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Reunions, Car Shows,
Anniversaries,
and Encounters
with Stars of the Past
2005 Swanzey Meet Barre VT Reunions Watervliet Breakfasts Bear Ridge 40th Northeastern Reunion Casey's Party
2005 Swanzey, NH Car Show and Vintage Meet
Swanzey, New Hampshire hosts a vintage race car meet, in coordination with their Old Home Days [or whatever exactly they call them] annually in July. This was the largest of its kind, in terms of the number of participants, that I have personally attended. Photos here include some guest stars and some beautifully - restored cars. Other exhibits included photo albums and model cars.
The immaculate Bushey |
Group shot from the Swanzey show. Can you find your favorite legend ? Terry Marks, one of the show's organizer and a car restorer, is at far left. Next to Marks is Harold Rounds. Sonny Rabideau is to the right of the banner, helping hold it. Buddy Bardwell is in the red hat behind the man holding a green jacket on his arm. Don Rounds is partially hidden, in front of the man in the maroon T-shirt in the middle.
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NEAR Hall of Famer |
Buddy Bardwell returned |
Racing legend Don
Rounds talks with Sonny Rabideau. Can you
imagine all these men |
Driver & owner Jean Michaud [left] with car builder Bruce
Carmen, who built those #23's |
Barre, VT Car Show and Thunder Road Reunion
Barre, Vermont hosts a
Thunder Road reunion vintage meet, in coordination with their Barre Home Town Days.
The meet is at the Barre City Fire station. It has been held for years, but it
is in danger of being cancelled because the fire station has been condemned. The
firemen cannot even store their engines inside.
Various interested locals,
including Barre race historian Cho Lee, set up the meet yearly and it has
attracted a number of Thunder Road, Northeast Speedway, Catamount Stadium, and
Dog River Speedway veterans, as well as delighted fans and history buffs like
me.
The car of Norm Historian Cho Lee is at
Norm in his car.
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2005 Barre Reunion
2005 Barre Reunion
2005 Barre Reunion |
Bobby Dragon [left] and
2005 Barre Reunion |
Courtesy of Cho Lee Norm's car entering Thunder Road. Year unknown |
The Monthly Watervliet Breakfast
A large group of veteran drivers,
car owners, photographers, and other appreciators of the vintage years of racing
meet every first Thursday of the month at a small diner near Watervliet, NY [I
wish I could remember the name of the place]. I now know it is a function of the
NESCOT club. I found about this from Carl Fink,
a former driver in the region and a present - day owner of a vintage midget race
car, which he travels around and displays.
I figured I
absolutely HAD to get to one of these during the summer of 2007, so I went down
on July 5 and had a great time. Among those in attendance at recent breakfasts
include former drivers Link Pettit, Carl Fink, Cookie Osterhoudt, Ernie Martin,
Johnny Flach, Lee Palmer, Ollie Palmer, Bruce Dostal, Lou Martin, Mike Ehring,
and many more whose names I cannot come up with. Among the car owners are Cliff
Wright and Bob Zautner, as well as midget owner Joe Sukup. Track photographers
include Les King and John Grady, and there were other notables such as artist
Sam Barlow, historian Ken Gypson, and Ed Biittig, who owns a considerable photo
collection, himself.
My friend [and big
Jack DuBrul fan] Bob Novak was there the week I came down. Others who signed the
pad for me in June were Bruce Boyler, Bill Gonyea, Mike Kulzer, John Bichteman,
John Cahill, Claude Barber, Bob Barber, and Joel File. If you are in this scene
and you live anywhere near that area, it's something you ought to do. Contact
one of these guys to get directions.
 Ladabouche Photo Johnny Flach [hat with red brim]. I'm sorry I don't know the others yet. |
 Ladabouche Photo [From left] - Sam Barlow, Bob Zautner, Cliff Wright, and a man I don't know yet. |
 Ladabouche Photo Historian Ken Gypson [foreground], Les King [red shirt], and Mrs. King. |
 Ladabouche Photo Lee Palmer |
 Ladabouche Photo Link Pettit, [left] chats with another former driver - maybe Cookie. |
 Cavalcade Photo Cookie, in the day |
Conroy Photo Courtesy of Chris Companion
Two of the six guys in this old Lebanon Valley shot
are sometimes at the breakfast:
Lee Palmer [second from left] and Ollie Palmer [cigar, no relation to Lee]. The
whole group is: Howie Westervelt [left], Lee Palmer, Ollie Palmer, Lou Hacker,
Bob Kudlate, and Henry Bouchard.
