Winter 2018 | 21 and quiet of the woods and I also enjoy making the trails nice for our members. Our members are very active riders and enjoy the trails during the season, so grooming is a key component to the success of each season. We hold several club rides during the season and we want our members and their families to be able to enjoy their time together on the trails.” Club member John Zack will tell you, ”There have been sleds roaming the Deerfield Valley for over 50 years. It was not as sophisticated as we have it now. There were no TMAs to help finance trail cutting or subsequent trail grooming. The trail was created by a few dedicated riders who wanted a trail system. The system was cut by these riders with no money for supplies. When there was a brook to cross, the best we could do was to throw wooden pallets in the stream and depend on snow to ultimately cover the pallets and make the trail navigable. Trails we originally cut were frequently just wide enough for one sled to navigate. We made sure there were occasional wide spots to allow sleds to pass each other. Frequently, one of the sleds had to back up to the spot to facilitate the passing. The limited grooming we had was when one of the club members would hook up a homemade drag to his sled and ride the trail in order to pack the snow to some extent. The bumps were rarely cut flat.” Times have sure changed and grooming has come a long way from the days of pulling a wooden pallet behind a sled, but the idea of making our riding experience great remains the constant focus of the modern-day groomer operator. Folks like Lenny and other volunteers and groomers throughout the state do not do this for fame and fortune. Night after night, until the wee hours, our amazing groomers statewide are a blessing we should all be thankful for. Lenny, we thank you for your time and wonderful efforts of the last seven years and we hope to see you soon on the trails riding your snowmobile and enjoying the day. With several trails in the Jacksonville E-Z Riders trail system being at a width of 7–8 feet, you need to be able to “thread the needle.” Being a groomer operator for the Jacksonville E-Z Riders Snowmobile Club takes not only operator skill, but also precision maneuvering to master their 65 miles of trails, 67 bridges and 68 road crossings. For two of the club’s longtime members and volunteers, the countless hours of grooming, cutting, clearing and many other tasks have made them masters at navigating and grooming the E-Z Riders’ trail system. Sheldon Tobey will tell you, “If you don’t have time, don’t get in it. I spend an average of 8 to 10 hours each time I head out. I like to try and get as much done as possible. If I can finish another section in a few more hours, then that night might just end up being a 12–14 hour shift.” Carl Havreluk is up and out early to his day job as a log hauler during the week. Carl started volunteering his time to the club in 1970 while still in school. He started his grooming career in 1977. It would not be an understatement to say volunteering his time to the club runs in his blood. Decades later, he is still hard at it and is not only handling the endless task of being the club’s trailmaster, but also has been grooming the trail system longer than any current member. Carl handles his club tasks effortlessly and is always available to address landowner needs as well. The club has been maintaining and establishing trails since the late 1960s and started out with their first groomer being a Trac Truck that club members David Briggs and Don Finck provided for the club. It was primarily used for packing and grooming the trails. But in 1977, when Carl started grooming, it was with a double track Ski-Doo. The club built their first drag in 1994 and a New Holland tractor with tracks would be the equipment that would be replaced after ten years with the club’s present day 2010 PistenBully Scout. Sheldon Tobey is self-employed and can be found most days being a master carpenter and equipment operator. In the winter, he is maintaining his plowing customers. Sheldon has been running a groomer in the valley for over 30 years and got his start in the groomer in the mid 1980s at Mount Snow. A true snowmobiler through and through, he can be found most sunny days in the winter riding during the day on the trails he grooms at night. Sheldon very much enjoys riding with family and friends. You will usually find him with a chainsaw strapped on his sled just in case something needs to be handled along the way. Sheldon says, “For me, the one thing that I enjoy is being Jacksonville E-Z Riders Sheldon Tobey & Carl Havreluk By William Thomas Sr. Who’s In The Groomer? Sheldon Tobey