Here are some notes to get your snowmobiling weekend kicked off:
Legend Honored With Snowmobiling Procession
A legend in Wisconsin Northwoods snowmobiling has died, and this morning he will be ushered into the next life with a procession that will truly honor his passions.
Friday morning, a procession of snowmobiles will leave the Tomahawk Sports Center in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, at 10 a.m., weave through the town where dealership founder and owner Dick Calhoun served his community in so many ways, and will end at the church where his funeral service will be held. More than 100 snowmobiles are expected.
Calhoun, 80, died Monday after a battle with cancer.
After riding his first snowmobile in 1965, Calhoun became hooked. By 1966, he was in the dealership business, starting Tomahawk Sports Center, a Ski-Doo dealership, and his passion for the sport of snowmobiling was strong and constant for the past 44 years. He started snowmobile clubs, was very involved in and promoted trail development, was named the Dealer Of The Year by local, state, national and international organizations and was named a Most Valuable Snowmobiler by Snowmobile Magazine in 1998.
“He is one of the most avid snowmobilers I’ve ever known, he really was,” said longtime friend Dick Decker of the Derby Track and Decker Sno Venture Tours in Eagle River, Wisconsin. “He was always up for a ride, and he was very involved.”
Calhoun was also involved in various other community organizations – from the local American Legion and Lions Club to the Chamber of Commerce.
The dealership, which also carries Can-Am and Honda ATVs and motorcycles, Sea-Doo personal watercraft, Sanpan, Sweewater, Alumacraft, Manitou, Godfrey and AquaPatio boats and other boat and powersports products, was also at the center of Calhoun’s life. It’s open seven days a week, and through the years it seems Dick was always there.
“He lived in that business, he went down every day he could get up, even when he was going through the chemotherapy – that business was his passion,” Decker said.
Oval Races, In Iowa
The Oval Racers Alliance (ORA) season kicks off this weekend in Iowa for the now annual Rock Rapids event hosted by the Lyon County Sno-Lyons. There will be vintage classes, modern classes and even the high-end Champ 440 class.
Its but one of several races this weekend, which will wrap up December racing in most areas, as circuits take the following two weekends off for Christmas and New Year’s weekends.
More Trails Opening
Snow continues to fill is in various areas across the country, and more states are opening their trails, as extended hunting seasons wrap up in some areas.
Do you have plans to go out riding? If so, remember to bring your camera so you can take some images and submit them for our What’s Hot What’s Not department in Snow Goer magazine. The best images in our Spring issue can win prizes from HMK!
Don’t Loan Your Sled To A Short Actor
Comedic actor Ben Still entertained the crowd on the Jimmy Fallon show recently with a tale of him wrecking one of fellow actor Tom Cruise’s snowmobiles.
According to Stiller, Cruise allowed Stiller to use his Colorado vacation home last winter over the holiday season. Still repaid Cruise by ghost riding one of Cruises snowmobiles off the side of a mountain!
There’s a full account of the situation here.
