....More Merv Dove thanks to Merv's Nephew Randy Dove...circa 1953!

This is a continuation of Merv Dove photos from the previous post ...click here if you haven't seen the first post then come back... http://hotrodsandjalopies.blogspot.com/2010/07/merv-dove-gentleman-to-be-admired.html

This is Merv's first car. Above the back window is written "Brent Park Special". Merv says that he lived on Brent St.....so the name! Also on the side is written see Rothchild's for the Hudson Jet. Rothchild's was on the corner of Bay and Secord Street in Port Arthur. The next photo not too clear, but you can see all the extra bleachers that were set up in front of the old grandstand to accommodate hundreds more at the races....not too safe either, as jalopy jockeys were tearing down hundreds of feet of wooden fence on the backstretch and there is only a light chain-link fence here between the racers and the fans.

Merv's next car was totalled(geez, Merv, how many '33 and '34 Fords did you wreck...I'm already getting a sick feeling in my stomach...LOL). Please note that his next sponsor here is Leo's Service which was on Shuniah St. in Port Arthur. The first photo by itself and the second one here with a very young and dejected looking stock car jockey, Merv Dove.

This is none other than Merv's Sponsor Leo Dyson himself in full Texaco Service uniform. The next photo is a dead-on shot showing the front damage, all taken at Leo's on Shuniah Street.

Here is another photo of the good side of the car with Leo at the front, Merv to the right of him and the guy with the flat hat is one of Merv's pit crew Bruce Larson. In the next photo Merv is messing it up with a few other jockeys. Also note the little #2 model "A" pickup truck in the pit area. That is Tom Dow's hauler, painted exactly like his own jalopy. A story is forthcoming on Tom Dow.

Here are a few great shots of the #31 car from the Grandstand at the old CLE track. Just a reminder....this is the exact spot where the Golf Dome is today. The photo on the right is taken as the drivers pile into the pit area before the races. The #57 car here is before Barry Kettering used that number. This is Brent Hard's car.

The above was taken shortly after the one just before it, showing how the jockeys all lined up nice and neat in their individual pit spots...how many cars do you recognize? The #10 car in the last photo is Pappy Fowler's with "Darling's Service" prominently painted on the side. Darling's would later become Kettering's service station, and later yet would become "Ray Charles Texaco" in the '60's. Check out the little model "A" coupe pulling the #6 car with a V-bar. The popular "RO" sign with the gas pump below near the middle of the last photo is of course Riverlake Oil which was handled by McEwen fuels at the time. There is a story about Riverlake Oil back into my blog archives.
These pictures are full of great memories. Much thanks again to Randy Dove for loaning Hot Rods and Jalopies the photos to add to Merv's portfolio....and finally thanks to Merv for being himself and always a gentleman!
Be sure to click on each individual picture for full effect(some twice).

The Massaro Brothers...Masters of Mischief and Mayhem...

It's Wednesday night at the CLE race track and who do you remember the most? Some of you will definitely say the Massaro Brothers, Albert in particular but Tony got into just as many scraps as Albert.

The Massaro boys were very colourful characters in the CLE racing days. Here are a few sequence photos of Tony Massaro's car from the late 1950's. The clipping clearly states their names as ones to be reckoned with when it comes to dirt track racing at the Exhibition grounds, but the clipping had mistakenly named Albert's car #36. Here is how Tony's car was brought to the track. It looked like it just came off the road except for the front and rear fenders removed and a bold #87 painted on the door. The next photo shows an early fender bender, but the hub caps are actually still on the car.
Next - The dust bowl....

Here is Tony's car again kicking up dirt and rolling over(note: no hubcaps on the driver's side at all) . I think the hubcaps were put on to impress the fans as they were only on the right side of the car. Geez, there's even an up to date license plate on the back.
Here, Tony is rushing to get out of the way of any cars that are coming around the corner. The next photo here is Tony and Albert duking it out in turn #3.

Here's and early photo of one of Albert's Cars before they had other sponsorship and also a great one of Albert behind the wheel of the 88 car.

This one on the left shows a later picture of Albert and Tony when they both had '34 Ford coupes cruisin' by the CLE Coliseum(building still there today), and the last one on the right is when Albert had Rea's Service Station as his sponsor, and oh my gosh!!.....he's driving a super rare '36 Ford 3 Window Coupe!!
We sure miss you Albert and Tony!
Click on photos to enlarge!

CLE Stock Car Racing film...do you remember?

