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Les Raquetteurs

Raquetteurs, Biddeford, 1927

Raquetteurs, Biddeford, 1927

Item 112 info
Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media

The snowshoe club movement, while on the decline in the U.S. in recent years, once had a significant influence in state politics.

Its conventions regularly received salutations from senators and governors.

Even by 1941, a story in Time magazine noted that snowshoeing had been replaced in popularity by skiing. The magazine called it a "dwindling sport," except for the 42 clubs and "2,300 addicts" in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The article commented that those "addicts" still held yearly national championship events and joined with Canadians for international events.

In 1941, it reported, Quebec had 75 "clubs de raquette" and innumerable festivals.

Le Montagnard, the premier American club, dissolved under allegations that its leadership had become more racketeers than raquetteurs.