ROCKVILLE—In honour of the man who so loved hitting the trails and who worked tirelessly for the Manitoulin Snowdusters Snowmobile Club, on Saturday a portion of snowmobile trail in Rockville was dedicated in honour of the late Ron Sheppard, a Rockville resident.
Ron and his brother Charles Sheppard were with the Snowdusters from the very start, said Snowdusters secretary Sue Middaugh. “They worked tirelessly to start up the club and helped immensely to keep the sport alive and thriving. Then, when his sons were old enough, some of them started to participate in various races around the country and abroad, Ron helped with this sport and also was a ambassador for Manitoulin Island.”
Ms. Middaugh noted that it was Mr. Sheppard who was the driving force behind the Southeast Manitoulin Lions Club Pro Challenge snowmobile races, held at the racetrack in Manitowaning for three years. Even though he was battling cancer, Mr. Sheppard still managed to pull in some of the top racers, including his own sons. “People were astonished at the level of racing Ron was still able to organize even in his condition,” the secretary said.
“He was always there for any helpful advice that we needed when we came up against problems with trails, machinery, or you name it, for our club,” Ms. Middaugh added. “My oldest son, David, became an honourary member of the Sheppard family years ago and spent many hours snowmobiling and helping Ron and his son Robert at different races. I feel that the influence of the Sheppard family and Ron encouraged my three sons and myself to become so involved in the Manitoulin Snowdusters.”
Ms. Middaugh recalled that the day after Mr. Sheppard passed away, her son David called her and said, ‘mom, we have to do something in memory of Ron because he did so much for snowmobiling on Manitoulin Island.’ He brought it to our board meeting and the motion was enthusiastically passed without hesitation. Plans were put in motion to be able to hold the trail dedication at the Snowdusters’ annual fish supper in Mr. Sheppard’s community of Rockville, held this past weekend.
Doran McVey, Snowdusters president, and Rick Bond, vice-president, made beautiful frames and stands for the signs that are posted at the beginning and end of the trail that was chosen to represent the community of Rockville, where Mr. Sheppard and his wife Carol lived and raised three sons.
In an emotional dedication, the family shared with the Snowdusters that they were happy that their father was being recognized in such a special way. Son Paul Sheppard shared that it helped his daughters with the loss of their grandfather with his youngest daughter saying, “now people will get to ride on my grandpa’s trail.”
