UP Notable Book Club with Larry Jorgensen and the History of Snowmobiles

UP Notable Book Club presents a Q&A session about Make It Go In the Snow: People and Ideas in the History of Snowmobiles with Larry Jorgensen

UP Notable Book Club: The Crystal Falls Community District Library in partnership with the U.P. Publishers & Authors Association (UPPAA) has scheduled author events with winners of the UP Notable Book List. The 53rd event features Larry Jorgensen, author of Make it Go in the Snow: People and Ideas in the History of Snowmobiles. Through the years, the challenge of powered transportation in the snow has been met with ideas from explorers, creative inventors and small companies, all with new ideas – often unique and sometimes successful. The name “snowmobile” was trademarked in 1917, but there were snow travel ideas before that date and certainly thousands more since. As a pioneer in the field, Larry brings us his unique perspective on people and their machines and some historic rides throughout the U.P. and even abroad.

When: Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 7 pm Eastern / 6 pm Central
Where: on the Zoom platform — please contact Evelyn Gathu in advance at egathu@crystalfallslibrary.org, or by phone at (906) 875-3344. We recommend you borrow a copy of these books from your local library or purchase them from your local bookseller in advance to get the most out of these events.

LARRY JORGENSEN first became addicted to the sport and business of snowmobiling after buying his first sled, an Arctic Cat, in 1967. He purchased that Cat from the first Arctic Cat dealer in Green Bay, a local shoe repair shop which had a total available inventory of two machines. Jorgensen was fortunate to become a riding member of the pioneer cross-country snowmobile group, the Peninsula Pathfinders of Upper Michigan. He participated in the club’s first three long-distance rides, including the 1970 trip across the giant Mackinac Bridge which connects lower Michigan to the Upper Peninsula. Although he owned the Arctic Cat, he had been convinced to ride an Eskimo snowmobileand it may have been the only time an Eskimo sled crossed the Big Mac.

“I will blend in this review of Make It Go In the Snow ideas and effects that I have come across in my general reading on surrealism among the modern French poets in order to capture the skill and overall effects in Jorgensen because I think his work is a fine addition to the detail and to the mood of talking about the culture of the UP. He does not tell his history in a systematic way with footnotes and large bibliography like an academic. Instead, he uses many old photographs and rather rambles through his story in a leisurely way like a Parisian flâneur or gentleman expert on the feature of being a Yooper man of the North.  It reminds me of my own immersion when my wife and I began our discovery of the region; and even though it was usually summer

I was fascinated with the exploration of the Antarctic, of “Going South” across rough seas from New Zealand with the sad and heroic Captain Scott and his brave men and dogs. A news reporter for a TV station in Green Bay, Jorgensen first became addicted to the sport and business of snowmobiling when he bought his first sled, an Arctic Cat in 1967. Pictured at right is Admiral Byrd’s ill-fated Snow Cruiser trekking across the USA toward it’s launch from the east coast.”  — Mack Hassler, UP Book Review

More information about the U.P. Notable Book list, U.P. Book Review, and UPPAA can be found on www.UPNotable.com

About the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA)

Established in 1998 to support authors and publishers who live in or write about Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, UPPAA is a Michigan nonprofit association with over 180 members, many of whose books are featured on the organization’s website at www.uppaa.org. UPPAA welcomes membership and participation from anyone with a UP connection who is interested in writing.