9245-R2_MSA_January2026_Newsletter

MSA Club News

of the Snow Prince Snowmobile that he had bought from MacDonald Motors in the very early 1970’s! Although there was no business meeting during the evening, Blaine Chapman, Club President, reported that all trail signs have been put up and are ready for the season. The new trail to Nouria Gas Station on Rt. 302, Bridgton, has been completed, and the Park and Ride on nearby Bragg Way off ITS 89 is also ready. The Annual Poker Rally is set for 9AM Saturday, February 14 th , 2026 at the Bridgton Community Center on Depot Street, Bridgton. The last card will be sold at noon that day. In addition to the chance to ride the Poker Rally route, there will be plenty of other things to enjoy at the Community Center: hot choco late, coffee, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, soups and chowders, as well as home-made brown ies, cookies, pies, and more. It will be a fun and lively place, to meet long-time friends, or make some new ones. Poker Rally winners will be announced that afternoon, as well as the winners of the 50/50 raffle and the 80 prizes from the Chi nese Auction. Don’t miss it - it’s a fun event, and you can participate even if you don’t have a snowmobile. Thanks to all the people who make this Rally event possible. The next meetings of Pleasant Mountain Snowmobile Club at the Bridgton Community Center on Depot St. are scheduled for: Friday, January 9th, 2026; and Friday Feb ruary 13th, 2026. The Fabulous Pot Luck Supper begins at 6PM followed by the business meeting at 6:45. Come to our meetings and learn about upcoming Club events - Club Rally, and Club Trips. And remember to renew your member ship if you have not already done that. All are welcome! Hope to see you at our meeting on Jan. 9 th ! Bill Preis Greetings all, Club members met in December. We didn’t have an actual meeting but enjoyed a great potluck, as is traditional before the Holi days. We had a record turnout and more than enough food. Everything was very delicious. Of course, we must sample every dish and waddle out the door! Ongoing business - the guys continuously work on bridge upkeep and brushing trails. The club snowmobiles were out checking and working on trails. We have the 1989 Tucker 2000 for sale. When it sells, the plan is to have that money available to purchase another Tucker but will have the luxury of taking our time in finding one suitable for our trails. We still have a second Tucker that will be in use once we have groomable snow. No worries, we will keep the trails in great shape for all to enjoy a nice ride in Buckfield. All we need is snow. We will also plan a group ride to Colonel Holman Mountain in Dixfield. Some of us have done that ride in previous winters and enjoyed it so would like to make it a club ride. We love the trails through Canton and Dix field. More to come on that as we await the snowfall. We now have availability to sign up for membership online using electronic payment. We have also received some very gracious donations in thanks for the great trails we pro vide. As our operating expenses have risen, the donations are greatly appreciated. More and more updated information on Face Book and group texts are being used to keep mem bers informed. Be sure to check us out and “like” us on Face Book. Hoping to see you out on the trails soon. Club Correspondent See us on Facebook STREAKED MOUNTAIN sc Buckfield, ME

Snow was disappointing in December but January started sled riding in earnest. Many projects have been completed led by Club President Jon Gray and his work parties. See a picture of the Wilson Stream Bridge that was recently widened to accommodate our larger drags. Construction of a major new trail reroute has been completed that leads from the B-52 Memorial Site loop directly north to Tussle Brook Road then westward connecting to the existing Kokadjo Trail. Two bridge replace ments were required for this three-mile sec tion. This new trail replaces Prong Pond and Mt. View Roads that will be plowed and closed for sledding.

Northern-Division rail Tr. Richard Brunault grooms the Gilpatrick Tr., Barnes Tr. and part of the Northern-Division rail Tr. Philip & Jenilee Barsanti groom the Brownfield Tr. and Devil’s-Den Tr. Alan Simpson as well as John & Cathy Lambert groom the Day Tr., Sacopee Tr.,Gilpatrick Tr. and Day Tr. Jack Wadsworth grooms Jack’s Loop,

