Snowmobile Pioneer Cut A Fast Trail for the Sport

In 1950, his business now rechristened Polaris Industries, Mr. Hetteen set up a snowmobile production line. To generate publicity and spark sales, he undertook a 1,200 mile snowmobile voyage across the Alaskan wilderness. Mr. Hetteen and 3 others, including his wife, Bessie set off from Bethel, Alaska with 3 Sno-/Traveler snowmobiles towing toboggans loaded with gas and supplies. They traveled 3 weeks over snow, struggling to go even 10 mph and making emergency repairs on the fly. When they reached their destination the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner put them on the front page. Mr. Hetteen received less applause when he returned home, where his absence had soured relations with the Polaris board of directors. He left the company in a huff, returned to Alaska and briefly worked as a bush pilot. Later, he moved to Thief River, MN to found Arctic Enterprises, manufacturer of Arctic Cat snowmobiles. Although he sought at first to supply workers like linemen and trappers, most people used them for fun. By the end of the 1960's, there was an estimated two million snowmobiles in use in a market that hadn't existed a decade before. Dozens of companies jumped in to supply the growing market, but by the early 1900's a combination of high interest rates plus a couple of snowless winters caused an industry shakeout; Arctic Enterprises filed for bankruptcy protection. It has since been reconstituted under new management and remains one of 4 major manufacturers. Mr. Hetteen then leveraged his experience with snowmobiles in business success by founding ASV, Inc, a Grand Rapids, MN manufacturer of tracked vehicles that can operate on muddy or snowy terrain. One of these, the Posi-Track, has been used by the U.S. Armed Forces to clear minefields. When he retired in 2005, annual sales had grown to $161 million. In 2000, Mr. Hetteen retraced his Alaskan journey using the most modern Polaris snowmobiles. This time the trip took 8 days. What I saw was the people taking their children to school on the snowmobile, bigger children driving their own machines, and machines going down the river hauling supplies, Mr. Hetteen told the Associated Press. There was less work, more production per hour. That was a highly gratifying thing for me. Written by Stephen Miller

Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum News Release-2023 On September 22, 2023 the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC) in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced it would be generously awarding the Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum in Naubinway an $8750 grant for operational support during 2024. MACC uses a peer review process to award grants. More than 700 organizations across the state applied for funding. Each grant application is competitively judged; awardees are chosen to ensure Michigan residents and visitors have access to the most authentic aspects of local arts and culture. Organizations receiving a grant award from MACC/NEA are required to match those funds with other public or private dollars. The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum receives a great deal of donated monetary support through its memberships and visitors and plans to use these funds to match the MACC grant award. There are 141 active museum members not including lifetime members and more than 7000 visitors just last year.

The museum has plans to bring more local art-related activities to our conference room and develop a program for groups with special needs. This support will go toward the cost of wages and advertising for these activities. On Sept 20, 2019, The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum was awarded a grant of $12,500 for Operational Support from the State of Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA – ART WORKS). The grant was awarded through the MCACA peer review process and was one of 561 applications to compete for MCACA fiscal year 2019 funding. The grant requires a 1:1 match and helped the museum leverage the $12,500 of support from its annual income and the many donations from supporters. In particular the museum has received grants from the Graymont Community Economic Development Fund and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. It has also received significant donations from the Antique Snowmobile Club of America, The Midwest Vintage Snowmobile Shows, Inc., many snowmobile clubs, several recreational and snowmobile shows, the museum’s internal $1,000.00 Challenge, and many museum members. The grant funds will be applied to museum operating costs. Applicable costs include internal operations, marketing, travel to shows within the State of Michigan and cost of employees. The MCACA peer review process allows for each grant applicant to be competitively considered by a panel of in-state and out-of-state arts and culture professionals. This ensures the taxpayers, who support this project through legislative appropriations, and all other visitors or residents in Michigan will have access to the highest quality arts and cultural experiences. A complete list of grant awards around the state is available by contacting MCACA at (517) 241-4011, or by visiting the MCACA website at www.michigan.gov/arts