PISC - Presque Isle Snowmobile Club
    Waterford, PA (814) 796-6857  

Romance in the snow
Anne Rosthauser wouldn't call herself a winter person.

The Summit Township resident said she prefers warmer weather, but believes that if there must be snow, "you might as well make lemonade out of lemons."

Rosthauser and her husband, Jeff Rosthauser, churn their lemonade aboard Arctic Cat snowmobiles, cruising on trails throughout the region whenever the mood strikes them. They also play active roles in the Presque Isle Snowmobile Club.

"Basically, if there's snow, we go,"she said. "Most of the time, because it's Erie, you look outside and say, 'You know what? We're going.'"

The Rosthausers' romance with motorized sleds wasn't an easy courtship. It started about 29 years ago when Jeff Rosthauser bought his first sled after a friend introduced him to the pastime.

Back then, he used to say it took three days working on the snowmobile to equal three hours of riding time, Anne Rosthauser said.

"When we started dating, a typical evening was a ride on the snowmobile for about 30 minutes, then getting off and trying to get it running again. He would pull his belt off and put it on the recoil to make it spin and get it started again," she said.

Those were the days when there were few improved trails, barely anyplace to cross a creek, and an absence of good riding gear. So a ride would usually end with wet jeans, raw cheeks, numb fingers and ears ringing from the groan of a noisy engine.

"Not only that, you ended up smelling like gas," Rosthauser said.

Today, the couple enjoy tooling about in Gortex clothing and helmets with heated face shields aboard snowmobiles featuring electric starters and heated handlebars. They also ride with their two daughters, ages 24 and 12, sharing a passion for a winter sport that Anne Rosthauser said keeps her family close and has introduced them to many good friends.

Anne, Dawn and Jeff Rosthauser ride their snowmobiles at the Presque Isle Snowmobile Club. The family, not originally snow lovers, decided to start snowmobiling to make winter more fun. (Jack Hanrahan / Erie Times-News)