Assistant trail master Thad Norkus, president Doug Doherty and trail master Peter Fournier gathered at the Saco Pathfinders property on Heath Road on a recent day to talk about the 51 year old club and the fun and camaraderie that comes with membership. Tammy Wells Photo
SACO — Snow in the forecast is a happy circumstance for Saco Pathfinders. And while the last couple of years have been a bit scant in that regard, this winter is not over yet, and big snow can still happen.
If it does, and there is enough to open the trails, the clubhouse will open as well. Volunteer cooks will fire up the grill for burgers and hot dogs to feed hungry folks who have been out having fun on their snow sleds, and stopping in for warmth, laughter, some great conversation and food before heading out again.
The Saco Pathfinders is a snowmobile club founded 50 years ago, in 1972.
Members marked that 50th year in 2022 in a low key way.
They are mindful of the heritage of the club as evidenced in photos around the clubhouse, and are enthusiastically forging ahead, looking for new members and diversifying with other off-season activities — like go-cart racing on the track out back of the clubhouse Thursday nights in the summer. It draws lots of spectators.
“They love it,” said Saco Pathfinders President Doug Doherty.
Saco Pathfinders, a snowmobile club founded in 1972, is shown here in the early days. The club marked its 50th year in 2022, is looking forward to the next 50 and is welcoming new members. Saco Pathfinders Photo
These days, the club has about 80 members, split between 50 families and about 30 businesses, said Doherty. That is down somewhat from 2016-17, when there were 121 memberships on the roster.
Members say the camaraderie and being outside is a reason for them to be involved.
“I like being in the outdoors and being able to go places most people can’t go,” said trail master Peter Fournier.
“It’s fun, a good group of people and I like the outdoors,” said assistant trail master Thad Norkus.
The club maintains 35 miles of trails on privately owned land in the region, working hard to keep them in tip top shape and making sure they maintain a good relationship with landowners.
Doherty noted in the early days, bed springs were used to groom the trails.
That has changed.
Fournier said the club recently purchased a side-by-side with a track, and he is building a groomer for it.
“We priced them,” he said, noting that together, the side- by-side and groomer would cost $50,000 – above the small nonprofit’s means. The club got a good deal on the side-by- side, he said, and the grooming device, he said, will cost about $4,000.
Fournier estimates that about 600 hours are spent on trial maintenance each year, all done not knowing whether there will be snow, or not.
It would be good if the club had more members and more who could help, he said.
There have been efforts to increase membership over the years, Doherty said, like a mailing to all registered snowmobile owners in Saco, Biddeford, and Old Orchard Beach, and there have been open house events as well.
Scott Cyr has been a member since the 1972 formation.
“My father Donald Cyr was one of the original half dozen who started the club,” said Cyr. “We made trails through woods, along ‘goat paths,’ and used pallets to fill in the water holes,” to form make-shift bridges on properties, he explained.
He remembers his family leaving their home off Beach Street in Saco on snow machines, and heading north along the utility pole lines to get to the club on Heath Road.
He recalled his father’s first snowmobile, a 1968 Moto-Ski and said he and his brothers used it as well.
The clubhouse property on Heath Road once belonged to the Pryor family, who sold two acres of their holdings to the club for $1, Cyr recalled.
On a recent day – before it snowed – some club members were heading north, to Aroostook County, for a weekend ride, while others were hoping for good riding days soon in Saco.
These days, the club hosts fundraisers to help maintain the building and equipment, buy material to build bridges along the trails, fuel and for trail signs and insurance. The club receives some money from the city and the state, Doherty noted.
Today, in its 51th year, Saco Pathfinders say they are happy to have some younger people among their membership, “and we’d love to have a lot more,” said Fournier, along with more members in general.
Meetings are 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of the month at the club, 42 Heath Road, and people can also check them out at Saco Pathfinders on Facebook.
Let it snow.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
