Dutch Trail Cutters Snowmobile Club
Snowmobile clubs come in many different shapes and sizes. Some organizations have hundreds or even thousands of members, others have far fewer. Some are solely focused on their trail networks, while others are extremely involved in their local communities on many different levels.
Most clubs consider overseeing local trails as their primary reason for existence, but not all clubs. Instead, some clubs are primarily focused on the social aspect of snowmobiling as well as contributing to the sport through other means.
In that way, the Dutch Trail Cutters out of Pennsylvania isn’t like most clubs that we focus upon in this regular feature. But while the club may not own grooming equipment, it supports the sport in other ways while also serving its members with a very unique benefit.
Learn more by seeing the answers to our questions that were provided by club member Henry Hartman. To have your club considered for exposure in the magazine, fill out our information form here.
What’s the best in-season club event or activity that makes membership fun?
“Riding from our clubhouse in central Pennsylvania, near Bald Eagle and Rothrock state forests. There are several hundred miles of trails accessible from the clubhouse property, which is five acres in size. The club also holds an annual Christmas party, which is enjoyable for all ages and includes a meal.”
What is your club’s best off-season event or activity?
“In the spring and fall we hold a ham-and-cheese sandwich sale. The club typically takes orders for 600 to 750 sandwiches. This provides a profit of $1,100 to $1,500, and we usually donate much of that money to needy organizations. This includes other snowmobile clubs, fire companies, charitable groups, etc. This spring we gave a donation to the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame. Also, each June we hold a picnic that goes along with our annual meeting where officers and directors are elected.”
What’s your club’s best means for finding new members in recent years?
“The fact that we have our clubhouse, located roughly 70-110 miles from most of the members’ homes. It is available for members to use year-round, and sleeps up to 50 people. The full kitchen features two ranges with ovens, two refrigerators, two microwaves and other amenities. The ‘cabin’ has three half baths, two showers and a whole-house fan for summer cooling and an oil-fired forced hot air heating system for winter. Most prospective or new members are impressed with the clubhouse and everything it offers.”
How do you make new members or prospective new members feel welcomed in your club?
“Our club meets every month, all year, with refreshments at each meeting. Prospective members are introduced and greeted by all the current members attending a meeting.”
Aside from safety training, what else does your club do to get youth involved?
“We encourage family involvement, and our memberships are for families. The clubhouse has many recreational opportunities for younger folks within walking or driving distances. And we do sponsor an annual snowmobile safety training course for youth and adults.”
One interesting thing that our club does for the good of the sport and the community is…
“The Dutch Trail Cutters SMC is what’s called a ‘100 percent PSSA Club.’ Every member is automatically a member of the Pennsylvania State Snowmobile Association. There are very few 100 percent clubs in our state, but we have been such since 1972.”
Overall, the thing that makes our club great is…
“Our members make the club great! We have people with all sorts of talents, which is extremely handy with maintenance of the clubhouse. We have plumbers, electricians, carpenters, equipment operators, sewing specialists and, of course, fantastic cooks! We conduct our monthly meetings in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Clubhouse is located near Milroy, Pennsylvania, in Mifflin County.”
