8306-R2_MSA_March2023

MSA Club News

are officially on the map! Seriously, just Goo gle us! Here’s hoping March brings us cold nights to freeze things up, fresh snow to groom and sunny skies to brighten our days! Lets’ Ride! As always, ride right, ride safe and remem ber, it’s all about the Smileage! Laurie Plourde, President, Ebeemee Snow mobile Club EAST BRANCH SNO-ROVERS AND ATV CLUB Medway & East Millinocket, ME We were very pleased and honored to wel come the Bridgton Easy Riders to their annual visit to our Country Music Jam and Dinner. It’s become a happy tradition. Our groomer operators have been very busy grooming. When one volunteer returns another volunteer takes over to do another trail. They have kept two machines busy. Thank you for keeping the trails smooth. We’re still looking forward to Kid’s Day on February 25. We have a porta potty available at the lower level of the clubhouse. We once again stress the importance of stay ing on marked trails. Landowners deserve our respect and our gratitude. Without their gift of land access, we have no trails. Nancy Deschene ndesc@myfairpoint.net We are very sad to report that we lost a val ued club member when Allen Brown passed away on February 8. All of us at SVSC send our deepest condolences to Allen’s family and especially his wife, Elaine. Allen’s absence will be a huge loss to SVSC. He was a found ing member of the club and dutifully served in many capacities for 55 years. He was president and vice president, probably more than once, and was most recently serving as a director. Throughout his years of service, he probably performed every task that needed doing – from grooming to clubhouse repairs to serving food at a dinner - he was always there, never afraid of the hard work. Allen was a key member involved in getting SVSC off the ground and founded in 1968 – one of the first snowmo bile clubs in Maine. He was there toiling and building the clubhouse from the ground up. He was key to not only getting the club going, but also important in the growth of snowmo biling in Maine. He has been part of the back bone of SVSC for 55 years and was responsi ble for its growth and survival over the years. We will miss his leadership. He taught us much in those 55 years. We can’t thank Allen enough for all he did. His wife, Elaine, has been right there with him through it all, also working tirelessly for the good of the club and serving in whatever capacity was needed. I’m pretty sure they both attended every snowmo bile club trip that was held in the last 55 years. We recently gave them an award for perfect attendance. While we are sad at Allen’s pass ing, we can take some comfort in knowing that he’s up there with Bob Creighton and Charlie Merrill and there are some wild tales being told of all their adventures, misadventures and capers. They managed to put together and pull off some of the biggest snowmobiling events in the state. They had big dreams, big hearts, and the perseverance to make it happen. We were lucky to have them in our corner. Submitted by: Lisa Sawyer SVSC Secretary SEBASTICOOK VALLEY sc Newport, Etna, Stetson, ME Snowmobile clubs do so much more for the community than just groom trails for snow mobilers. They are a great asset and occasion ally it is appreciated when this is noticed. The following communication was sent by the Wilderness Sled Dog Association, Inc. of Greenville to the Town Manager and Select Board and appeared in the Piscataquis Observer on February 15th. “We believe a degree of praise and recog nition is in order for the deeds of Jon Gray as MOOSEHEAD RIDERS sc Greenville, ME Find us on Facebook

President of the Moosehead Riders Snowmo bile Club and his team of groomers. The Annual Wilderness Sled Dog Race is held the first Saturday in February and draws hundreds of spectators and participants from New England and eastern Canada. Most of the businesses and many residents have made sig nificant contributions of time, merchandise, cash, or many hours as volunteers to make this event a success. It’s a big deal in Greenville. Two weeks before the event our course was in shambles. Large moguls, wet spots, downed trees, and ice made the course unusable. The weather was too warm, not enough snow and then too cold. Repairs were beyond the abil ity of the race committee volunteers. It came down to “decision time” to call off the event. At that time Jon said “don’t worry somehow we will deliver the conditions you need for the race.” And sure enough, after many hours, day and night with the groomers they deliv ered an absolutely great 35-mile established track from Leisure Life Village to the Hedge hog Gate House and back. A remarkable transformation! Mushers and volunteers were so excited with the great track conditions they have vowed to return and bring other members of their racing clubs next year. We are on the map and the word has spread that Greenville is THE destination for a first-rate wilderness sled dog race in this part of the country.” Bob Ludwig, MRSC Secretary raludwig184@gmail.com After losing our trail sled to fire we now have a replacement Expedition. We started grooming with it this past week. The current bout of cold weather has set up the trails nicely and riding is great. We got about 5” in this last storm. Less than we would have liked but will take it. We are grooming the By Pass Trail nightly and the Clouse Allen/Maheaux Loop weekly. As always, ride responsibly! Rhonda Arey COASTAL REGION By the time you read this, Southern Maine “Costal Group” will be on the edge of “Mud-Season”. All that time and effort that a very small group of SVSD volunteers spent to operate, manage and prepare snowmobile trails will be coming to an end. It truly was a challenge for SVSD to incorporate the Hiram Hillclimbers trails into our charter at such a late date in the year, only to be able to start grooming snowmobile trails late in January. But with great determination we did it! The following SVSD Club members were advantageous in their accomplishments throughout the 2022/2023 snowmobile club season. Scott & Stacey Day, Steve & Candy Barton, Jenilee & Philip Barsanti and Sons, Jack Wadsworth, John Lambert, Richard Brunault, Edward LeBorgne, Josh Mudgett, Alan Simpson and several others that joined us for work groups along with 34 SVSD Fam ily & 15 Business Memberships. With the greatest appreciation SVSD thanks’ each and every one of you... John Lambert SVSD - Club Reporter SACOPEE VALLEY SNOW DRIFTERS Parsonsfield, ME Hello from sunny Saco, Maine. Well, Mother Nature didn’t take a liking to Southern Maine for snowfall again this year. We only managed a handful of days where our trails were open. Unfortunately, it seems to be the trend down in this part of the state. I have to hand it to all our trail volunteers though. They show up every Sunday from September through December and beyond to do what it takes to keep our 40 miles of trails cleared and ready to go if and when we get that huge dumping of snow. The club held its first ever benefit raffle/ SHIRLEY BOG TRAIL BUSTERS INC. Shirley, ME SACO PATHFINDERS sc Saco, ME Find us on Facebook

