1962-1963 The Boom Begins

During the late summer days prior to the winter of 1962-63, Edgar Hetteen's patience was growing as short as the four-hour nights he slept. He was financially strapped, working two full shifts in the plant and trying to run an office, too.

He had changed the name of his company, Polar Manufacturing, to Arctic Enterprises, and the manufacturing facility was in chaos as the first all-red Model 100 Arctic Cat snowmobiles began to move out the door. The 1963 Model 100 was the first front-engine snowmobile built in the United States, the first to incorporate the Bombardier Ski-Doo influence.

One day, Edgar was particularly impatient with workers who were trying to nail together shipping crates. They were working too slowly. Ed gar rolled up his shirtsleeves, grabbed a hammer and demonstrated how the job was to be done.

A young man in a business suit was standing close by, watching. He had finished one year of college, wasn't too excited about it, and was walking around Thief River Falls looking for work.

The telephone rang. Edgar dropped his hammer and disappeared. When he came back, the young man dressed in the suit was nailing crates together, exactly the way Edgar wanted them done.

"What do you want?" Edgar asked.
"I want a job," the young man answered.
"Can you start this afternoon?"

Roger Skime's career with Arctic was underway.

 

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1962-1963 The Boom Begins