Leonard Keller 1937

**russhill** · 12-12-2007

I remember Leonard Keller (nobody called him Len). I raced against him once in 1948, in A Alkie hydro at Lake Mead. He may have been one of the few guys I ever beat in my racing career.

In 1948, all the guys in the crews at Indy wore white pants. So, guess what I wore. A few years later, I had grown a foot or two and had bought some knee length white pants. I saw Leonard at another race. He must have been impressed with my growth. He told my mother a dozen or more times that he never would have recognized me if I hadn't been wearing those same white pants.

**Lil Stinker** · 02-14-2009

1960

**Mark75H** · 02-15-2009

Wow! That's the kind of stuff I am always looking for!

Everyone on BRF thanks you!

**MarkD** · 02-25-2009

My brother and I worked for Leonard in the 60's and 70's - his house and shop are still there - I drive by them once a week or so and it always brings back memories of the place. Great shop - the foundry was one hot room on summer days I can tell you.

He sure had some great stories of racing in the 40's. He actually made a living at it back then - told us many times how if he did not win that week, he and Lois did not eat very well that week.

What a genius he was.

Mark

**Master Oil Racing Team** · 02-25-2009

Wow! I hope this is the first of many of your posts. Do you have any of his old notes, or anything else from those days?

**Ron Hill** · 02-25-2009

Mark if you get a chance, stop and take some pictures. The site where Kellers were made would be cool to see. Is the foundry still working?

**MarkD** · 02-25-2009

I will take some photos and post them. The foundry was just a shed type room in the back corner of the shop - its still there but no one who did not work there in Leonard's day would know what it was as the whole place was just his house in a residential neighborhood and the shop was like a big garage in the back. I suppose if someone took some readings of contaminants in the area, it would still show up some stuff......

I do not know if I have any old price lists or such stuff left - I will look. I still have lots of speedos and hardware from Leonard from my racing days. I raced from the late 60's until about 1980 and mostly ran ASH with boats I built, and Jimmy Hallum and Gerry Walin's Yamaha 125cc Hydro with boats I built.

Mark

**MarkD** · 02-25-2009

I also saw someone posted another thread here with Region 10 area shots from movies that Jimmy Hallum took in the 60'2-70's including some of me in the 125 cc Hydro - but that thread is now closed. I would love get in touch with John, the guy who posted those, to see if he has copies of those movies. Does anyone have contact info for him ? Many thanks.

Mark

**Mark75H** · 02-25-2009

Yeah, he deleted those posts on purpose and it crashed the thread (by accident on his part we assume, it was nothing done by BRF).

**MarkD** · 03-08-2009

This is Leonard's house and shop today. Kind of run down as it was neat as a pin in Leonard and Lois' day, but it does not look too much different. The shop was the garage in the back and it went around behind the house to the left in the photo - the foundry area was in that back left corner, machine shop mostly in the main shop area behind the garage doors.

By the way, my brother says he thinks the other guy standing with Leonard in the first photo posted by Steve is Bill Tenney, one of Leonard's best friends from the old days of racing. He also thinks that 1937 photo was probably taken in front of Leonard's house in Wenatchee, WA where he lived when he worked as a movie projectionist.

Mark