Winner of '69! Ice, Ice, Maybe

Winner of ‘69! Ice, Ice, Maybe

by Madi A. 02/2026

She vividly remembers the winter of 1969.  But for one family from Sudbury (ON), it was also the beginning of a grand adventure. It all started when her father bought a few tickets from The Club Richelieu of Timmins for a raffle. He wasn’t aiming to win the grand prize, a shiny new 1968 Sno Jet with a cutter and trailer, with a few additional cash prizes.  

One evening, the telephone rang. The person on the other end asked to speak to Mr. John Smith. The family was sitting at the table, enjoying a dinner her mother had just prepared. As her father answered, he went through a few basic questions before suddenly exclaiming, “Oh my! What am I supposed to do with that?” He laughed and, after making arrangements for pickup, thanked the caller.    

He announced to the family that they had won a snowmobile.  He remembered buying the tickets from the club he attended weekly. The tickets were from the Timmins branch, where his brother was also a member. Though he was a bit taken aback by the win, he noted that he would need to get a trailer hitch installed on the car to pick up the trailer, Sno Jet, and cutter. 

He immediately called his brother to share the news. The two brothers laughed out loud. It was a humorous situation because her father was not a winter toy type of man; he was the type of person who preferred walking on snowshoes.  

The Journey to Timmins

The brothers made arrangements for the pickup.  One winter weekend, the family drove to Timmins to collect the winnings. She remembers it as a long drive. Although they had visited Timmins before, they had never done so in the winter. The roads were thick with snow. 

Once they were back home, every weekend, either Saturday or Sunday, the family would head to Guilletteville to use the Whitson Lake ramp to unload the snowmobile. Her aunt, her mother's sister, and her children lived just up the road from the lake access. So it became a true family event. Her father would give rides to all the children, seating two on the back of the snowmobile and four more in the cutter. Afterwards, they would all warm up with hot chocolate and snacks.  

As her father became more experienced, the excursions grew longer. Eventually, the family would leave from the Cambrian College snow ramp and follow the forest trails all the way to Guilleville, crossing Whitson Lake from one end to the other.

Island Life in Winter

Once the lakes were frozen solid, the family could travel to their cottage on the West Arm of Lake Nipissing.  The cottage her father built was on an island called Musky Bay Island. It was only accessible by water from the spring thaw to the fall freeze; her father had occasionally used snowshoes to reach it during the winter months, but the Sno Jet changed everything.  

They were experiencing a true winter wonderland. Every weekend was pre-planned and full of winter activities. In mid-February, the Rosemarie Playground held its yearly winter carnival. Since she was part of the figure skating club, she participated in the figure skating ice show. The club practiced for weeks leading up to the big day, where the annual Bonhomme Carnival and Carnival Queen would preside over the festivities.  

Her father volunteered to give snowmobile rides to the local children. There was always a long line of children waiting to trade the paid ticket for a ride.

As she reflected after her skating performance, she felt so happy her father had won that snowmobile. It had made winter enjoyable and turned the weekends into a family tradition.

A Narrow Escape

However, not every memory was effortless. As they were all eager to participate in winter activities, one winter day at the cottage, the weather was unusually mild. She and a friend went for a ride and, while trying to turn around to head back to the cottage, she drove off the packed tracks. The snow was deep and soft, and the ice was turning to slush. Within seconds, the girls realized they were in big trouble. 

The snowmobile began to sink. As they tried to get it unstuck, they only sank deeper into the slush ice. Being young and not fully realizing the danger, she began to giggle out of nervousness, trying to act brave in front of her friend.  

Luckily, two teenagers on the shore noticed they were in trouble and raced over to help. It took significant muscle power to pull the heavy machine out of the slush. After several pushes and pulls, the snowmobile was back on the firm tracks, facing the cottage. She often wonders what would have happened if those two Good Samaritans hadn’t appeared.

They parked the snowmobile for the rest of the day, waiting for her father to drive it back to the mainland once the temperature dropped and the ice hardened. It was an experience she never forgot. To this day, she remains reluctant to drive a snowmobile on a frozen lake, forever carrying the memory of how quickly a winter playground can turn into a slushy mess. 

Game Changer

She was very happy that her father won the snowmobile; it changed the family’s relationship with winter, and with a simple raffle ticket, it brought the whole family together.

Bonhomme Carnival on '68 Sno Jet