Joe Rome: Stafford Auto Supply

[Ron Hill]

Joe and Master Oil (Wayne Baldwin) were college roommates...I really only met Joe three years ago, how we missed each other over the years, but Joe and I seem like best friends. Joe loves Boat racing as many of us do...

Joe was Comodore of The Lone Star Boat Racing Club, Referee at three UIM World Championships, Crew member for Louis Williams, Wayne Baldwin and Tim Butts. Joe has been around Boat Racing for 50 years.

He Owns a wholesale Auto Parts, Tools and Accessories store in Stafford, Texas...

Joe made the DVD for the 2007 DePue Reunion, and of the $1,000 we donated to the US Title Series, most of the money came from DVD sales...

[geodavid]

It's about time that Ron got a Joe Rome thread going. When we were racing in TX, there was nobody more gracious to visiting racers than Joe Rome. It is like he was appointed to welcome you to the races. Made sure nobody had any problems. Had me towed out of the mud pit in San Antonio. We always looked forward to seeing Joe and Doris. Now Joe has spent the last thirty years teasing me. Taking pictures of me doing stupid things, like trying to jump out of the two man runabout. Have done so many ill thought things. How about some Joe Rome stories. Joe is a truly an international diplomat for boat racing. Props to you Joe. You have been a good friend. Met him when he was the number one pit man for the GREAT Louis Williams.

Hey Ron, what do you think of a thread "Where are they now?" Have wondered about so many racers, especially those who had raced in CA. Some that were friends of my Dad out of the central valley? Great to see Dave Bryan on here. Great C Runabout racer.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I've thought of a Joe Rome thread for awhile. I'm glad you did it Ron. I'm too prejudiced. Joe is my best friend and we have had a lot of great times together. There are so many stories to tell David, that I don't even know where to begin.

I don't know anyone who has kept up with the sport without interruption longer than Joe Ron....excepting you and Russ. That's probably why you guys clicked so well. Joe has known of you through your exploits both published and spoken Ron, but you never heard of him. When Joe found BRF, he called me immediately and said "You got to get on this website". After I got on, Joe asked me "Do you know Ron Hill?" and I said "Yeah." Then he asked me "Do you think he remembers you?" I said, "I don't know". Joe and I were ignorant of such things as posting, threads, etc. back then and he wanted to have some boat racing pictures and photos put up. He thought we needed to type up some stuff and send it in to see if it would be accepted. Joe decided we should pick a subject, then both type up something, compare notes, then send it in for approval to be posted. Boy were we both green with computers and websites back then. I think there are still people that have the same trepidations that we did. But, once you get the hang of it, it is not so bad. So it is because of Joe that I started posting pictures here.

And one other thing that really stands out in my mind Ron, is when you met Joe and I for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel at Baytown the morning of the Lone Star Reunion. You had no clue who Joe Rome was, but when he started asking you questions of your racing career and people you knew, I could tell you started realizing that Joe knew his stuff. You guys traded stories for two hours after we finished breakfast and the new customers coming in were starting to order lunch. I was getting worried about getting to Baytown Boat Club in time to set everything up for the evening reunion. I finally had to say, "I guess we better be heading out". If not for the reunion I would have been perfectly happy to order lunch and keep on listening. I couldn't believe the boat racing history you two were bouncing off of each other.

Stay tuned for plenty of Joe Rome stories and pics.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

If that is not the spitting image of a true "TEXICAN" I'll eat Joe's hat.

I have always enjoyed my friendship with Joe over the years, and he has remembered more "Baldy Gotcha" stories, with me on the gotcha end, than I care to recall. I am proud to have known you Joe. Was great to see you and Wayne at the reunion last summer.

Bill Van

[Master Oil Racing Team]

A "Texican" story about Joe. He had his boots made by a famous bootmaker. I don't remember his name, but movie stars, country & western artists, politicians and just plain people that know their boots bought them from this guy. Joe got to knowing him pretty good over the years, and upon his death, Joe went to his funeral. Lots of people were there. He was creamated and wanted his ashes spread in a river or stream that was on his property. I can't recall where in Texas this was, but I think maybe the Hill Country or someplace between Dallas in Houston.

They had a pair of his boots mounted backwards in the stirrups of a saddle on the bootmaker's horse....his longtime companion. The horse was standing at attention on the banks of the stream when someone emptied the vase with ashes into the stream and stepped back. Then someone else started playing taps on a bugle. Joe said the hair on the back of his neck stood up along with everyone else's when a gust of wind hit and the horse waded into the stream by itself and started sipping water at the precise spot where the ashes were dumped.

[russhill]

Has this guy died or something?? I've never heard so many nice words about anybody who is still alive--and particulary about a Texan.