Bill Ladabouche Photo
Photographer at Whites Beach probably Irv Conron
Ernie Martin, a regular at the breakfast. [Left] attending
the lost race tracks conference
in Saratoga in April. [Right] as Whites Beach Champion.
The Fortieth Anniversary of Bear Ridge
Cho Lee had been telling me for
months about how he was putting together a special album for the 40th
anniversary of George Barber's founding of Bear Ridge Speedway, a track whose
main purpose was to save that most endangered of species called the flathead
stock car. In 1965, Thunder Road had begun to phase them out because of the new
NASCAR affliliation, and tracks like Fairmont and Claremont were seeing more and
more of the overhead V-8's in Victory Lane, as well. The new Catamount Stadium
wasn't particularly interested in the flatheads either, and its size was not
ideal for them.
Barber,
apparently with some help from Herb Gray, had taken some land on top of a
mountain in the middle of nowhere, near Bradford, Vermont, and carved out a
fairly bucolic little oval no longer than one fifth mile. Soon, about every
damned coupe with a flatheaqd had been pulled out from behind the garage or barn
and was running at the Ridge. The track enjoyed publicity [albeit somewhat
sarcastic] in STOCK CAR RACING magazine in the early 1970's. As with all things,
changes came and the track ended up with many of the more modern Troyer cars and
others of that type. They kept a coupe division; although, today, most of the
coupes are just modern chassis' with a very modified coupe body on top.
The evening
was very successful, giving promoter Butch Elms one of the biggest crowds of the
year, and he was presented by an original poster from the track that had once
been owned by George Barber. Barber himself, now in a care home, was transported
to the track where he watched not only the races but also a parade of vintage
stock cars including his own #46 Bradford Auto Parts car. Below are the few
photos I took of the vintage car end of the program.
 Ladabouche Photo Doug Farrow [owner] and Johnny Gammell, with a car Johnny drove. |
 Ladabouche Photo Vintage coupes display. Among those in the shot: Butch Elms, Lloyd Hutchins, Harold Montandon, and Johnny Gammell. |
 Ladabouche Photo Vintage Row Cars include Farrow's 32, Hutchins' 46 and 12, and Zampieri's 30. |
 Zampieiri Collection Buddy Bardwell was there with his Hudson coupe. |
 Courtesy of Cho Lee George Barber, at home with his son in the 1960's. |
 Courtesy of Cho Lee A typical scene from the first season at Bear Ridge. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
The poster given to Butch Elms by Cho Lee. Sorry about the
poor photo quality.
2010 Bear Ridge Old Timers'
Night
All 2010 Oldtimers' Night Photos by Ladabouche
The restored coupe of Ervine "Brother" Eastman was one
of the most significant cars in the
history of the track [and it was a big hit at the 2010 Oldtimers' Night
festivities]. In attendance were a number of
former drivers, as well as many vintage racing historians like Cho Lee, Lloyd
Hutchins, Neal and Rob Davis, Ken Paulsen,
Scott Haskell, and more. I apologize for forgetting other names, but it was a
month ago.
 Two of the hard workers in the field of vintage racing preservation: Neal Davis [left] and George Hill |
 The #199 Farley Kemp Camaro entry of Bill Kemp had the most power and raised the most noise. F. Kemp was an associate of Bobby Edwards, of Alligator car fame. |
 The Lazy 6 was one of the actual Bear Ridge cars of the past. |
 The former Emerson 27 was another old Ridge car. It came up with Barry Roy and Archie Banks. |
 Neal Davis' great model of his father's car, the 99 of Carroll "Crash" Davis. It ran at Pico Raceway, in Rutland, Vermont. |
 This was a replica of Richard Southworth's B Class car that ran at T Road and N'eastern. |
 Former driver and flagger Emilio Girelli posed by the 3J car. |
I didn't have photos of the Rocky Cusinelli 51. The
Lloyd Hutchins car are already shown in several other photo locations on the page. He and Cho brought the Barber 46 and the Chaloux 12 this year. The 3J is shown elsewhere, as well. The former Silvio Bilodeau 92, shown in the Northeastern Reunion section, was"there. |
The Northeastern Speedway Reunion 2009
After nearly a year of work to clear and reclaim the long - dormant Northeastern Speedway site, owners Paul and Lise Belfeuille hosted a track reunion on July 18, 2009, the fiftieth anniversary of the track's opening. I will insert photos as I receive them. It was one of the most enjoyable and emotional reunions I ever attended.
