Historic snow plane now fully restored
Couple eager to showcase restored Fudge snow plane
May 26, 2025, 9:30 am
Ashley Bochek
On July 12, Lisl Gunderman and Darrell Hunter of Alberta, will be showcasing their fully restored Fudge Snow plane at the Moosomin Chamber of Commerce parade.
Gunderman and Hunter explain their connection to the Fudge snow plane and the connection to Moosomin.
“The machine we restored is a Fudge brand snow plane. The Fudge Industry shop was in Moosomin from 1929 until the ‘70s.
“I am born and raised in Alberta, but I have family in Southeast Saskatchewan. Both of my mom and dad are from Oxbow and the history project—my grandpa on my mom side, he was a doctor in Oxbow from 1947 until 1991.
When he started roads weren’t reliable for winter transportation. Most of his work would have primarily been going out to peoples places to do house calls and he purchased a snow plane to have reliable winter transportation from the Fudge Industries Factory in Moosomin.”
Gunderman says her grandpa painted an emblem on the side of the snowplane.
“My grandpa had a sense of humour—he painted a stork holding a baby bundle on the side of it, and he called it the delivery wagon.”
She says the snowplane was misplaced after her grandparents passing.
“When I was growing up it was just a rundown vehicle in my grandparents’ yard, and I had always just seen it sitting there,” Gunderman said. “Once my grandparents passed, things were dispersed and we didn’t know what had happened to the snowplane. I had uncles tell me it had been at the Elkhorn Museum, but then it wasn’t there anymore—it was a dead end and we didn’t really know what had happened. Then, by chance, my husband, Darrell, and I went to the Elkhorn Museum in the summer of 2022. When we were there we had asked the staff if there had been a snowplane there and the girl working said there had been the parts of one dropped off last summer so she took us out to a shed to take a look at it and on the side of the fuselage we could see the legs of the stork still on the side of it so I realized that it was my grandpa’s machine.”
Restoring snowplane
Gunderman says they have restored the snowplane in their shop in Alberta.
“We went into a five-year agreement with the Elkhorn Museum to restore the machine. We would restore it at our own expense and then have it be back on display permanently in Elkhorn. So, we brought all the pieces back to our shop in Alberta and Darrell took over the restoration.”
Hunter says he was excited to restore the snowplane. “I am a heavy duty mechanic. I love doing this stuff. I have a brand new shop and have had lots of help from Dean Godon—calling him steady on the phone asking about parts. It was a really fun project. The love for this machine is amazing and that is when we became connected with Moosomin. Moosomin is a special place.”
Meeting local people
Gunderman says they have met many new people all over Southeast Saskatchewan since starting this project.
“With restoring the Fudge machine we’ve been meeting new people and directed to find certain people who have parts we need or history information. We’ve had a chance to meet a lot more people in the area. With the Fudge Factory being in Moosomin and being it is a Fudge machine‚ there is a lot of history that has to go with it all. Also, that Fudge shop was not just making snowplanes, they made swings for playgrounds, desks for schools, display cabinets for shops, and not just in Moosomin, but across Saskatchewan and Western Canada. Moosomin is a hub of the prairies.
“As we met more people and there happened to be more media—lots of memorabilia has come our way. We have been given photos, articles, brochures—it would be a shame to keep it hidden in boxes so I thought with our snowplane restoration wouldn’t it be awesome if we got ourselves an enclosed trailer and outfit the inside of the trailer to be a travelling museum,” Said Gunderman. “We found a great deal on a 24 foot enclosed trailer in the spring that is going to be able to pull the snowplane. The snowplane is going back to the Elkhorn Museum in the fall of 2027, so we have three summers to share and show it.”
Travelling museum
Gunderman says they hope to be part of many regional events with their travelling museum and restored snowplane.
“We are hoping to make the trailer and mobile museum along with the snowplane an attraction at local and community events,” she said.
“We would love to use our enclosed trailer museum to be an attractor for people to come and get a notion that they need to visit the museums. There are amazing regional museums in the area that would be great for people and kids to see. We’re definitely open to just about anything. We have got a lot of amazing memorabilia to outfit the inside of it to make it a museum.”
Gunderman says they will be joining the Moosomin Chamber of Commerce parade this July.
“We will be at the Moosomin Chamber of Commerce parade July 12, and the Kenosee Moose Mountain Provincial Car Show was another event we hope to go to. We would just like to plant a seed for everyone to see how it may be used as an attraction at an event. I am interested in having it be super interactive for people and a real hands-on experience. Darrell is setting it up so you can put your hands on the prop and spin the propeller.
“I even found an inexpensive model car kit that has a little propeller on the back so kids can make a wind power car toy, but it is an opportunity for a kid to get a tool in hand and you just never know when that will plant a seed for someone to become a tradesperson or get interested into mechanics.”
Hunter adds, “We gathered memorabilia from everywhere. Lots has been given to us, lots we bought, the trailer is going to be pretty good. People are going to be shocked.”
Connections to restoration project from all over
Gunderman says they have received comments and memorabilia for their snowplane restoration from all over Western Canada.
“The World-Spectator article was shared to different communities across the country.
“Up until a couple of weeks ago we had not connected with a Fudge family member, but now we have—George Fudge. The article was shared in Ontario and this Ontario person who saw it connected with George Fudge who is in Kamloops now, he is 80 years old.
“He had his granddaughter find Darrell on social media so we could share with him what we were doing and he was delighted about it.”
Learning experience
Gunderman says their trailer museum will hold four historical educational pieces.
“Young or old people have connection to it. Some people are interested in the mechanics, some are nostalgic about it. Kids are fascinated with the look of the contraption.
“The trailer—I see it sorting itself out into four themes of the story essentially—it is a health history transportation story of the Prairies and Prairie settlement, the Fudge Shop, Robert Fudge, and Fudge Industries in Moosomin that was so progressive and innovative, Darrell and I have a story of restoring it, and the fourth story there are—in Western Canada and even in North Central United States—a lot of snowplane enthusiasts that get together and have meets and it is like a car show for snowplanes with new and older models.”
Hunter says they will be accepting donations to local museums in their trailer museum.
“In our mobile museum there are going to be boxes that people can donate for every museum in this area. We had been to just about every museum within the area and they all say they have the same problem—many said to me, ‘Darrell, what project do you want next from us? We need help.’ So the little that we can do—we want to ask for donations for any museum your choice. We are looking to support the museums.
“Also, we are looking for a locked up and secure place to store the trailer while we are in town. We are also looking for businesses to collaborate with us and we can display signs of the business, and we could give out these toy building cars for free to kids and get them into trades and building. It is about getting people into the trailer to see historical and exciting pieces—talk about Moosomin, talk about Fudge Industries, snowplanes, and then get them into our museums. Anything in our museum is going to be hands-on as well.
“We are very passionate about it, so reach out and let us know of any events.”
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