This is a(not so clear and no sound) little experimental video digitalized from a VHS tape(thanks Terry for the idea and how to do it). Look hard to see some of these cars in the film. #75 Jerry Whittaker, #88 Albert Massaro, #49 Conrad Trombelli, #98 Pappy Fowler, #47 Barry Kettering, #11 John Zatti, #19 Louis Tocheri, #90 Dickie Tonkin, #21 Ed Colisimo, #77 Clyde Ditmars, #55 Wally Prokosh etc. Did you see a very short shot of at super rare 1940 Mercury Coupe(Hardtop)? Three quarters of the way through the film, did you see the car(unknown driver) go clear through the fence on the #4 corner, and almost end up on May St.? All the guys run across the track to see if the driver is OK. At the beginning, did you notice the RO(Riverlake Oil) sign that we did a post about a few weeks back? For you locals, you can look for the Coliseum building that is still there today. I have a few more short films that I will show later. Just wanted to try one out. Don't forget that this was filmed on 8mm film about 55 years ago and at some time transferred to VHS which had been copied a few times over, then finally to digital. I hope you enjoy it. Click on the little arrow below the screen.
I'm not totally happy with the way the film turned out, as "blogger" only gives you so much resolution. I may eventually put them on "Youtube" and have a link to go there. Thanks for looking anyway....D

More Stock Jockeys from the 1950's....

A little fuzzy but still a great shot of #49 Conrad Trombelli just out of the photo on the left, #57 at this time driven by Brent Hard, and #37 Glen Kettering(Barry's Brother) sponsored by Jessiman Motors. The CLE Coliseum shows up on many of these photos taken on the #2 turn, and can be seen top right.

Here is a shot of the#37 Glen Kettering car sponsored by Jessiman Motors. This time Glen is driving a '32 Ford 5-window coupe. Wow, those Kettering brothers sure destroyed a ton of deuces. The photo on the right shows the Massaro Brothers, Tony and Albert duking it out on the #3 turn.

Here is a couple of great shots of Tony Massaro's #87 car, one in a 34 Ford 3-window coupe and one in a '34 Ford 5-window coupe kicking up the dirt in the #3 turn. The Massaro brothers Albert, Tony, and later Bunny always kept the competition tight, and their antics on the track provided great entertainment for many years at the good ol' CLE racetrack. Thanks!

Click on photos to enlarge

Do You Know This Building?....

These colour photos were taken on July 12th 2009.


Yes, It's the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition Coliseum building that has been around for quite some time. It is directly across from the Golf Dome(which would be situated right in the middle of our old dirt track on the fairgrounds), and also puts Silver City pretty much right in the middle of the great old wooden grandstand.
This was considered the gate turn(turn 2) on the track. Behind the race cars is where the gate was opened to let all the cars, pit crew and track officials into the pits(infield).
If you study the pictures you could probably go and stand right where Al Massaro's car was....right in the middle of the parking lot of the Golf Dome.
I am still working on who some of these guys were but in the left b&w photo #79 is unknown, #22 is unknown and #88 was the well known Albert Massaro with a 1937 Ford Coupe. In the right b&w photo is #24 unknown, #88 Albert Massaro with a 1934 Ford Coupe, his brother #87 Tony Massaro with another '33 or '34 Ford Coupe, and finally the D & K Special #10 driven by Don Marsh. This number was also used by Pappy Fowler in those days. These b&w photos are from the mid 1950's.
Some of these incredible drivers are not with us anymore but live on in infamy because someone had the foresight to save these great photos.
Landmarks such as the Coliseum are still around to give us an idea of the location of other things. Thank you to all who have preserved these photos.
Oh yes, and thank those stock car jockeys for destroying hundreds of those all steel early '30's Ford Coupes and Sedans....that's why they are scarce and very valuable today(who would ever guess!)........Dave.
Always click on photos to enlarge

Barry Kettering, Stock Car Jockey.... part 2 of 2

Part 2...

During the sixties, Barry would blossom into one of the top open wheel racers in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area winning several big events, and he would take "ownership" of the supermodifieds at Princeton ,MN. There he would win the title seven times with three others coming at North Star Speedway near Blaine. In the year 1973, Barry was again part of a racing club formation as he was one of the co-founders of the Midwest Sprint Association (MSA) just as he had been with the Lakehead Stock Car Club. Throughout the next three years, Barry served as the association's President as well as its goodwill ambassador, dominating driver and fan favorite. In the first year of the clubs existence, it was dominated on the track by Kettering as he won 14 features and took the initial title. On the way to the title, Barry won the unsanctioned Invitational Championships at Riverview Raceway in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Barry again took the MSA title in 1974 and 1975. While Barry would rarely travel too far from home to race, when he did he was often rewarded with a win or a top finish, such as starting at the rear in a 22 car field in Minot,ND and crossing under the checkered flag first. In 1976 ,Barry co-drove with Ron Larson in the famed Little 500 in Anderson, IN running second when an oil leak close to the finish required repairs relegating them to an eighth place finish. He was on his way to the 1976 title on Friday June 11 of 1976 when he lost his life as he was thrown from his red & white #57 in a roll over on lap 13 in corner two at Fairmont, MN.

