Snowfall brings smile to some area businesses

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Nov. 29, 2001

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

As many motorists cursed the continuing snowfall under their breath Wednesday, some of the area's retailers and service providers watched gleefully as it fell.

That's because in their lines of work snow brings business and business has been good this week.

Snowmobiles and accessories, snow blowers, and ski and snowboard equipment are just some of the items that grease the wheels of commerce during winter in Bemidji. Without the white stuff, those who rely on winter recreation or snow removal simply suffer, and winter-related business owners said there have been enough of those types of winters recently.

Suzanne Thomas, whose family owns and operates the Buena Vista Ski Area, which usually opens Thanksgiving weekend, has been waiting for the snow for weeks.

"We are really controlled by the weather and it's a real blessing to see it come," she said Wednesday. "We knew if we looked back at our records the snow guns should be running by now."

Although Buena Vista possesses the equipment to produce snow, the unusually warm November temperatures prevented even snowmaking. Now with a good snow base and the snowmaking machines running, she said Buena Vista will be able to open at least three ski runs to the public this weekend.

"We feel we're really lucky (to have gotten the snowfall)," she said, "because if we don't have natural snow it's hart to keep the enthusiasm up for people who want to ski."

Thomas said the ski hill will benefit as well because people considering holiday getaways may book some time at Buena Vista now that they have skiing on the brain.

"It does help to have it on the ground," she said. "The snow makes people think that this might be a good activity for a holiday getaway."

John Tibstra, owner of the Home Place Bike & Ski Shop, and Dave Plaia, a salesman for Honda Yamaha Sports Centre, both said their winter recreation products well much better when there's snow on the ground to excite people.

"It's when they can actually take the skis and ski with them that it really hits them," Tibstra said. "They'll be able to get the skis and in a couple of hours be skiing on them. That always motivates people a little more."

Plaia said the snow helps to entice snowmobile buyers who have been hesitating. Now they can go to the store, hop on a machine and take it for a test ride.

"(After the first snow) what you see is a lot more spontaneous buyers and the ones that are on the fence," he said. "Weather is always a factor. I think the buyers are there; sometimes they just need to be pushed by Mother Nature."

The snow has increased calls about new snowmobiles, outdoor clothing and accessories, and plows that attach to all-terrain vehicles this week, said Plaia, who expected it.

"It's a typical response that sales pick up after the first snowfall," he said. "It's what you're waiting for ... because when winter's here, let it be winter."

Tibstra said he expects business to especially pick up this weekend when more people have time to hit the cross-country ski trails or pull out a snowboard.

"It's always welcome to see the first snow, he said. "The early season is when the people have the most enthusiasm."

Although not a retailer, Rec Jones also makes a living from the snow. For the last several years, after his summer construction work slows, he's been doing snow removal. And this week he's been doing a lot of snow removal.

"It's been pretty much nonstop for a few days," he said. "I'm guessing I've probably been working 18 to 20 hours a day for the last couple of days."

He said enough snow has fallen that he should have work through the remainder of the week. But, he adds with a laugh, the extended forecast calls for snow through the weekend as well.

"We like that," he said.