 Northeastern Program Cover Photo Cars line up on front stretch in 1963. |
 Ladabouche Photo The front stretch, around 1980.
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 Steve Poulin Photo Paul Belfeuille directs parade laps on July 18, 2009. |
 Ladabouche Photo Cars parading on the front stretch. |
 S. Poulin Photo Paul Belfeuille displays the 1st checkers flown at the track. It is in a photo frame. |
 Ladabouche Photo Charlie Ely [left] and Johnny Gammell, two founders of the track. |
 Ladabouche Photo Buddy Bardwell trailered his famous Hudson all the way from Keene, NH. |
 S. Placey Photo This banner welcomes you to the N.E. Spdwy 2009 Reunion. |
 S. Placey Photo The walkway looked very familiar to the old hands at the reunion. |
 S. Placey Photo An accurate replica of the old ticket booth with an authentic old sign. |
 S. Placey Photo The railroad ties are still protecting the fans from turn four. |
2010
Northeastern Reunion
 Photo Courtesy of Paul Bellefeuille |
 Photo Courtesy of Paul Bellefeuille |
Ron Bouchard's Yearly Nostalgia Meets
Every year, former NASCAR Winston Cup and former Northeast modified driver Ron Bouchard hosts a gathering at his Fitchburg, MA auto dealership. This attracts many vinatge racing buffs, as well as car restorers and many of the original drivers, themselves. I was lucky enough to go with my wife in 2007.
 LadabouchePhoto Ernie Gahan talks with Buddy Bardwell . |
 LadabouchePhoto Billy Harmon talks with Leo Cleary and Bob Potter |
 LadabouchePhoto Extraordinary car builder Marty Harty and Mrs. Harty. |
 LadabouchePhoto Ernie Gahan talks with an unidentified man.
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 LadabouchePhoto Buddy Bardwell and 13 . |
John Casey's Annual Old Timers' Party
Almost every year, John Casey is gracious enough to host a picnic and get-together for people involved in the earlier years of racing in Vermont. It centers around NASCAR and ACT , but he has had guest such as C. J. Richards and Dan Kearney - from the Rutland County area, as well. The party used to be at Casey's camp, somewhere way up north. Recently, he has held it in the Turn Three Pavilion, Forsythe Hill - at Thunder Road.
2009
 Steve McKnight Photo Ron Lamell, Sr. and Jr. |
 McKnight Photo Alvin "Slugger" Fadden threatens "Bear Staples, from McCabe's crew. Yeah, right. |
 McKnight Photo Kevin Lepage and Justin St. Louis. |
 R Scott Haskell Photo Harold Hanford and Johnny Gammell. |
 McKnight Photo Large group shot taken by Steve "The Shutterbug" McKnight.
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 McKnight Photo Two old mega-rivals J P Cabana and Bobby Dragon. |
 McKnight Photo Tiger Tom Pistone and yours truly. McKnight says we look alike. I always said Pistone is one handsome man. |
 R Scott Haskell Photo The crowd, munching away. |
 R Scott Haskell Photo Dave Moody and some of his womans. |
 R Scott Haskell Photo What's a spread of Casey's party without the hosts ? |
 R Scott Haskell Photo Let's hear it for the cooks. |
 R Scott Haskell Photo Lloyd Hutchins talks with A.W. Clark. That's Tony Andrews in the foreground. |
 R Scott Haskell Photo Me, talking to Dan Kearney [obscured by my massive body] and his group. |
 R Scott Haskell Photo Me, Cho Lee, Lloyd Hutchins, Bob Dragon, Leif Tillotson - among others.
