16 | Snowmobile VERMONT Groomer History When we look back at how the modern day snowmobile grooming got its start in America we must thank Emmit Tucker Sr. and Valley Engineering for their insight and ingenuity. Although Emmit found success on the west coast in Oregon, Valley Engineering would find their success on the east coast with their company roots being in Maine. The year was 1942 when Emmit Tucker set out to build his first “Over Snow Machine” in Medford, Oregon. What Emmit Tucker Sr, did not know in 1942 was that 75 years later his granddaughter Maralee would be the CEO of Tucker Sno-Cat® Corporation and that company would hold the title of being the first in America to produce a groomer model 2000 priced at $25–30,000 and designed for grooming snowmobile trails. They are still a popular choice in snowmobile trail groomers built right here in the good old USA 75 years later. Many others along the way got into the game. Even John DeLorean, the car manufacturer, held ownership in one of the original four manufacturers, Thiokol and LMC vehicle. The four popular brands in the beginning were, Tucker (USA), Kassbohrer/PistenBully (Germany), Thiokol (USA) and Bombardier (Canada). In looking back, both Tucker and PistenBully have deep roots in the evolution of snowmobile grooming in Vermont and New England. In the 1960s, a small farm implement company named Oliver Stores in New Gloucester, Maine would become a driving force to the modern-day groomer as we know it. Fast forward to 1970 and the groomer was starting to gain popularity with sales throughout the country for the use on ski hills. Oliver Stores’ presidents, Otto Wallingford and Don Waterman, recognized the need to condition hard, icy snow and used their experience in farm implements to this end when they founded Valley Engineering. Located in Gray, Maine, Valley Engineering manufactured blades and other attachments for the groomer. In 1974, Valley Engineering introduced the first trail grader. With a 6-foot by 12-foot footprint, it would be the start of developing implements suited specifically for grooming snowmobile trails. PistenBully, looking to break into the US market, was smart to acquire Valley Engineering, furthering the development of the pull-behind drag, snow making equipment and other attachments. When Emmit Junior took over Tucker Sno-Cat in the early 1970s, the company went to the next level of its 75-year history. In 1974, Tucker made available the Model 1542 at a cost of about $25,000. This four-track machine was the start to a long line of equipment that has put smiles on our faces for years when coming upon a freshly groomed snowmobile trail. On the other side of the Atlantic in southern Germany, Kassbohrer was hard at work also developing its first grooming vehicle. They called it a PistenBully and released it in 1969. After building a prototype in 1968 of the first ever diesel hydrostatic groomer, the model PB 145 D would be the start of PistenBully sales and marketing. Priced in the $30–40,000 range, it found success in its first 10 years on ski hills. Soon, snowmobilers would want the same. Now, two driving forces were in the game with others competing for business in an expanding international market. PistenBully was now becoming a player in the market and needed to expand it sales and marketing to North America. Acquiring Valley Engineering in 1979 was a perfect fit to bring PistenBully into North America and also expand the development of drags and attachments needed for Who’s In The Groomer? By William Thomas Sr. (William Thomas Sr. photo)