Ray Rodda Family

[Ron Hill]

Boat racing is one of those things that I tell people, you can’t quit it, it has to quit you first.

I happened to see on Facebook that Ray was from Depue. I wrote him and asked him to write about himself.

I had felt I knew Ray for a long time, just couldn't quite put all the numbers together.

The Orville he mentions is Orville Loper from San Bernardino, California.

I did Ron, my Father passed away when I was 22 months old, my Mom and I moved back to live with my Grandparents in Depue, until Mom remarried when I was about 5. Then I spent almost every full summer in Depue with my GrandMother after Grandpa passed.

Even back then a lot of folks would come test and we were always at the lake, and then every Labor Day the Chicago Outboard used to hold races and then in the 60’s the Lake Depue Preservation folks started hosting the nationals.

Moved to California, bought my first racing stuff from Bob Davidson, a guy named Orville, cannot remember last name owned a “COH” that I bought. Raced at Hansen Dam, Brawley, Long Beach, and up in Oakland and Daly City, before moving back to the Midwest. I always worked with Alan Ishii and Doc Collins when they were coming back with Jim McKean as pit crew. I think you have seen the picture of me carrying Alan to the boat with all that mud we had at the time. I was racing modified’s “D and E” hydro and runabout, along with 2 man in its day, with the Illinnois club, the Wisconsin bunch and we coordinated races with the IOA club.

A short time later I was hired by Marvin Windows to open up the west for them, celebrating my 37^th year with them today in fact. Raced with Leonard McKnight out there and ran Formula E hydro and runabout and stepped up for FRR. I started with Marvin in 1978 and we lived in the Sacramento area for about 21 years and them came back to the Midwest in 1997, to take over the area from Chicago south to the Gulf Coast for the company.

About the time, we had been in California for a few years, Depue had begun the first dredging of the lake and were awarded the Nationals again for its current run from then till now. I had done some radio work with the local station when the original Preservation folks had done the Nationals, we were live and did color for them. Someone in the Men’s Club had remembered that I had done that and I was asked to come to Depue and do the announcing for the Nationals by the Men’s club. I have done that every year since the return and have been the Title Series announcer for over 30 years, while doing a lot of west coast announcing while living out there as well.

We currently live in the Indianapolis area with 4/6 kids and 10 Grandkids, while two of our daughters help us to be snowbirds for part of the winter living in Phoenix. Getting ready for the 2014 racing season with our first race of the year in the Title Series in Winter Haven Fl. In late April.

Boat racing is one of those things that I tell people, you can’t quit it, it has to quit you first.

Thanks, Ray. This is very interesting.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I spent almost an hour talking about Ray and pushed the wrong button and it was gone. Sometimes I would just forget it. But when it comes to Ray....I will start over again and do it this time.