By Michael Dapper
VRA Page Webmaster Arlen and Cory Ness are celebrities. They have made appearances on television, in Hollywood, at the nation’s biggest bike and car shows, overseas and at various venues in New York City.
And now they can say they made an appearances in the back of the trailer in rural Osceola, Wisconsin.
Arlen and Cory visited Osceola – home to the Polaris and Victory drivetrain assembly facility – on May 6 in conjunction with the Osceola Motorcycle & ATV Expo. The legendary custom builders and Victory styling consultants were on hand to meet Victory riders and to autograph Arlen’s newest book, “Arlen Ness – King of Choppers.”
Unfortunately, strong winds are a big part of springtime in the Upper Midwest, especially a site like the Osceola airport, which is perched high above the St. Croix River valley. So with winds blowing hard all day and gusting over 50 mph, Arlen and Cory were offered seats in the back of a trailer, where they could find some escape from the wind and sign the books without the pages being shredded.
The crowds of riders who stopped by to meet the Nesses had a great time, wind and all.
Thanks to Jeff Wolf and Monte Gourley, both of Victory, for these photos.Too Soon If you’ve ever ridden a snowmobile and certainly if you’ve ever picked up a snowmobile magazine, you’ve heard of CJ Ramstad. He was the sport’s most renowned and respected journalist. He founded snowmobile magazines, wrote countless articles and columns, authored several books and shot thousands upon thousands of photos that captured snowmobile history on the track and the trail.
Unfortunately, we put that in the past tense. All too soon, CJ and his son JJ passed away as the result of a traffic accident on May 6. CJ was just 61. His son John was only 17.
Without CJ, with whom I worked on my first motorsports-related writing gig, I might not be doing this today. He was a fascinating guy, always a treat to bump into and have a good chat. This is a major, major loss.
Godspeed JJ and CJ.
ASSOCIATED LINKS CJ’s Snow Photo of the Day (SnowPOD) Website www.snowpod.com Vintage Sleds The Vintage Sleds website has news about CJ and his son, and if you click on the “Bull Sessions” link, you’ll find a forum where friends are sharing their memories of CJ.
www.vintagesleds.com KARE 11 TV News Feature KARE 11, a Twin Cities television station, has video of a news feature it broadcast May 8.
KARE 11 TV Memorial Fund To make a financial donation to the CJ & JJ Ramstad Memorial Fund, send your gift to:
CJ & JJ Ramstad Memorial Fund c/o Beacon Bank
19765 Hwy. Seven
Shorewood, MN 55331
Phone: 1-800-648-5507
Or email them:
customerservice@beaconbank.com Condolences To send the family your condolences, please mail to:
The Ramstad Family c/o MSPN
9445 Minnetonka Blvd.
St. Louis Park, MN 55426