Craig Compeau heard it so many times from the “old timers,” about the way "it used to be," and usually with such gusto and passion that he started wondering if anyone would actually try to preserve Alaska's rich snowmachining history, instead of letting it slip away. Those “old timers” were in many cases customers of Compeau's grandfather’s and then father's snowmachine business in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Compeau pondered what could be done to keep the rich history alive? How about organizing the first ever “Vintage Snowmachine Race,” and holding it on the Chena River, which runs right through town? It sounded good, so plans were made, and work was started to hold the “Tired Iron Snowmachine Race” on Saturday March 11, 2006.
At the time, there were probably less than 20 restored snowmachines in the entire Interior of Alaska, with most of those old sleds either in the landfill, or rusting their way toward the final ride to the dump. Compeau expected to see a modest crowd show up to see the old snowmachines and hoped some of those “old timers” would get a kick out of seeing some of those snowmachines they remembered from the "good old days."
The History of Snowmobiling:
http://www.squidoo.com/snowmobilinghistory
Snowmobile History:
http://www.snowmobile-canada.com/history.htm
The History of Snowmobiles:
http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/snowmobile.htm
Snowmobile Fun Facts:
http://www.snowmobile.org/facts_hist.asp
Snowmobile:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowmobile
The History of Snowmobiles:
http://www.helium.com/items/812556-the-history-of-snowmobiles
Polaris History and Heroes:
http://www.snowmobile.com/news/polaris-history-and-heroes-593.html