Mercer Snow-Goers have a blast at Saturday annual event

By P.J. GLISSON

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Mercer - Snowmobiles may have outnumbered other vehicles Saturday in the parking lot next to the Mercer Sno-Goers' groomer barn as club members threw their annual Winter Blast.

The event began at 8 a.m. with a three-hour pancake breakfast, which transitioned to a pig roast that lasted for several more hours.

Meanwhile, raffles, Sno-Goers merchandise sales, and children's activities took place steadily until live music began in the late afternoon.

Although the barn was already lively in the afternoon, club member Terri Dibelius of Mercer said, "We'll have twice as many people in here by 6 p.m. It's really a great event."

According to club president Jeff Roadman of Mercer, the Sno-Goers have about 600 members, with 90 to 100 of them being local.

He said local members are the ones responsible for grooming snowmobile trails, which is the central purpose of the all-volunteer operation.

Dibelius added that 40 to 50 volunteers also made possible Saturday's big bash, which she organized for the second year. "My husband (Kyle) and I have been members of the Sno-Goers for years," she said. "I grew up snowmobiling. He grew up snowmobiling."

Dibelius said help came from near and far, with the junior class of the Mercer K-12 School selling raffle tickets and snowmobilers from nearby states donating "huge cash prizes."

In addition, she said the event could not have grown over the years without the aid of the Harvest Group, a faith-based group from southern Wisconsin.

"They roast the pig for us," said Dibelius. "They help with the pancake breakfast." She added they also coordinate kiddy fun such as face painting, coloring contests and craft projects.

"Some of our friends live here, so that's how we came to know about it," said Dorothy Steinmetz of Albany, Wis., as she cut up pork for the crowd. "We're just helping out."

Roasting a 200-pound pig was a big project in itself. "It takes anywhere from 10 to 12 hours," said Mark Thorpe of Mercer, who was manning the pit with Chad Koenecke of Albany, Wis.

Roadman of Mercer said a good snowmobiling year runs from Dec. 1 through March 31 and requires "a lot of scheduling and a lot of time."

He said groomers tend about 140 miles of state-subsidized trails in southern Wisconsin, and they also contribute labor toward an additional 110 miles that include road routes.

Their efforts make it possible for thousands of snowmobiles to move through the region.

"We actually just purchased trail counters," said Roadman, who explained that they work much like the highway cords that count vehicles passing over them.

According to Roadman, nearly 9,000 sleds used trails maintained by the club during a 10-day span including the Christmas and New Year's holidays. A subsequent count from Jan. 3 to 16 totaled another 8,000 sleds.

He said the White Thunder Riders, which is another snowmobile trail club, maintains about the same number of trail miles in northern Iron County. Members of that group were present Saturday to support their cohorts.

"The maintenance of the trails is huge," said Roadman. Both he and Dibelius said the club can use community support in any form, whether via volunteering or donations.

Roadman concluded that snowmobiling has a positive impact on the area since tourists provide regular business to hotels, restaurants and other businesses. "Snowmobilers are pretty generous people," he said.

In a Sunday phone call, Dibelius said the event ended at 8 p.m. after a 12-hour day. Based on the number of tickets and products sold, as well as food, she said they believed they had higher attendance than in years past.

She does not know what net funds they took in yet this year, but she said last year's event netted the club $11,000, which is used to cover expenses such as electricity and heat for the groomer barn and gasoline for groomers.