Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 6454 | Snowmobile VERMONT It all started in the late 1960s. A group of local people from Derby had found a pastime that they loved so much. With the introduction of snowmobiles into the Derby area through the local dealership, Walt’s Sales and Service, the sport was growing and enthusiastic snowmobilers were looking for places to ride. A local businessman, Carl Hackett, purchased a late ‘60s Ski-Doo Alpine and took it upon himself to build a homemade drag. Carl recalls using the Alpine to groom a 4-foot wide trail from Derby to Holland, and turning around in what is now the State of Vermont Bill Sladyk Wildlife Refuge. “It would take us all day to get to the Ben Cole clearing,” he said. “We would turn around and head back home and get ready to go back out with ladies the next day. We wanted to make sure the trails were smooth for them, or they wouldn’t go out again.” The following day, the group would ride out to the Ben Cole clearing, have lunch and then return before dark. This was a 30 mile loop that nowadays takes less than an hour. The Ben Cole clearing still exists to this day, less than a mile from where we meet the Northeast Kingdom Snow Blasters in Norton. Carl Hackett, along with Rod Barrup, another founding member, ended up purchasing a Bombardier B-12 Snow-Bus that would also groom the trails. The excitement of snowmobiling continued to grow as more people traveled throughout the private lands of the northern part of Orleans county. The need for an established marked trail system to prevent renegade snowmobiling was realized and the group got to work. In 1971, a small group of snowmobiling businessmen from the area got together at Paul’s Sugarhouse in Derby and started one of the first snowmobile clubs in the county: Drift Dusters Snowmobile Club. The group of founding members included Wayne Flynn, John Price, Rodney Barrup, Walter Jenness, Carl Hackett, Joe Lippens, Robert Taplin, Russell Sykes, and Armand Pepin. Drift Dusters are also proud to have had one of their founding members, Wayne Flynn, serve as the first president of VAST. DRIFT DUSTERS SNOWMOBILE CLUB Snowmobiling RedeFIned By Roger Gosselin