Page 343 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

Every member of the Peterson team was proud to be part of the historic project. Their many innova- tions showed a deep sense of pride, craftsmanship, and moments of brilliance. It was a way of put- ting their stamp on a piece of history. “This is the best team I’ve ever worked on,” says Roberson. “Joe Frati was the brains of the operation.”
Mike Stubb concurs. “Usually someone wants to be in charge and be the hero and tell everyone else what to do. But there was none of that. Joe would grab a pair of coveralls and come out and start welding or doing whatever he could to help.
The worst part of this project was that it came to an end. We really had a good time. There were definitely times where we were beating our heads up against the wall trying to figure things out, but it was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to doing more.”
The last day was bittersweet. “That was one of the happiest and saddest days of my career,” says Frati. “I was glad it was finally coming to a close because it was a lot of work. But it was sad to see the proj- ect end because it was so much fun. It was an epic project. A project of a lifetime.”
POSTSCRIPT:
In 2014, long-time Peterson customer Glen Ghilotti bought one of McMurdo Station’s old Stretch D8s, Mary Ann, from a federal auction site. At one time McMurdo had a fleet of SnoCats and other Cat machines used to build and maintain the research station. According to Tim Thomas, the last group of Stretch 8s was produced in the 1950s and operated up until 2014 when they were all sent back to the States to be sold.“Those Stretch 8s were built by Cat in Peoria, which goes back to the SnoCat design from Peterson. With all the history between Peterson and Caterpillar, you can definitely see how a lot of things from the Peterson side blended back in.”
Glen Ghilotti bought SnoCat, Mary Ann, in 2014. He purchased Mary Ann’s sister, Rebecca, a few months before he died unexpectedly in March 2018. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there to take delivery. Glen’s historical fleet—along with Mary Ann and Rebecca—now belong to his children, Kevin and Jennifer Ghilotti. Glen with his son, Kevin Ghilotti at bottom right.
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