Dougherty enjoys vintage sleds

It might be rare for a young lady to get into restoring vintage sleds, but to Jamie Dougherty, it’s a hobby. She is the daughter of Bryan and Kristine Dougherty and is a 7th grader at Grygla High School. Interview conducted by Eagle Editor, Kari Sundberg.

You’re really into snowmobiles, Jamie…just vintage sleds or new ones, too? Yes! I like both of them!

Do you have one of your own? Yeah, I have a Vintage Sled. It’s a 1973 Polaris Colt 175. My dad actually bought it, along with all of the stuff needed to restore it, but I work and do jobs to “pay it off”.

Did you get your hands dirty and help restore it? Definitely. We got the sled a couple of years ago. My dad was really open to letting me pick out how to finish it, but getting there took a long time and a lot of nights in the shop. But yeah, I fixed up the motor – my dad told me what to take apart – and I cleaned the carburetors and sanded down the body and hood. I put a lot of work into it and made it unique!

What makes it stand out? Well, it has pink and purple on it because I like pink! Instead of basic vintage decals, I had flames put on it, along with my name. Salo Signs did the decals for us.

How did you get into this hobby of restoring vintage sleds? My dad is really into it and he has taught me a bunch of things. Next year, when I’m in 8th grade, I will be in shop class where I’ll study about small engines. I’ll learn a lot more then! Most likely I’ll get another snowmobile and work on it myself. Right now, though, my dad bought an old truck that he’s working on so I’ll get to learn some more stuff by helping with that, too.

You get to spend a lot of quality time with your dad it sounds like! Yeah. It’s pretty much me and my dad’s thing. My mom and sister don’t work on that stuff like us. They’ll come to the shop and hang out with us but they won’t really help!

What do you do with your vintage sled now that it’s finished? I drive it for fun around home and I enjoy entering it into vintage snowmobile shows. I’ve also taken it on the Grygla vintage ride two years in a row.

Are the vintage rides fun? Yes! We drove one from St. Hilaire to Red Lake Falls and also a couple around Grygla. Although this year, mine broke down on the Grygla ride. My dad and I changed the belt and tried to pull start it and it wouldn’t go. We thought, “Oh great.” But it turns out it’s just a couple of crank bearings, but we had to tear apart the entire engine because we didn’t know what it was at first. 

What vintage shows have you entered? I’ve brought it to the Backbreaker’s Vintage Snowmobile Show in Grygla. This year I went to a show in St. Hilaire, too. Last year we went to one in Roseau. My dad enters his too; he has four sleds restored of his own.

Have you won any awards or trophies at any of the shows you’ve went to? I’ve won in Grygla twice. One was from the vintage ride in 2014, my first year entering, and I won for ‘Most Unique’, which is always the category I enter; it’s all people’s choice at the Grygla show. The other award was for best vintage sled at the Grygla Fall Fest in 2014. That one was voted on by a panel of judges.

What’s been your favorite show you’ve entered? I have to say Grygla because you know more people and it’s fun to see how amazed the people are when they find out I’ve entered a sled in the show and that I’m interested in it! There aren’t too many girls that are actually interested in this!

Do you consider this a hobby? I do. I also like to play volleyball, but I like to help my dad in the shop. It gives me something to do and it’s fun! I’m one of those people who are just a tomboy, I guess.

What’s your favorite thing about this hobby? I like to see people’s reactions! But I really enjoy seeing all the different vintage sleds - that’s what I really like. 

What does your future look like with vintage snowmobiles? I’d like to maybe buy my own sled one day and do it all by myself from start to finish. I also like these Little Andy sleds; they are tiny vintage sleds. I’d like one of those, but then we’d have to make it my own and a put a unique touch on it. I really want to do that. It wouldn’t be much for driving around, but I’d show it off at shows.

Do you have any advice for someone who might want to get into something like this? Well, this is an expensive hobby and if anyone wants to do it, you’re going to need lots of time and patience and know what you’re doing. It’s a long process but it’s worth it to see what it looks like when it’s finished. And you get to feel proud that you did it!