Barry Kettering was always a highly respected racer both on and off the race track, popular with not only the fans but fellow competitors alike, and he was always willing to help the rookies or lend a needed part to a fellow competitor. The Sunday night race at North Star Speedway in Blaine, MN following Barry's accident was green flagged with the pole position left open in memory of the great racer. Always one to give for the betterment of the sport and being one who raced for the love of it not the glory or prize money, Barry was a great goodwill ambassador for racing! Barry would gladly hand out schedules at winter car shows, let kids sit in the sprinter, tow to Austin, MN to promote an upcoming MSA race for the small fee of gas money, and in a dispute regarding a scoring decision at an MSA race at North Star Barry offered to pay the $100 difference out of his own pocket. Always well spoken, clean cut Barry was very businesslike in his efforts to make the MSA a viable and successful club. He would meet fair board representatives in an effort to book MSA race dates. On that June evening racing lost one of its greats. Though not nationally known, Barry Kettering took on all comers in his area often sending the visitors home empty handed. Both on and off the track, Barry gave his all to make racing better. From the stock cars in Fort William to the sprint cars in Minnesota, he was a true racer and he is missed by both those he raced with and those who watched him. Having given so much to the sport, it was perhaps best said by fellow Fort William sprint racer Lyn McIntosh, when Riverview track management decided not to hold the Barry Kettering Memorial in 1981, Lyn and his partners Murray Robinson and Pat Slivinski chose to host it themselves with Lyn saying " Barry gave too much to the sport for his memory to be forgotten".

Footnote by Dave: I had the privilege of meeting Barry and Glen on a number of occasions when I was a young boy. I hung around the Kettering garages(they were always gracious and glad to see their young fans), and built push mobiles of Barry's cars. His wife Rene was a friend of my grandmother Catherine Jarvis and my aunt Lorraine Jarvis.  My uncle Bob Jarvis was also good friends with Barry.  Both Barry and his wife had visited my grandmother and my aunt and uncle on many an occasion when I was there. I would be in awe of him and all those stock jockeys that raced at the CLE. They were famous in their own right(just as much as any movie star) and we owe them all a huge vote of gratitude for keeping our young lives busy by entertaining us with their daring-do at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition race track. We will always miss you Barry. Thanks again Jeff for the great Bio, and for letting me use it.......Dave.

Barry Kettering, Stock Car Jockey.... part 1 of 2

With permission from Jeff, I am posting this bio of Barry Kettering that he wrote a few years ago. This is part 1 of 2. I will leave a footnote after part 2.

Barry Kettering by Jeff Caldwell, Thunder Bay, Ontario Part 1.....
Barry Kettering would start his racing career match racing Tom Dow at the Murillo Fairgrounds behind the wheel of the Kings Special, a 1920-30's vintage speedster in 1951-52. Barry was one of the founding members of the Lakehead Stock Car Club in the fall of 1952, and the first stock car he built was a 1934 Plymouth numbered 00. It was called "The Snitch Special" as apparently that's how some of its parts were obtained. He would then move into Bud Heidrick's #47 "Bud's Thing" '37 Ford in 1953 and later a '32 Ford until 1957 when he drove the Provincial Stock Car Club #57. In 1958, Barry and brother Glen, with whom he was partners in a local service station, built a 1934 Ford coupe powered by a 312 C.I. Ford. This car would carry Barry to his long sought after track title. Barry, always the tough but fair competitor, would again win its title in 1959 in the '34 Ford and a cut down version of the same car carried him to the title again in 1960. Though Barry was leading the points & defending his title in 1961, he sold his share in the service station and moved from Fort William to Rice Lake, Wisconsin so that he could race more often.

Barry had first ventured stateside to "see how they raced" in 1958 and left a souvenir for the meeting room of the Indianhead Stock Car Racing Association, a check in the amount of $15.00 for tow money which he refused to accept. Upon his return to Rice Lake, WI in the spring of 1959, Barry "cleaned the boards" and started to leave his mark south of the border. Barry Kettering's gesture of refusing the tow money was a precursor to several others gestures he would make through his racing career for the betterment of the sport. Barry continued racing in modifieds, and the '34 Ford was retired with a new car being built based on a '49 Ford frame with a Crosley body and a 390 C.I. Ford powering it. Upon its completion in the spring, Barry was looking to give it a test run. Finding Raceway Park in Shakopee, MN running, Barry and his crew headed for the track to discover that it was asphalt. Undaunted and though the car was built for dirt and Barry having no previous pavement experience, he threw the car sideways through the corners as if he was racing on dirt thrilling those in attendance. Barry returned to Shakopee for its opening day show, won his heat, and ran out of gas on the white flag lap of the feature while leading. Soon the calls were going out "look out, here comes the Bear Cat!!". Through the years whenever Barry towed into the pits, he would be regarded as one of the guys to beat. click on photos to enlarge. Thanks for the Crosley photos Jeff!!