Sunday, September 5, 2010

Jimmie Lynch's Death Dodgers were right here in Fort William at the CLE in 1947...

Memories of the Dare Devil Thrill Shows are always foremost in my mind when I think of "Going to the Fair", or "Going to the Circus" as some would say. As a child this was one of the highlights of the summer. Even though I was very young when the following show came, many different Dare Devil Driver shows came here through the 1950's and into the 1960's. The thrill shows and dare devil driver shows date back to when automobiles first made the scene.

Here is a clipping from the Fort William Times Journal on July 28, 1947, also showing that Royal American Shows did the midway and that they also gave away a 1947 Mercury Sedan. The next photo is a local CLE poster from a prior or later year promoting Jimmy Lynch's show in full colour coming to Fort William and Port Arthur for "Two Special Matinees".

Here is a clip from the 1940 Worlds Fair in New York showing Jimmie Lynch in action(PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH THE SLIGHT PAUSES IN THE FILM...IT'S WORTH THE WATCH...click on the small arrow bottom left to play). I particularly like the car jumping over the two "Borden's" Divco milk trucks and using another car for a cushion. Jimmie destroyed future possible Hot Rods back then too.
The next picture, a little blurry but advertises Jimmy Lynch and his Death Dodgers.
Here are a couple more photos of Jimmy in action in the 1940's and into the 1950's
He even did a Human Torpedo thing....and was famous enough to do commercial advertising for B. F. Goodrich Tires....even in cartoon format!
Finally a couple of Souvenir Program covers in his Red/Yellow and White colours.
Be sure to check on other Thrill Driver posts in this Blog Site!
POST SCRIPT HERE: MY FRIEND RON LIMBRICK REMEMBERS AS A BOY, JIMMIE LYNCH AND HIS CREW STAYING AT "THE ROYAL FORT TOURIST CAMP" ON THE CORNER OF MAY AND SOUTHERN. HE REMEMBERS IT WELL BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE RON LIVED WITH HIS PARENTS WHO RAN THE ROYAL FORT. HE HAD ALSO REMEMBERED CIRCUS FOLKS STAYING THERE AND GYMNASTS PRACTICING ON THEIR LAWN!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE POST ABOUT "THE ROYAL FORT" AND WHAT WAS BUILT LATER ON THE PROPERTY.... http://hotrodsandjalopies.blogspot.com/2009/07/may-street-and-southernthe-royal-fort.html How cool is that!!
Some pictures are small format but others will enlarge well if you click on them and some twice!

11 comments:

The Milner Coupe said...

Just found your site. Terrific blog. I look forward to spending some time here. I see from a past post that you dig the Graffiti Coupe. We're building a tribute to it. You can check it out if you're interested. www.themilnercoupe.com
Keep up the great work. Aloha.
HJ

Dave Cano said...

Jumped to your website too...great stuff also...I expect so spend some time there for sure. Thanks for the kudos and keep coming back...D.

Unknown said...

My grandfather rode with the Death Dodgers in 1935-1937; He did most of the motorcycle stunts his name his Bill Williams. I have some flyers and photos of the Death Dodgers. I was wondering if anyone else has any of my grandfather. Leilani grandaughter I will check here for comments.

Dave Cano said...

Leilani...thanks for your comment...incredible! I would love to see some scans of the flyers or photos and I will do another post if you have the time. You can send them to my web page email address at dcan@tbaytel.net
Best Wishes for a Happy and Safe New Year, Dave

Anonymous said...

These photos are great. My grandfather is Jimmie Lynch's son, Robert Lynch. He always tells us grandchildren stories about traveling with his father. I always enjoy seeing stuff about my great grandfather.

Anonymous said...

Jimmie was my Grandmother's brother, and my father parked the cars for Jimmie to jump over at the NY World's Fair when he was 11. There's a great Youtube video of Jimmie introducing a new Dodge model, where he basically destroys it. Would be a great link.

LittleJudy said...

My father drove with Jimmie Lynch's Death Dodgers in the mid-1930's and 40's. His name was Bob May/Bob Maynard. I remember visiting Texarkana as a little girl with my parents and staying at the ranch. Does anyone know of Jackie Lynch, also a son of Jimmie's? I have some pictures of the show that I could share.

Dave Cano said...

Hello LittleJudy and thank you for your comment. I did a search on Jackie Lynch on the internet but none connected with Jimmie. I would love to see some pictures of the show that you have. You can email them to me at dcan@tbaytel.net which is the connecting email to my blog site. These shows came into Canada many time when I was a child and as a car guy was totally mesmerized by it all. Thanks again, Dave

Bejewell said...

Jimmie Lynch, Sr. was my great-grandfather; his son Jimmie Lynch, Jr., who also drove with the Death Dodgers, was my grandfather. Grandpa went on to become a decorated Army Colonel and was widely loved in his adopted hometown of Paris, Texas. Sadly, we lost him to a heart attack when I was in high school. It's super fun to come across sites like yours -- so very proud of them both!

Dave Cano said...

Thanks to all Jimmie Lynch's family members for posting here. It's very interesting to read all the family connections.

Dave Cano said...

Received via email and posting for her:
I found your website but was unable to post a comment.

I saw that there was a picture of my mother, Jacquelyn "ByeBye" Boddie. She drove with the Death Dodgers at the 1939 World's Fair when she was 18 years old.

Jimmie was married to her aunt Virginia. Mom and Betty Middleton alternated opening for the Death Dodgers.

She met my dad, Buddy Toomey, when Jimmie brought him in to drive at the fair. He had been with Lucky Teter's Hell Drivers. There are several pictures of him with Jimmie on the Internet.

I saw that someone had asked about my cousin, Jackie Lynch (Jimmie and Virginia's son). Sadly, Jackie passed away several years ago.

Helen Toomey Tassara

Thanks Helen, Dave