12/8/2012: :
When the snow piles up, you can wait for the plows, or you can jump on your snowmobile. The sleek modern machines will take you just about anywhere on the snow.
On this date in 1926, snowmobiles were a novelty, and Claude Skinner of Langdon was trying out his newly remodeled snow sleigh. Driven by a nine-foot-long propeller and equipped with a 220 horsepower motor, he expected to have no problem with headwinds. Meanwhile, his friend, Morely Witheridge was equipping a snow sleigh of his own with a 165 horsepower motor, while Walter Ramage cut down a Ford and equipped it with a caterpillar attachment. They may not have been sleek or fast, but it beat waiting for the plows.
Dakota Datebook written by Jim Davis
Source:
Cavalier County Republican December 9, 1926