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Thread: Joe Rome: Stafford Auto Supply

  1. #31
    Team Member Master Oil Racing Team's Avatar
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    Thirteen years has now passed Ron since that great Reunion, and I want to get back to talking about Joe. And this transition back to Joe also happens to coincide with what happened at that reunion. Joe and I always talk about when I introduced you to Joe Ron. You guys knew so many people and it was back and forth stories. I ate my maple soaked pancakes and bacon, and drank my sweet tea while I sat enraptured at listening to you and Joe talk. I couldn't even join in the conversation because you and Joe were talking about stuff and stories I had only heard about or read about some years before I even got my tennies wet the first time. I have told this before, but I am bringing it back up because of something Joe and I talk about all the time. And this thread is about Joe.

    I finally told Ron and Joe that we need to get to the Lone Star Boat Racing Reunion. The breakfast crowd at the Cracker Barrel had long since departed, and the mid morning coffee crowd was drifting in. To cut to the quick, when all was starting to settle in and registration procedures were established by Cookie Houghkirk, and all was going well Joe Rome and Russ Hill, Jr. found themselves together at a table making things work in a hot building. I do not remember how it happened that Joe and Russ ended up together helping with registering the racers, pit crews, etc. and getting the bags together, but it happened. Seems to me that after the initial onslaught of the registration, they might have found a corner to observe and comment until they were (maybe) needed. But the final result was that in just a very little time period, Joe Rome and Russ Hill , Jr. became very fast friends. I wandered in and out from around their table taking pictures and visiting with old friends and listening to their feisty banter as they were getting to know one another. On the drive home from the reunion Joe recounted how much fun he had talking with Ron and sparring with his older brother Russ. We talked about it many times over the years, about how much fun it had been around the Hill brothers.

    It was not until I talked with Ron a couple of months ago that I found out that until Russ passed away, he and Joe talked every few weeks. I knew that Joe and Russ were tight, but I am glad that Russ got to know my good friend Joe much more than I had realized. But then Joe talks to a lot more people than to me. He is always talking to Alan Ishii, Craig Lawrence, Denny Henderson, Gene East, Charley Bradley, Steve Wetherbee and others that are not boat racers, but are friends of mine as well. Joe's life is boat racing and he will tell you that if he never got involved in boat racing, his life would have been dull and never have gone anywhere.


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  2. #32
    BoatRacingFacts VIP John Schubert T*A*R*T's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Master Oil Racing Team View Post
    Thirteen years has now passed Ron since that great Reunion, and I want to get back to talking about Joe. And this transition back to Joe also happens to coincide with what happened at that reunion. Joe and I always talk about when I introduced you to Joe Ron. You guys knew so many people and it was back and forth stories. I ate my maple soaked pancakes and bacon, and drank my sweet tea while I sat enraptured at listening to you and Joe talk. I couldn't even join in the conversation because you and Joe were talking about stuff and stories I had only heard about or read about some years before I even got my tennies wet the first time. I have told this before, but I am bringing it back up because of something Joe and I talk about all the time. And this thread is about Joe.

    I finally told Ron and Joe that we need to get to the Lone Star Boat Racing Reunion. The breakfast crowd at the Cracker Barrel had long since departed, and the mid morning coffee crowd was drifting in. To cut to the quick, when all was starting to settle in and registration procedures were established by Cookie Houghkirk, and all was going well Joe Rome and Russ Hill, Jr. found themselves together at a table making things work in a hot building. I do not remember how it happened that Joe and Russ ended up together helping with registering the racers, pit crews, etc. and getting the bags together, but it happened. Seems to me that after the initial onslaught of the registration, they might have found a corner to observe and comment until they were (maybe) needed. But the final result was that in just a very little time period, Joe Rome and Russ Hill , Jr. became very fast friends. I wandered in and out from around their table taking pictures and visiting with old friends and listening to their feisty banter as they were getting to know one another. On the drive home from the reunion Joe recounted how much fun he had talking with Ron and sparring with his older brother Russ. We talked about it many times over the years, about how much fun it had been around the Hill brothers.

    It was not until I talked with Ron a couple of months ago that I found out that until Russ passed away, he and Joe talked every few weeks. I knew that Joe and Russ were tight, but I am glad that Russ got to know my good friend Joe much more than I had realized. But then Joe talks to a lot more people than to me. He is always talking to Alan Ishii, Craig Lawrence, Denny Henderson, Gene East, Charley Bradley, Steve Wetherbee and others that are not boat racers, but are friends of mine as well. Joe's life is boat racing and he will tell you that if he never got involved in boat racing, his life would have been dull and never have gone anywhere.
    Wayne, in paragraph 2 above where you referenced Cookie doing the registration, I believe you meant the first Depue reunion. It sounds like you meant the Lone Star reunion as that is how your sentence began. And, if you recall I did a lions share of the work putting together that reunion, shirts, stuffing envelopes, getting the food organized & actually negotiating for use of the Legion/VFW building. Just saying. Probably this will piss off Ron, it is what it is.
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  3. #33
    Administrator Ron Hill's Avatar
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    Default Few Things Piss Ron Off

    Few things Piss Ron Off
    Quote Originally Posted by John Schubert T*A*R*T View Post
    Wayne, in paragraph 2 above where you referenced Cookie doing the registration, I believe you meant the first Depue reunion. It sounds like you meant the Lone Star reunion as that is how your sentence began. And, if you recall I did a lions share of the work putting together that reunion, shirts, stuffing envelopes, getting the food organized & actually negotiating for use of the Legion/VFW building. Just saying. Probably this will piss off Ron, it is what it is.
    I would be the first to say that the 2007 Reunion was as good as it was because of John Schubert's effort. We did donate $1,000 to the US Title Series that we were never thanked for.

