Not everyone remembers 1968, and others weren’t yet a twinkle in their daddy’s eye, but 90-year-old Sault Ste. Marie resident Frank Talentino clearly recalls the year that would forever define his city’s future, transforming it into a winter vacation destination of racing, pageantry, competitive games and family fun.
More importantly, he remembers all those who helped to make the annual I-500 Snowmobile Race everything it is today.
Friends of Talentino were out for a late morning brunch one day, conversing about things often discussed when a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro transfixed the table’s wandering eyes.
“The history stems back 54 years,” said Chairman of the International 500 Board of Directors Ric Federau. “You had six guys sitting in a restaurant, when they saw a pace car for the Indianapolis I-500.”
The muscle car wore the official markings of its professional racing circuit, but the conversation soon changed from asphalt to ice, with one question: “Could a snowmobile run 500 miles?”
Talentino, who is father to Sault Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Linda Hoath, instantly jumped on board to become one of its original board members.
“My dad was not at the very first coffee klatch with the guys, but he was invited in right after,” Hoath said. “It was for the community.”
Growing up in the Talentino household meant snowmobiles were a part of everyday life.
“My dad was a snowmobiler,” Hoath said. “I grew up with four snowmobiles in our yard.”
Therefore, Talentino was not about to skip that second meeting. The seven men conceptualized the construction of an actual snowmobile race track, where people could race snowmobiles instead of fast cars.
“We had to do something for the city because there was nothing going on in the winter,” Talentino said. “The area was really depressed. So, that's what got us thinking about the I-500. We decided to see if we couldn't run a race, and pattern it off the Indianapolis 500.”
Talentino said the National Guard put in extensive labor to help build the world’s only oval one-mile snowmobile track.
“The Soo was just a wooded area with all kinds of swamp,” Talentino said. “It took a lot of work and we had to get a lot of equipment. It mostly came from the National Guard. We had private people help us too. Local contractors brought their bulldozers and other equipment. The first year was tough. We worked all weekend. That's how we got the thing started.”
As the track transformed into reality, the men prayed things would all come together.
“We really didn't know what to expect,” Talentino said, regarding the very first race in 1969. “We didn't know how the machines would run or how long they would run. Would the ice hold up?”
The men and their volunteers just kept working because that is what you did back then. Talentino even recruited his children and other family members to help out if and when able.
But he never dreamt that his middle child, Hoath, would eventually take over his reins to one day serve on its board of directors, or put together a $2,470,000 U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Grant to expand the track into a year-round destination.
To date, four generations of the Talentino family have given their time to put on this annual race. Volunteering at the racetrack has turned into a tradition for many area families, extending across the country’s border into Canada.
Sault Ste. Marie local Dougald Beaudoin poured his heart into volunteering at the track since high school, while taking Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and firefighting classes.
“We had the option to work with the ambulance crews,” Beaudoin said. “They had three on the track. We would bring the whole field to caution, then, go out to work with the patients. That was how I got started.”
Beaudoin is the father of two boys whom he raised while volunteering his time at the track.
“They’d help me run network cable,” Beaudoin reminisced over years past. “I would set the network up and get it running.”
Fast forward to present time, the boys are grown and continue volunteering with their dad today. They perform various tasks related to timing, or climbing up and down the ladder during races.
“They're following in my footsteps of volunteerism,” Beaudoin said.
More than 300 people extend their time and effort each year.
“The entire community volunteers,” Beaudoin said.
Everyone is given a job to do and many look forward to volunteering in support of this annual tradition and economic revenue booster.
“Some volunteer a little and some volunteer a lot, but we need the help, even if it's just a few hours,” Beaudoin said. “There is a sign-up sheet. So, ‘Okay, this year you are helping out with computers.’”
Beaudoin, who is generally assigned to computer duty, eagerly reported that water was being poured over the track early last week.
“They've already started prepping for it,” Beaudoin said. “They wait for frost to cover the ground, so that there’s a nice frozen base to start with. Before dropping water, it has to get down to about 19 degrees.”
Volunteers will not see that hard work pay off until the races begin on Saturday, Feb. 5. The week-long race generates an estimated $4 million each year.
“There are over 390,000 registered snowmobiles in Michigan,” Chairman Federau said. “We rank third in nation for sales of snowmobiles. One-third of that comes out of Oakland and Wayne counties, alone. “In terms of travel, the I-500 gives enthusiasts a vacation destination. Over 70 percent travel north to the white gold.”
According to Hoath, 11,000 area motel and hotel rooms are filled to 100-percent occupancy every year during the races.
The I-500 impacts the entire region,” Federau said, referring to a study conducted by Lake Superior State University. “The economic impact reaches into Gaylord.”
Yamaha and Polaris are among the big names drawn to Sault Ste. Marie annually.
“Manufacturers know they have a mile oval to test their parts on,” said Federau.
Professional snowmobile racers come from all over, including Alaska and Canada. They draw more than 8,000 spectators during races, while an estimated 14,000 show up throughout the week. Those numbers are expected to increase this February.
“I have attended a lot of snowmobile shows and this year will probably be the biggest year we have ever had,” Federau anticipated. “My phone is ringing off the hook. I know people are ready to bust out and enjoy the ‘norm’ again.”
Volunteers, racers, sponsors, dealers and spectators spend early winter waiting for that first Saturday in February, when snowmobile engines compete on a one-mile oval of solid ice.
“The I-500 is like the Daytona 500 on ice,” Beaudoin explained. “Instead of being inside a car, they’re on a snowmobile. The speeds on the straightaway can reach anywhere between 105 to over 115 miles per hour, and it's a 500-mile race.”
“I love the smell of snowmobiles on the race track,” said Hoath.
Today, Talentino is more than happy to watch from the sidelines as thousands of young volunteers continue the dream that began with a few men sipping coffee at brunch, drooling over a 68 Chevrolet Camaro.
“When we got started, it was just a handful of people,” Talentino said. “The whole community got involved.”
For information on the 53rd Annual I-500 Snowmobile Race
