By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES: Drivers along Porter Road in the town of Plover on Saturday, Feb. 3, knew something was up.
First there were the signs, such as "Park Here." Then there were the banners on the Joe Pavelski property. Eventually, there were the vehicles parked alongside the road, which became the overflow parking area.
The crowd, that appeared to be more than 200 people, was gathering for the "Big Boys Kitty Kat Race Southern 500."
The event was billed as a "race," but it really isn't. It's more of a social gathering.
Pavelski said the event got started on New Year's Day in 1993 when he and some other snowmobilers were at St. Germain and wanted something to do.
They rounded up some 60-cc. "kitty kat" snowmobiles that normally transport children and started racing each other.
That started an annual event, which brings together people from St. Germain, Sayner, Sugar Camp and Rockford, Ill., to watch grown men ride the little snowmobiles around a track.
This year, Pavelski hosted the event. Snow was plowed in a neighboring field so vehicles could park there, and he cleared snow in an oval pattern from a pond on his property to provide the racetrack.
But racing is actually secondary. The event has evolved into a social gathering, with people bringing a dish to pass.
Pavelski said some of the participants spend time fixing up their "kitty kats" although no one usually wants to "win" the race. The winner receives a family trophy, he said, and then has to chip in to buy the brats for the next year's event.
The event has grown. "We started with four racers and now we have 20," he said.