White Hall Drag-o-way Reunion

[SmallHurst]

Fire 'em up!!!!

That took a little life out of those Good Years!!!!

I guess you will find the weak link of your engine builder soon!!!

[Bill Pritchard]

I think every City Park should have a designated tire frying area

[ORIGLS6]

That's one of the FEW advantages of living in small towns. We even had the local Fire Department on hand most of the day.................... and the local Police kept themselves busy at the other end of town.

The first couple of years we did the burnouts on a large, heavy steel plate. Then last fall some of the members approached the Lions Club and asked if we could pour a concrete pad. "No Problem"

[mockingbird812]

Nice and NICE! Wonderful coverage Dennis. Great show. Great showmanship Tom.

[ORIGLS6]

Part of the fun is listening to the old stories..... (no pun intended Mike). Here is Mike Story (son of John Story who built and operated Alton Dragway) chatting with Mark Johnson while Bob Fink, the Voice of midwest drag racing, listens. Mike was telling about a phone call he took when he was 16 years old. The person on the other end asked to speak to John Story. When Mike asked who was calling the reply was "This is Mickey Thompson". Mike smiled and said "Can you imagine how I felt? A 16 year old kid talking to Mickey Thompson. My Dad actually knew Mickey Thompson."



Bob Fink was the track announcer for many of the midwest tracks at one time or another. Bob not only has a great voice; he knows cars and he knows the drivers. And Mark has tons of old photos and memorabilia from Alton Dragway. These guys were cool to talk with.

[Xplantdad]

Awesome...simply awesome! Thanks for the pics and the commentary Mr. Cumby! I enjoyed every minute of it!!!

[markjohnson]

Mr. Cumby, my friends and I had a great time at the reunion Saturday! Thanks for having us and everything else you did. This was a great event with several important St. Louis drag racing figures present. As much as I'm into drag racing history, the St. Louis area drag history is at the top of my list and this was the place to be! This event will now be a "must-go" on my calender. All I can say is wait 'til next year! We're gonna bring a whole fleet of vintage drag cars up from St. Louis. Be there!

[CC Rider]

Excellent coverage and pics! Wow!

[amuseme]

As a '2nd Gen' WHD-O-W member, I just want to say a HUGE heart felt 'THANK YOU' to all those who attended Saturday ! I had a nice talk with 'Mr. Clary'(that's respect right there! thanks, again, Tom!), what a great guy! This thing has grown a little every year but this year was a leap! Next year will be the 50th anniv. of the strip (makes Mr. Cumby kind of old, huh? )ought to be even better.

[ORIGLS6]

OK, for starters, that's probably the FIRST and ONLY time I'll hear the words "Mr. Cumby" from you! (I can't say what he usually calls me. ) And since you're still holding my car hostage, I'll let the "old" comment slide.

Like Jeff says, we owe a tremendous debt to all of you who attend this event, and an even greater one to all the businesses and individuals who have supported us since the first gathering. Even with the tighter economy, we received more donations for door prizes and took in more $ for our 50-50 Drawing this year than any of the past years. Like we hear more and more in this hobby; The People make it fun!

Nearly every penny we take in at this event goes back into our community, holding back just enough to keep things rolling for the next year. Heck, it's just like running the real Drag Strip! We never made a penny when we ran then, so what's the difference now!!!

But in all sincerity, it's still fun or we wouldn't be doing it, and I know I speak for all the members, old and young, when I echo Jeff's sentiment. Thank You to everyone and we hope you all come back next year to help celebrate 50 Years of this Dis-Organizated Mayhem!





(BTW, I have more pics I'll try to throw on tonite. The ISP was giving me fits at home last night. Maybe tonite will be better........ and maybe Jeff has some too.)