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The best-known photo of the first Polaris snowmobile ever built is of young Wayne Olson on the driver’s seat and his dog Sport on the sled with him. But here’s another view of old No. 1, taken a few years after the sled was built.
No. 1 was originally sold in January 1956 to H.F. “Pete” Peterson, who owned the lumber yard across the road from Polaris. But the sled changed hands several times in the next few years. Its makeup was also changed over time.
In the color photo shown here, No. 1 (sled on left) looks to be back in Polaris management’s hands. This looks like original Polaris partner David Johnson out for a ride with his sons, Rodney (far left) and Mitchell – and the family dog.
The sled on the right looks to be a late-1950s Ranger with an automotive steering wheel and winch at the rear of the sled to raise the traction unit if it got stuck in deep snow.
No. 1 ended up in a Roseau-area junkyard sometime in the 1980s, and was scrapped out, so no known trace of it exists. Sled No. 2 is intact, beautifully restored and on display at the Polaris Experience Center in Roseau.
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