A 500 mile drive down memory lane

I am thinking this morning of Dick Whipp, Sonny Kemp, Jack Austin, Dick Laemmel, Mary Bimm, Sarah Booth (I think she attended one) and many others, who came to our Indy 500 Weekend on Lookout Drive in Dayton, Ohio, Oakwood. We made a three day event out of it.

The Indy 500 was an all day event in those days, and we generally slept out in the "Picnic House" the night before. We had some really great times. Not sure how many of the old crowd are left.

The picnic house was great, I still suffer, in my back, from carrying those cement bags out there. Joe Rizzo did the brick work. My Uncle Denny could never remember his name, called him Josia Jallapy. I think Denny help with some of the framing, I know he did on the GIANT garage on Brown Street.

Dad found a big piece of one inch thick steel and that was what we cooked on, over a big log fire, a great place for a picnic.

I have been a fan of the 500 all my life, I think because of my Indiana heritage. I remember one year, we had been visiting at Uncle Paul's in Marion, and on our way back we got caught up in the traffic from the race. I remember we were a number of cars back, in a bumper to bumper line of traffic. Up ahead, a car was on the railroad tracks and could not get off. All I remember was seeing a big broad brimmed white ladies hat go flying in the wind as the train took the car down the tracks.

Howdie Bell was one of the announcers at the track, I forget the other names. There were announcers at each curve and on the straightaways. It was a great, all day, event. In the early years I listened to it on the radio. The Indiana University Band, Back Home Again in Indiana, the balloons, in the old days, Gentlemen, Start Your Engines.

Bring back the good old days .....