Excerpt from Sunday 1/10/10 Traverse City Record Eagle page 1A and 1B

By Sheri McWhirter
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com

ACME -- Kathy Tuckerman sat in a chair while Kim Dittmar kneeled at her feet, tightening straps on a pair of snowshoes.

"Keep wiggling, wiggling, wiggling," Dittmar said. "OK, stand up for me. There you go and then tighten it up there."

Tuckerman, of Traverse City, rose to her feet and began to stomp around, snow crunching beneath her borrowed snowshoes. She was among more than 100 who showed up Saturday at the Vasa trailhead in Acme for free lessons sponsored by TART Trails and the Vasa Ski Club.

"So far, so good. I think I love it," Tuckerman said. "It's my first attempt at a winter activity and I'm ready to rock and roll." More