In
His Own Words ...
I
was born in the fall of 1938 in
Seven
Valleys
,
York County
,
PA
and was destined to become a dyed-in-the-wool
York
County
woodchuck! My whole world
consisted of Glen Rock, New Freedom, Shrewsbury etc. but eventually my
travels would literally take me around the world, a million miles from
"home." When The
Bowling Green Speedway was opened in Brodbecks, little did I know what
impact this event would have on my life.
My dad took me to several races on Sunday afternoons and I was
hooked! I don't recall the
exact chain of events but my love of auto racing and photography resulted
in my becoming track photographer (as a teenager) at
Bowling Green
. Clyde Bolen constructed a
"photographer's stand" just off the apron between turns one and
two using railroad ties standing on end.
I was also allowed to sell my pictures from a concession stand at
the base of the announcer's shack. Well,
I thought that I had died and gone to heaven:
free admission, access to the infield and pits while actually being
able to make money doing this! Gigger
Kinard worked the stand for me.
I
was never part of the "racing fraternity" because I was just a
kid; but I knew practically all of them by first name and they became my
idols. My special hero,
however, was Chris Miller. I
remember the late Sunday afternoon features in the fall which many times
would finish in semi-darkness. But
my fondest memories were the Saturday nite races in the heat of the summer
when
Bowling Green
was at her prime. I recall
going home covered with the red clay dust from the track.
The sights, sounds and smells still evoke fond memories.
Interestingly enough, my favorite car was "Little Red"
driven at the time by Bud Rohrbaugh. I
actually wrote a small essay about that car for one of my English classes.
What a strange feeling, almost bizarre, this past summer at The
Reunion at Latimore to see a practically perfectly restored "Little
Red 8." My fondest
memory, however, was when Chris Miller won his first feature driving 77!
Typical of people over 65, my memory consists primarily of pleasant
events ... not that there were not unpleasant happenings at
Bowling Green
. I just don't remember them
!!
At
this point,
Bowling Green
remains one of my "fantasy experiences" and I've had a few.
One other thing, and Chris doesn't know this:
I had a girlfriend at the track.
She was a few years older than I (and wiser) and was a regular.
Once I left for
Penn
State
we slowly drifted apart. She
will remain nameless since I am sure she still lives in the County.
If, by chance, she reads this, I am sure it will bring a smile to
her face. As mentioned
earlier, my career has taken me all over the world and I am just as
comfortable in
New York
,
Paris
,
Buenos Aires
, Hong Kong,
Shanghai
as I am in
York
County
. Today, I travel to
China
regularly. In spite of that,
whenever I have the rare opportunity to let my mind wander (like late at
night or dozing on an airplane), my thoughts invariably return to my
"glory days" at
Bowling Green
. This is truly one of my
avenues of escape from "the rat race."
I mentioned my roots earlier ... The saying "You can take the
boy out of the country but you cannot take the country out of the
boy" certainly applies to me! I
refer to myself as a
York
County
woodchuck and can honestly say that I'm proud of it!
Hey Chris ...God Love Ya !
Sincerely,
Tommy
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