Weather sabotages Winter Fest

The cold weather snap Polson is enduring didn’t agree with some of the vintage snow machines at the Miracle of America Museum. Even proprietor Gil Mangels couldn’t coax them to start on Saturday morning at -15 degrees for the scheduled Winter Fest.  

But there was hot cider and chili in the museum for cold visitors, and there is always something to see or learn about at the museum.  

Gil Mangels showed off one of the rare and valuable jewels in his collection – one of only eight known to exist. Nestled inside among the motorcycles was his 1943 Eliason Motor Toboggan.  

“It ties in with the motorcycles because of its engine,” Mangels said. 

That engine is a factory-installed 1945 Indian Scout 45 cubic-inch motorcycle engine, which controlled the middle track of the machine. The tiller bar, with a twist-grip throttle, controlled the skis under the front of the machine. There is also a kill button on the top of the tiller bar. 

Mangels got the machine in Lincoln, and it had been used in Glacier National Park. To get it to start in cold weather, the people operating the toboggan used to empty the radiator first and then build a fire under the oil pan to warm up the oil. Then they would pour boiling water in the radiator, Mangels said.

The machine wasn’t too popular because of its payload – it could only hold two people and it’s heavy.

So even though Winter Fest’s array of snowmobiles didn’t fire up,  the snowmobile group slated to be on hand offered to show up next summer. They plan to remove the skis, and run their snow machines on the grass in front of the museum – creating a midsummer Winter Fest.