Vintage snowmobile enthusiasts gathered south of Willowbrook to both ride a bit of history and save it. The Happy Centre School Vintage Snowmobile Rally brought together sleds older than 1981 to go on a rally through the area.
Over 60 riders took part in the 2019 event. Stephanie Lockhart, one of the organizers of the event, said that this was the most successful rally they’ve ever done in the three years since they’ve started doing the derby. The riders took a 23 mile trip on the sleds.
More people are getting involved all the time, said Lockhart, and they’re happy to see that more people are coming out and more people are participating.
“It’s surprising how many people like the vintage ski-doos, tinker with them and bring them out. You’re starting to see the younger people bring out the old ski-doos, that’s cool too, that they’re getting into it and like the challenge, because they might not be running like the brand new 2018.”
It turns into a mobile show, and Lockhart said half the appeal of the rally is just people bringing out all their hardware.
“These guys, they spend more time looking at what everybody has, I think, than actually doing the derby... It’s almost its own community.”
The rally was meant for snowmobiles made before 1981. Newer machines were allowed on the route, and riders had to pay an entry fee, but they were there strictly as support vehicles, their riders were not allowed to win prizes at the event. That was to keep the focus on the vintage machines, Lockhart said, but she knows some people want to bring their partners along who don’t have their own vintage machine, or just were not too sure that their vintage machine will be as reliable as they need so a newer snowmobile nearby might give some peace of mind.
All money raised went to maintain the Happy Centre School where the ride began and ended. Lockhart said that the building is part of the province’s rural history, and part of history that is disappearing around the province. While many people in Saskatchewan were educated in schools like the one-room Happy Centre School, there are fewer buildings like the school around.
“There are not a lot of actual school houses left that are standing. Lots of them, you’ll see them marked with a sign that says “here was such-and-such school”, but all that’s left is the property which is now turned into cow pasture... One of the unique things about this place is that it’s still in good shape. The reason it’s still in good shape is because the community has made a point of that, throwing on functions, volunteering their time.”
The school is not in perfect shape - the roof needs repair, they have “a friend” who lives in the attic who needs to find a new home, and like every building it needs heat and power to keep it standing. But they see value in keeping the building, the coat hooks painted with the names of the last classes to attend school, the books that they read still on the shelves, and the memories of the students that used to drive horses to school every morning.
“It’s really just to keep the building alive, to keep the power going.”
