b'VAST NewsSHREWSBURY SNO-BIRDS CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARYBy Roy ArthurThe Shrewsbury Sno-Birds are celebrating our 50th year as a club. The official beginning started on March 31, 1971 when three Shrewsbury residents got a group of interested friends together to talk. Sitting at the Cuttingsville Fire House they decided it was time to formalize a club. Over the summer, they met and decided on what their bylaws would be. On October 21, 1971 they proudly filed their bylaws with the State of Vermont, and the Sno-Birds were official. The founding officers were: Louis Carrara as President, Mike Carrara as Vice President, and Patricia Michaud as Secretary-Treasurer. Their five goals were, and still are:1.To promote and encourage betterCurrent club president, Mike Stewart, shakes the hand of the past longtime president, Rick relationships between snowmobilersLees. Scott Ryan, Scott Ballard, Dave Fucci, Mike Gabriele and Ray Duquette are seated and landowners. clockwise. 2.To promote and encourage the preservation and protection of our natural environment.3.To educate Snowmobilers , young and old, in safe and proper Snowmobile practices.4.To develop snowmobile facilities and provide information regarding such facilities.5.To represent snowmobilers and landowners in matters concerning their common interests.In our early days the Vermont Achievement Center in Rutland became a yearly special interest ofThe clubs first groomer Stone House on the CCC Road.our club. The VAC supports children and teens with special needs. They needed a van to take kids on outings so we helped with that. There were1998. We groomed with the LMC rightthat we still live up to today.ride-ins for decades and a booth at theup to 2010 when we purchased a 2006The Sno-Birds maintain over 30 GPS Vermont State Fair to support theirTucker 2000 Terra. That is the unit thatmiles of trails that is mostly in the Mitchell Therapy Pool which the Sno- we are using todayhigher elevations which usually means Birds, along with the other 17 countyOur biggest trail improvement wasthat we have snow enough to ride. We clubs, worked very hard at. We hostedin 2010 when we finally got 4&7 tohave 2 historic shelters on our trails. the VAC Ride-in 4 years and alwaysconnect with very little road riding.The Stone House and the Governor helped the other clubs when it wasThe trail went through in 2009 butClement Shelter which are nice for their turn there was a 2.2 mile section of roadbuilding a fire to warm up or cook a We got our first groomer in Decemberriding that first year. It took 20 yearsmeal. You can see Shrewsbury Peak of 2000. It was a 1986 LMC 1500 andof asking the City of Rutland to givefrom a distance; that trail unfortunately we purchased a ram steer 7 AMFIpermission for a trail and it finallygot closed off years ago. Come and drag. Before that a private companyhappened and we have a very goodcheck out the Sno-Birds trails to R & G Grooming was grooming therelationship with them now. It all goessee what 50 years of hard work has trails since the early 80s right up toback to the original 5 goals of the clubaccomplished.Early Winter 2021 | 3'