The Sno Bees organized in
1967, shortly after the formation of VAST, with 25 members
and their variations of 12 horsepower snowmobiles. They soon
embarked on a program of developing trails in cooperation
with the landowners in the central Vermont area including
building of bridges, signing and the first area map of the
Barre area. The members groomed their trails in groups of 4
to 6 with their snowmobiles pulling homemade 3 foot drags
and such activity soon attracted many more snowmobile
enthusiasts with monthly meetings, trail work groups
complete with winter picnics.
By 1971, the membership
had grown to over 200 and an Alpine with 4 foot drag was
purchased to greatly improve the 22 miles of trails. From
1971 through the mid seventies, the Sno Bees hosted the
largest snowmobile "ride-ins in Vermont with the 1974
Granite City Ride-In attracting over 2,500 riders on their
75 plus make of snowmobiles. In 1974, a 1968 Tucker Sno Cat
(Queen Bee 1) was purchased and a club fabricated custom
hydraulic drag making it the first large 8 foot groomer
operating in Vermont. The Club groomed trails from Barre via
Plainfield and the old railbed right into Groton State
Forest. This greatly improved trails caught the eye of other
area clubs and soon the competition was on with upgraded
equipment, signing and "ride-ins" in other parts
of the State.
By 1979, the Sno Bees
membership had grown to over 600 and the club remained
active expanding their trail system and providing many
activities for their members plus charity events and youth
education. The Club purchased a brand new Tucker Sno Cat and
named it (Queen Bee 2). This was the first new large 8
foot unit in Vermont and was entirely financed by the Sno
Bees membership through fund raising activities ( $30,000
was a lot of money in 1979) but club pride was the key to
success.
In 1993, the club
upgraded to a larger diesel Tucker Sno Cat (Queen Bee 3) and
new design side rail drag to meet needs of their expanded
trail system of 50 plus miles. In 2000, the club saw
arrival of a VAST leased Pisten Bully (Queen Bee 4) and
operated both units during winters of 2000 and 2001 to make
their 55 mile trail system a pleasure to ride. Sixteen year
old Queen Bee 3 was retired in spring of 2002 and sold to
another club for their equipment upgrade. In 2000, the
Sno Bees made a big step in their rental acquisition of a
large garage building right off a main trail and used for
groomer maintenance/storage plus many club activity
functions. The club has grown to 800+ members
and is active in many snowmobile related fun activities plus
youth education and a big part of the annual charity week
end for "Make A Wish Foundation."
If you want snowmobile
fun, camaraderie and scenic trails, then come along with the
Sno Bees.
