1976 Arctic Circle newsletter

1976 Arctic Circle newsletter

1976 Arctic Circle newsletter

1976 Arctic Circle newsletter

1976 Arctic Circle newsletter

1976 Arctic Enterprises news

****1976 Edgar Hetteen and the dream****

   The line of bicycles proved to be unsuccessful and General Leisure proved to be a costly mistake, leading to its divestiture in 1973. But these ancillary businesses were the least of Arctic Enterprises' problems. The demand for snowmobiles tapered off during the early years of the 1970s, beginning their downward path in 1971 and resulting in Arctic Enterprises' most disastrous year in 1974. If it was any consolation for the employees and management in Thief River Falls, who in the space of a few months had watched their prolific rise screech to a halt, Arctic Enterprises was not alone in its downward free-fall. Across the country, snowmobile manufacturers were reeling from the debilitative effects of depressed demand, with many going out of business. In 1970, when the snowmobile industry was thriving, there were more than 100 brands of snowmobiles on the market; by 1976, when the worst of the harsh economic times was over, the number of brands on the market had plunged precipitously to a mere 13.