silent auction. We got lots of great items and services from local businesses. While a lot of members met with local businesses to get items, it was Michelle Poggioli who was the driving force behind the whole event. Michelle and her soon-to-be hubby, Dana Ouellette, worked their tails off to put every thing together and it was a huge success. We’re already looking forward to a similar event next year. Several of our members spent five days rid ing the Caribou area recently. We heard the traffic was a bit heavy up there since north ern Maine is about the only place with good snow in the entire northeast. Even with the big crowds, the riding in the Caribou region is second to none in the eastern US. In closing, it is with a heavy heart we had to say good bye to a long-time club member, Johnny Graffam, who passed away in late February. Johnny was around the club longer than most members and was always one of the first to ride into the club after a snowstorm. He would come in from the Buxton area with a trail report so we knew what needed attention in those areas. Johnny was also instrumental in the Lawn Mower and Go Kart racing we have every summer at the club. Rest easy Johnny and thank you for everything you have done for the Pathfinders. You’ll be missed. Cheers Doug Doherty, President Very happy to report we have been able to do a few weeks of decent riding here in Alna and Wiscasset. The weather certainly has been a challenge, perfect trails to washouts to record cold to record warmth all within a few days. The groomers were out in full force during it all and the trails showed. Good job to all the help and the challenges they faced. One Mile was busy for a while as our unoffi cial Club House, a great place to meet, have a bite and exchange stories. Let’s hope we can get a few more rides in before Spring arrives. Our Pot Luck Meeting was a good gather ing of 15 members and 2 dogs! We even had Sawyer arrive via sled right up to the front door! Trails and bridges were discussed and members voted to proceed with a large bridge project on the Abbots land to cross Trout Brook and not have to worry about safe ice conditions. Look for a picture of the revamp to a bridge club members worked on by the rail road and Albee Farm, a fun little project with a stop at Cubby Hole for lunch. ALNA sc Alna, ME Hello all fellow Riders and Readers,

fied groomer Dan Thayer. He has been doing a great job keeping the trails in top notch shape. The club also came in first place for the coastal region for the Super Raffle so it’s good to see people out there spreading the winter cheer. Hope everyone has been having a great season and staying busy. The groundhog thinks we are going to have an extended winter this year, so everyone make sure to get some late sea son riding in and until next year friends think outside! Errr snow! Snow outside. The snow’s better outside. Better outside with the snow. I have to take some time this summer to work up a better catch phrase. -Steve Givens Like us on Facebook or message us at sebagobranchduckers@gmail.com. Hello everyone, I hope people have been able to get on the trails and enjoy the outdoors! The club has groomed 90% of the trails at least once. We’ve been dodging waterholes and various wash outs through the trail system. The recent warm weather has degraded the trails significantly. But, knowing the Maine weather we shouldn’t give up on the season yet! SEBAGO BRANCH DUCKERS Sebago, ME

We had an opportunity to use our new club sled several times. The Titan was a great investment and hope to get many more years of use.

The club held a ‘Dogs with the Duckers’ event on February 11 and 12 at the club’s warming hut. Thank you to the people who came out to visit and have a dog with us and especially to all the volunteers who made this possible! Be safe on the trails, Jim LaPointe

Both Jay and Sonya appear to be recovering very well from recent heart surgery. Both are board members and do lots for our small club. April year end BBQ plans are still in the works. We only have a few meetings left so see everyone soon at our next meeting. First Thursday of each month at the Alna Fire House. Club Reporter Joel Verney

SOUTHERN MAINE SNO-GOERS Sanford, ME

Greetings from Southern Maine! The club has been busy this year. Despite the constant erratic weather in the southern part of the state we did get some good trail riding in. Congrat ulations and thanks to the club’s newest certi

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