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 R Scott Haskell Photo A plug for Casey's great publication. |
 T Brisson Family Photo There must have been some serious Stories exchanged here: Langis Caron, Kevin Lepage, JP Cabana, and Beaver Dragon. |
 T Brisson Family Photo Former team mates talk. Robbie Crouch, Dale Shaw [kneeling], Dick Glines. That's Gardiner and June Leavitt in the background. |
2007
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 Ladabouche Photo A group talking to Stub Fadden: Tom Tiller, John Keefer, Valerie and Steve Poulin |
2012 Airborne Park Speedway Legends Reunion
The track has added a little to each succeeding year's festivities when they recognize their stars of the past. Few areas hold their stars of yesteryear in more reverence than do the people at Airborne - all the way from promoter Mike Perrotte to very young people who now participate or just attend as fans. Sadly, we continue to lose our past Airborne stars like Charlie Trombley, Dick Nephew, and Bob Bruno [died last year]. This year did feature Jackie Peterson, Jean-Paul Cabana, Bob Trombley, car owner Gaylord "Junior" Rowe, Henry Jarvis, Harold Ormsby, Jim LeClaire, Bob Brunell, Jack Liberty, and others. Usual attendee, Bill Wimble, was unable to come this year. Others like long - time Bob Bruno mechanic Jack Rugar and former driver Robin Branham were in attendance but preferred to stand out of the limelight.
Bruce Jarvis, nephew of Henry and son of Ralph, did a bang-up job with the luminaries' bios and with interviews.
Norty Foster Photo
Jackie Peterson, with the
replica of the sprinter he ran in 1949 at tracks in Ticonderoga, Sheldon, VT, and elsewhere. Clem Couture assisted the 89 year - old in this project.
Norty Foster Photo
Jackie Peterson, car owner
Ralph Jarvis, and me - at
the festivities.
Norty Foster Photo
Me, with Junior Rowe, son
of the famous car owner Gaylord
Rowe [himself, an owner and crewman]
Ladabouche Photo
Jack Liberty had a replica of his
JL7 on the track. That's Harold Ormsby, at left.
Ladabouche Photo
Bruce Jarvis interviews
Jean-Paul Cabana. Sorry
about the blurriness.
Ladabouche Photo
Curt "Metal Man" Giventer
with his #2 sedan, a veteran
of Weisglass Stadium, State
Island racing. At left is
a Canadian vintage
restoration entry.
2017 Airborne Park Speedway Legends Reunion
The track has added a little to each succeeding year's festivities when they recognize their stars of the past. Few areas hold their stars of yesteryear in more reverence than do the people at Airborne - all the way from promoter John Walker to very young people who now participate or just attend as fans. Sadly, we continue to lose our past Airborne stars like Charlie Trombley, Dick Nephew, and Bob Bruno [died last year]. This year did feature Jackie Peterson, Bob Dragon, Beaver Dragon, Joe Thomas, car owner Gaylord "Junior" Rowe, Larry Delong, Bob Brunell, Eugene Bushey and others. Usual attendee, Bill Wimble, was unable to come this year.
Bruce Jarvis, nephew of Henry and son of Ralph, once again did a bang-up job with the luminaries' bios and with interviews.
Norty Foster Photo
Jackie Peterson is interviewed by Bruce Jarvis [woith great effort Jackie is deaf]. Beaver
Dragon is at left.
Norty Foster Photo
Larry Delong, Wes Moody, Beaver Dragon, and Bob Brunell. Brunell and Moody also promoted the track at one point or another.
Norty Foster Photo
Promoter John Walker cracks a joke as he joins the honorees for a group photo
after the interviews.
Norty Foster Photo
From left- Wes Mooney, Billy Fountain,Bob Dragon, Jim Macomb, UNK, and Joe Thomas.
Norty Foster Photo
Bruce Jarviswith me and
possibly Mrs. Jarvis.
Norty Foster Photo
Beaver and Bob Dragon
tackle some of the event's
catered supper.
Norty Foster Photo
Joe Thomas and I met for the first time.
Norty Foster Photo
I had not seen Larry Delong since
I workied for the track in 1985.
Norty Foster Photo
Bob Brunell drove late models and modifieds at the track, as well as
helping with promotion to save the track from folding in the 70's.
Norty Foster Photo
Gary Nephew not only brings one of his national champion father's cars each year, but he is very generous with vintage photos.
Norty Foster Photo
95 year - old Jackie Peterson has the honor of signing a large banner first.
Norty Foster Photo
Beaver Dragon and Steve Fuller,
a recent track owner. They probably know each other more through trucks and excavators than through racing.
Norty Foster Photo
Former Vic Wolfe mechanic Jack
Rugar, Sr. [ctr] talks with Bob Dragon [rt]..
Norty Foster Photo
Jackie Peterson [rt] with Phhil Butler [ctr].
Norty Foster Photo
Former car owner Gaylord Rowe, Jr. [left], Wes Moody, and Jackie P.
