Vintage Snowmobile Christmas Poem

Written by Mike Boisvert, Pandera, OH 'Twas the night before Christmas And all the through the shop Not a piston was firing, Not even a pop. The sledheads were nestled All snug in their beds While visions of barn finds All danced in their heads. And the wife in her nighty, And I with Viagra, Had just settled down for A little winter what have ya... When what on the tv came on So much disruption and static, "A blast from the past!", My response automatic. The moon revealed a layer Of new fallen snow, And highlighted fresh tracks On the yard down below. When what what to my wondering Eyes should appear, But a shiny red Rupp And eight minty John Deeres! With such a skilled rider on a Magnum so quick, it had to be Stull, no wait, it's St Nick. "Now Dator, Now Spitfire, Now Sprintfire, Now Snowfire, On JDX, on Trailfire, on Horicon and Liquifire! They tore up the yard and flew over the hill in a flash. The little red Rupp got sideways and knocked over the trash. The Red rider was scruffy and smelled strongly of gas, And chuckled out loud as he tore up my grass. The crew parked out back And went into my shop, and went straight to work, only for beers did they stop. As I peeked through the window I was amazed by the scene, There sat my Centurion all shiny and clean! With a new seat cover and new graphics and my trusty old triple, new paint on the tunnel, without even a ripple! The work was amazing from the red and green crew. They left as quick as they came after downing their brew. Over the twin pipes I heard Santa yell into night, "Merry Christmas to all and on the trails keep right!"

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