Sorry about that..............
I guess the pictures I have are too big and I'm too computer stupid to get them to upload. The ones I have are great, though, including the Quincy 44 flathead that made my aerowing feel 'really small'. I'll try to get them shrunk down to where they will fit. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Lakeland and the spider..........
From what I remember the turn fin was probably only 3 or so inches under the sponson. Walt thought that since we would be flying it most of the way around and didn't need to do any drastic turning I could get away with it shallow. Turned out he was right. Loved that hydro!
The spider story I thought sure you had heard from Walt. If you remember toward the back right side of the shop was a bathroom. And in that bathroom Walt had a magazine that had been there for probably 10 years or so that nobody ever read. One day while I was in there, I saw a spider crawl out of the center of the magazine and crawl back in. Not a real big one but had lots of potential. During the course of about 9 or 10 months I put hamburger and whatever else I thought this animal would eat around where I saw him crawl out of and every day whatever I put down would disappear. As you can imagine, it was getting good size with all the protein he was putting away. One day a boat racer and his wife showed up to see Walt. I was working on the lathe on the far wall and had a pretty good view of the bathroom door. This guy's wife went in, sat down, and decided she wanted to read for a minute. The next thing I heard was a blood-curdling scream, the door to the bathroom flies open and she comes out at a dead run with her shorts around her ankles and continues out into the parking lot. We never did see the spider after that. We think she scared it away.
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Winona Minnesota-Oly Pro Nationals 1976
Winners got an Olympia Beer stein. Very nice. And they paid off with bi-centennial silver dollars in an Olympia serving tray. Very unique. Bob and Marilyn Smith and other organizers did an excellent job in putting on the Winona events.
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Here's a few from Winona 1974...Eastern Divisionals
It was our first trip to Winona. The last time we had gone to Minnesota was for the NOA Nationals in 1968. On that trip interstate 35 was not complete. It stopped abruptly either in Northern Iowa or Southern Minnesota. There was a blockade where it stopped. Just beyond that one of those multiwheeled towed vechicles full of dirt that was used for compacting the roadbed. We exited at that point on one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the U.S. I think it was about 21 miles long with maybe 21 narrow bridges, and a very narrow road. Lot of deaths on that stretch.
Six years later we are on the way to Winona, and there at the very same place was the same blockade. Beyond that was that same compactor unit with weeds and small trees growing in the dirt inside of it. I don't remember about the first time, but this time there were signs posted at both entrances of that dangerous stretch telling how many people had died there in the last year. But we always loved to race at Winona.