    I am not going to do it again, but if I did, I would have collared shirts made with names on them, rather than T Shirts. California and Florida were T Shirt 24-7. The rest of the world doesn't.

    My best take for the 2007 was seeing Dick O'Dea, John Riner Woods, Billy Seebold, Paul Bagosian. the Hedlunds, Wayne Baldwin and MEETING JOE ROME. Also, I never knew Charlie Bradley. It was good see Doug Rae, Jim McKean....Charlie Strang....Fred Hauenstein with Jerry Waldman's D Looper, Alan Ishii...and the guy from Michigan with all the Six Bangers....and of coures the Ring of Fire DeSilva...

  4. #34
    BoatRacingFacts VIP John Schubert T*A*R*T's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Hill View Post
    Few things Piss Ron Off

    I would be the first to say that the 2007 Reunion was as good as it was because of John Schubert's effort. We did donate $1,000 to the US Title Series that we were never thanked for.

    I am not going to do it again, but if I did, I would have collared shirts made with names on them, rather than T Shirts. California and Florida were T Shirt 24-7. The rest of the world doesn't.

    My best take for the 2007 was seeing Dick O'Dea, John Riner Woods, Billy Seebold, Paul Bagosian. the Hedlunds, Wayne Baldwin and MEETING JOE ROME. Also, I never knew Charlie Bradley. It was good see Doug Rae, Jim McKean....Charlie Strang....Fred Hauenstein with Jerry Waldman's D Looper, Alan Ishii...and the guy from Michigan with all the Six Bangers....and of coures the Ring of Fire DeSilva...
    Ron,
    the 1K was donated to the Depue Men’s Club. And Slick did thank us. Insofar as the shirts are concerned we did offer collared shirts at the next 3 reunions. About 25% takers. And all shirts were colored after the initial reunion.
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  5. #35
    Team Member racnbns's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Schubert T*A*R*T View Post
    Wayne, in paragraph 2 above where you referenced Cookie doing the registration, I believe you meant the first Depue reunion. It sounds like you meant the Lone Star reunion as that is how your sentence began. And, if you recall I did a lions share of the work putting together that reunion, shirts, stuffing envelopes, getting the food organized & actually negotiating for use of the Legion/VFW building. Just saying. Probably this will piss off Ron, it is what it is.
    John---Didn't Shirley help you with the first reunion? Stuffing envelopes or something. I remember I was busy opening the wine bottles!
    Bruce
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  6. #36
    BoatRacingFacts VIP John Schubert T*A*R*T's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by racnbns View Post
    John---Didn't Shirley help you with the first reunion? Stuffing envelopes or something. I remember I was busy opening the wine bottles!
    Bruce
    Bruce,
    that was the second reunion & yes we did it in your motor home.

    Everybody OK I trust!
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  7. #37
    Administrator Ron Hill's Avatar
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    Default John Schubert Did Most of the Heavy Lifting

    Quote Originally Posted by John Schubert T*A*R*T View Post
    Ron,
    the 1K was donated to the Depue Men’s Club. And Slick did thank us. Insofar as the shirts are concerned we did offer collared shirts at the next 3 reunions. About 25% takers. And all shirts were colored after the initial reunion.
    Joe Rome brought those CD's of Marshall Grants to sell. Those really brought in some cash. Tim Webber is the one that helped me get the plaques made.

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Schubert T*A*R*T View Post
    Bruce,
    that was the second reunion & yes we did it in your motor home.

    Everybody OK I trust!
    Yeah John we're pretty good. No Covid but Shirley has a pinched nerve in her lower back thats driving her crazy. Monday she gets a shot to see if that helps. They don.t want to operate because of our age. Ain't it FUN, but it beats the alternative.

    Catch ya later,
    Bruce
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  9. #39
    Team Member Master Oil Racing Team's Avatar
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    It was confusing John, the way I wrote it. I combined instances from both the Lone Star and DePue Reunion and it came out kind of messed up. That's what I get for trying to get in a hurry and not proof read. I was not trying to cut short anyone's efforts in the success of any of the Reunions. They were all great as far as I am concerned and you are at the top of the heap for praise. Just go back and read al my posts regarding that very first one at DePue in 2007. While it's not an excuse or justifiable, I just have a hard time reading what I write on the computer anymore. I have to bend over close and turn my next up, then lift up my glasses to see what I wrote. Sometimes my back and neck just hurt too much from previous computer work to go back over what I wrote, and I have to scan from left to right because I cannot see the whole sentence very well. That's why I don't post so much anymore.

    I'm am sorry if you took it that I wasn't giving you any credit, but I was trying to short cut to the point where Joe and Russ became friends. Becaise that was the point on this thread about Joe. I rushed my post out Thursday night before I left for East Texas, and just back in today. I have not heard from Joe since a couple of days before I left nor since I got back. Maybe he got confused by my story too and thought I was getting dementia and was afraid to call. Anyway, I will try to do better, but I will need to keep my stories shorter because proofreading cricks my neck now.


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  10. #40
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    Default Joe Rome and Russ Hill, Jr.

    Russ did many thing in his life! He ran the Stealth Bomber project (He had 500 employees under him) , he skipped 2 and 3 grades. But when he met Joe Rome, at the 2007 DePue Reunion, they were like brother who never knew each other. Joe's IQ must be about 2,000 , same as my brothers. They had 3-5 days of great friendship.

    None of us will get out a live but Joe and I talk every time Christopher Bell does well in NASCAR. Some of my best days are talking to Joe...

    This picture was the Winternationals, Golden Shore, 1970 or 1969.
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