Brothers Collect And Restore Snowmobiles, John Deeres, And Harleys
A former dairy farm seems to be an unlikely place for a snowmobile museum. But if you know the Gottschalk family in Kimball, Minn., and their passion for being caretakers of history, it makes perfect sense. For nearly 30 years, they’ve been filling sheds with treasures ever since Trevor, 12, and Travis, 10, restored their first John Deere tractors. With mechanical skills they inherited from their grandfather, the boys restored nearly 60 John Deere tractors by the time they were in their early 20’s.
Their parents Scott and Astrid Gottschalk were supportive and proud of their accomplishments but a little hesitant when their sons got interested in vintage and antique snowmobiles in 2015. Less than 10 years later, more than 300 snowmobiles filled a farm shed and a couple of semitrailers.
“When the word got out we were collecting, we got calls from several museums,” Scott Gottschalk says. Aging collectors wanted their treasures to go to people who love old equipment and want to preserve it. As a national accounts manager consulting with dairy and beef livestock producers, Gottschalk travels all over the country and is often asked by his sons to pick up snowmobiles for their collection.
“Probably the oldest running one is a 1943 WWII military model that was used in Alaska for three soldiers and their weapons,” Gottschalk says.
One of three known to exist, the “Motor-Toboggan” was built by Carl Eliason of Sayner, Wis., who built his first machine in 1924 (FARM SHOW Vol. 43, No. 6).
Gottschalk recalls how his son Trevor took the machine to an event with an 8-mile trail ride. He gave a very excited 10-year-old and his dad a ride on the trail, after the dad promised to buy a snowmobile for his son.
Passing on the sport and tradition is the main reason the Gottschalks take snowmobiles to shows.
“We’ve got a rule. We exhibit all the time, but we never compete because we have museum quality. We hope to get younger kids interested,” Gottschalk says.
They have snowmobiles from more than 100 different companies, including 44 of the 64 manufactured in Minnesota. The oldest machines had the engines in the back and went less than 10 mph. Snowmobiles in the 50’s and 60’s went faster but were more often used for pulling and work. One semitrailer displays a dozen of the 13 big muscle sleds made in 1971 to race on oval tracks.
Visitors are welcome to see the collection by contacting them for an appointment, Gottschalk says. Besides snowmobiles, the farm has sheds with collections of John Deere tractors and toys and all 17 of Harley Davidson’s models, including a 1941 military motorcycle that Trevor rides through local towns every Fourth of July.
“We want to preserve history and pass it on, to remember the good things we’ve got, and to be thankful for our blessings. We’re just custodians for a piece of time,” Gottschalk concludes.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gottschalk Family Antique Snowmobile Museum, 73078 CSAH 19, Kimball, Minn. 55353 (ph 320-894-5900; gottschalkscott@yahoo.com; www.scottdgottschalk.com).
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Brothers Collect And Restore Snowmobiles John Deeres And Harleys FARM HOME Novelty Items A former dairy farm seems to be an unlikely place for a snowmobile museum But if you know the Gottschalk family in Kimball Minn and their passion for being caretakers of history it makes perfect sense For nearly 30 years they’ve been filling sheds with treasures ever since Trevor 12 and Travis 10 restored their first John Deere tractors With mechanical skills they inherited from their grandfather the boys restored nearly 60 John Deere tractors by the time they were in their early 20’s Their parents Scott and Astrid Gottschalk were supportive and proud of their accomplishments but a little hesitant when their sons got interested in vintage and antique snowmobiles in 2015 Less than 10 years later more than 300 snowmobiles filled a farm shed and a couple of semitrailers “When the word got out we were collecting we got calls from several museums ” Scott Gottschalk says Aging collectors wanted their treasures to go to people who love old equipment and want to preserve it As a national accounts manager consulting with dairy and beef livestock producers Gottschalk travels all over the country and is often asked by his sons to pick up snowmobiles for their collection “Probably the oldest running one is a 1943 WWII military model that was used in Alaska for three soldiers and their weapons ” Gottschalk says One of three known to exist the “Motor-Toboggan” was built by Carl Eliason of Sayner Wis who built his first machine in 1924 FARM SHOW Vol 43 No 6 Gottschalk recalls how his son Trevor took the machine to an event with an 8-mile trail ride He gave a very excited 10-year-old and his dad a ride on the trail after the dad promised to buy a snowmobile for his son Passing on the sport and tradition is the main reason the Gottschalks take snowmobiles to shows “We’ve got a rule We exhibit all the time but we never compete because we have museum quality We hope to get younger kids interested ” Gottschalk says They have snowmobiles from more than 100 different companies including 44 of the 64 manufactured in Minnesota The oldest machines had the engines in the back and went less than 10 mph Snowmobiles in the 50’s and 60’s went faster but were more often used for pulling and work One semitrailer displays a dozen of the 13 big muscle sleds made in 1971 to race on oval tracks Visitors are welcome to see the collection by contacting them for an appointment Gottschalk says Besides snowmobiles the farm has sheds with collections of John Deere tractors and toys and all 17 of Harley Davidson’s models including a 1941 military motorcycle that Trevor rides through local towns every Fourth of July “We want to preserve history and pass it on to remember the good things we’ve got and to be thankful for our blessings We’re just custodians for a piece of time ” Gottschalk concludes Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gottschalk Family Antique Snowmobile Museum 73078 CSAH 19 Kimball Minn 55353 ph 320-894-5900; gottschalkscott@yahoo com; www scottdgottschalk com
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