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strengthen the sense of community that keeps the club moving forward. With preparation complete and momen tum strong, we’re ready for the snow to fly. As always, we encourage riders to support their local clubs, respect landowners, and ride safely Tom England WALDOBORO SNO-CRAWLERS Waldoboro, ME Hello Everyone, The Sno-Crawlers had their December meeting and will be collecting items ,money and toys for the Waldoboro Toys Holiday pro gram. We have some snow on the ground, which puts a spark in our snowmobiling souls. The Sunday crews were working up in North Waldoboro, doing some trimming, and spent some time fixing up the drags, and cutting planks for the bridges at Tony’s sawmill. The next Sunday they moved the operation South to the Keith Feyler Bridge where they replaced many planks. They then had another crew trim their way into the old Flippers mar ket now the Route 220 Market trailway where the signs were posted as well. The crews the following Sunday continued to sign the trails and trim where needed. We would like to thank Tony Lash for the heavy equipment use, Ben Scott, Carl Gushee, David Neubig, Richard Bravoco, Eric Hunt, Jimi Hunt, Troy Steeves, Zach Steeves, Lilian Harvey, Gabriel Cooley, Morganne Price and Tom Thackeray for a strong showing these past Sundays. We have some of the hard est-working club members around and are very thankful for their support. The club meets on the first and third Thurs day each month. Sundays are slated for trail maintenance, and we are always looking for volunteers, so please consider joining a work crew. Please consider joining and/or supporting the club as the club provides more than just snowmobile trails. They support many com munity endeavors, landowner partnerships, and fundraisers ensuring that the trails remain open and active. This active status is crucial for emergency access in remote locations for fire and rescue. They also provide peaceful serene locations that can be walked, hiked, and biked all season long and during hard win ters, they also help wildlife move around more easily. So, you see your local snowmobile club isn’t just creating and maintaining access for sleds, they are also providing access for all outdoor activities. Please be sure to look at our Facebook page for events, club meetings, and work parties. Respectfully, Stephanie Bravoco Club Reporter SACOPEE VALLEY SNOW DRIFTERS Porter, ME After repair or replacing 11 bridges and spending thousands of dollars as well as hundreds of volunteer hours, Sacopee Valley Snow Drifters (SVSD) team of groomers and assistance, can only hope that as your read ing this, that Old-Man-Winter has supplied SVSD with ample snow-cover, to get the trails opened and groomed for good old family style snowmobile trail riding. So, who are the few, the proud and the brave to get out onto the SVSD trails in the dead-of-winter and prepare and groom those white-ribbons of snow-cov ered trails for all to use??? I’ll start with the northern trails and work our way south: Edward LeBorgne grooms the Narrow-Gauge Tr. and part of the North ern-Division rail Tr. Phil Collins & George Nadolny groom the Lewis Tr. and part of the

Cornish-Connector and Sacopee Tr. Steve & Candy Barton, Scott & Stacey Day and Josh Mudgett groom Plantation Tr., Pendexter Tr. and the Village Tr… So, when your out and-about on the trails and a groomer comes along, take the time to give them a big-wave of appreciation for those great trails. John Lambert – SVSD Club Reporter WESTERN REGION Happy New Year everyone. We hope this new year finds you well and blesses us with a lot of snow. We developed a new map this year. It is larger, more detailed, and easier to read. They are available free to our members. Our crews have been diligently working on our trails making sure they would be ready for snow. We take great pride in our trails mak ing sure they are the high quality we have a reputation for. We have done some work on the Tuckers as well. One needed a radiator repaired. We replaced some sprockets and cleats as well as regular maintenance. We also installed a winch on the ’93. They are ready for action. We invite everyone to check out our neck of the woods, our trail system, and our meet ings. Our meetings are the first Tuesday of every month. Check out our Facebook page for updates. Christmas Eve addendum: the three or four inch clipper dumped about a foot of snow here in Norway. Bring it on. Merry Christmas to us. Hopefully by the time you read this, you will have had some riding time in. Thank a groomer operator The Pleasant Mountain Snowmobile Club’s annual Holiday party was a great success. Instead of our traditional Holiday pot-luck and gift swap we met at a local venue for a catered dinner. Each of the 42 members who attended, started with canapés and non-alcoholic punch, and progressed to a choice of three main courses and a selection of desserts. DJ Dan kept the music coming, so there was dance music after dinner. Attendees were asked to bring a snowmobile helmet and gloves. Why? To wear for a special dance that got everyone laughing as helmets glowed with festive red or green safety lights. (See link below for photos) Steve Emery, who had worked hard with 6 other Club members to organize this event, and paint Christmas Snowmobile Ornaments that were handed out. Steve also handed out a list of questions for a Special Quiz. (The ques tions came from Bill Preis, our very unofficial Club Historian.) Among the two dozen ques tions were: How many names has our Club had? (Snow Drifters, Bridgton Easy Riders and Pleasant Mountain Snowmobile Club), and What brand of snowmobiles did our local Macdonald Motors sell? (Snow Prince). Robert and Chrissy Fogg longtime residents of this area, and longtime snowmobilers, won the contest. Robert even showed us a photo Thank a land owner See you on the trails Dan Trouant, Club reporter PLEASANT MOUNTAIN sc Bridgton, ME NORWAY TRACKERS Norway, ME Find us on Facebook

We are again parking a groomer on the East side of Moosehead Lake for quicker access to this section of our trail system. Plowing the North Road on the Public Lands Unit means that the Moose Mountain trail will only be open from the Moose Mountain Inn back to Greenville Junction leaving ITS 86 westbound out of town as the only option. Riders are reminded to stay only on the marked trail when riding from Stagecoach Road, along the airport, down to Trailside Inn and on to the lake when ice permits. This is critical to continue the safe use of airport property. Trail status and conditions will be posted on our Facebook page when possible.

Thanks for your support. Bob Ludwig, Secretary raludwig184@gmail.com

EASTERN MAINE SNOWMOBILERS Holden, ME EasternMaineSnowmobilers.com Find us on Facebook

Leah Frechette, Club Reporter

EASTERN REGION

MOOSEHEAD RIDERS sc Greenville, ME Find us on Facebook

Board member Steve Smith with Kate and Hunter, college kids home on break

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