barbecue and
.a steaming plate of baked
• beans prepared by the lodge
• ladies. The participants
gathered at. the Forester lodge
to ' hand in their pledges,
familiarize themselves with the
50 mile course and ' warm up
their machines.
The course was mapped out
bythe lodge . members who
were named _ to a special
committee to promote 'the
marathon. The 'snowmobilers
- left the " Foresters' -`11111-Z'
travelling cross country to the
second side road north of
- -Dungannon; .-gro n--there-the-y -
went east anti' then „south
service
}
•
'b4
corning back rto the Maitland
River. They followed the river
to Beraxniller, travelled across
the Falls Reserve Conservation
park and finished back at the
lodge. ti
The Foresters suffered a few
minor setbacks during the
course of. the day, the first
coming at reg,straion time on
Sunday morning. They ex-
* pected from 25 to 50 machines
be_ entered it the50 miler but
the winter sport enthusiasts
kept coming' and coming until
at noon 103 machines had en-
tered and were off and running.
"We figured maybe the spirit
that makes these people want
to be involved with things like
this is the same as the, :one
people had when the car was
first invented," said committee
member Eric Moore.,"They all
have a strong sense of ad-
venture like automobile owners
had in the early 1900's.
. The unexpected response
from the area snowmobilers
caught the 'organizers by
surprise but they ''managed to
get matters under control and
started sending .machines on
.1 .4.
The masked marvel considered remaining unidentified for
the marathon but registered as Maxine Seers with pledges
for 42 cents per mile before removing her face warmer.
(staff -photo)
•
A d
u
their way in.groups of eight andei#
ten. The move to restrict the
number of snowmobiles
travelling together was a safety
• factor with hi ch the Foresters
were -concerned. By keeping
the number of machines.
travelling together, small they
• 'felt,ttmt" the danger of accidents
with motori,cts or each of i "r1111111114111 ,
4
would' he reduced'' \ t one point
early in the day Mn,'. Moore
estimated there were about 50
1.coviriiYttea-(itt paw, 4A f
a
Fifty miles in the bush on a snowmobile can work up a fellow's apit,�eetite but a cup of hot coffee, a
plate of beans and a barbecued steak will take care of that problefh in a hurry.' Albert Durst, '
Jim Hawkins and Bill Brown relax after their,run while waiting for their steaks to cook. (staff -
photo,) ,