The first and only time I ever met Joe was at the De Pue reunion. The comments made above seem pretty conservative after you know the guy. He's really a superb guy (I mean for a Texan.) He's bright, articulate and a hell of a hard worker. He's about 6' 6''--good average height for a Hill. I think I'd have been able to tell he was a Texan, even without his hat.

He worked hard and full time for three days on the running of the reunion, which may have been a failure without him. I don't know how much pre- work he had done, but I'll bet a lot. I'd go back to De Pue again, well maybe to Texas, just to see old Joe. I really liked him.

Joe - please try to keep in touch.

Russ Hill

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Actually Russ, John Schubert did most of the pre work and made registration simple. The great part of the work prior to the actual reunion was listening to you and Joe.;):D

Most of my Joe Rome stories are funny, but this one is a little different and I only found out about it a couple of years ago. When I was getting stuff together for BRF to post about Alexandria I asked Joe if he happened to have a roster of the 1965 NOA World Championships. It was the largest ever held there and I was interested in the number of boats in each class and the drivers. As soon as I asked, Joe got grumpy. He said he didn't go in 1965. To this day it makes him mad to think about it. That is the only pro race Joe ever missed at Alex. He started going with his uncle Sonny back in the 50's before NOA World Championships were held there. On that particular weekend his Dad Roland had a new store (where Stafford Auto Suppy is now located) and they spent the weekend moving the inventory. Joe griped and mumbled the whole weekend about missing the race.

ADD: You're right Russ. I was just thinking about the registration part. Joe and Karen Rome busted their rear ends scanning and putting together several hundred of the DVD's, plus making and sticking on the labels and putting them in their plastic cases.

[russhill]

You're absolutely right, Wayne, John Schubert was an integral link of the success of the reunion. I was just talking about Joe. Hell, if I wanted to slight or bad-mouth Johnny, I'd much rather do it to his face--he might miss it if I only said something here.

[Ron Hill]

Bill Boyes and I went to the Winter Nationals in "ALEX" Louisiana, 2006....I'd never been there before, but had heard "STUFF" about at it...

Jerry Hedlund had told me he once went to Louisiana for a race. He said, he, his brother Ron and Bobby Herring, left for "ALEX" the night Jerry had graduated from high school. Jerry Hedlund and I are the same age, plus or minus a year, so the year was about 1962-63.

Anyway, they drove all night, Bobby Herring was driving the Hedlund's big Pontiac wagon and going like hell, he fly over some railroad tracks and bent the Hedlund's 4" steel framed trailer...

But they got to "ALEX" and they were paying BIG money, but only had one ONE HEAT races... I guess Bobby Herring, Ron and Jerry won MOST OF or ALL the prize money. They won every first place.

Jerry makes me laugh, to this day, when he said he ran A Hydro and it was Bobby's B boat and the throttle wire looked like an expolsion, so, Jerry just wired the throttle wide open and when he got going too fast he'd just choke...it with this thumb...

Jerry told me they were lucky to leave town with the cash and not get hung....

Well, I'm talking with Joe Rome, at ALEX 2006, second time I've ever seen Joe...He starts telling me about the time the Hedlunds came to "ALEX" and won all the money...Joe said, "Them guys down here weren't very happy about them 'Yankees' taking all their money..."

40 years after this race, Joe remembered it like yesterday... Way cool to hear another side of the same story....

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I get up into Joe Rome territory on a job every now and then, but it's usually 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. Stafford Auto is closed. And I figured Joe needed sleep. But I do know that if I really needed something.....he would get it for me. Unless he remembered that downpour at DePue in 1972. Then I might be talking to a dead line.

I got a call just before 5:am this morning that I had to go dress some pipe in Houston. Yeah...that's right. In Houston. It was off of 288 and close to Hobby Airport. I was still a little bit tired after having come off a 30 hour DV Tool job, but I thought....hey...I can finish up in time to visit with Joe if the pipe is there on time and the pipe rack is laid out OK.

It was perfect. I had to stop for a couple of winks on the way, but I got to Joe's at 10:00am. I didn't have a specific time to be there, but the hole was only 3800' and it doesn't take long to lay down that much pipe before they start in the hole, so I just stopped at Joe's auto parts to tell him I wanted to get together after I got done.

I didn't give Joe a heads up. In my old frewheeling days I would stop by to tell Joe where I was headed (it was always racing business, but not actual races) and I wanted him to come with me. He drooled at the mouth to come, but Roland back in the "Mole Hole" frowned upon such as waste of time. Every now and then it was too overwhelming for him to pass up, so he would load up and we would go. Most of those times we got in a bind, and Joe was very fretful at the end that we would get back in time.:D Those are the trips we remember the most and laugh about now.:cool:

I walked into Stafford Auto Supply today without calling ahead and said "Where's the Son of a B*&#$h Rome?" To my disappointment it was an unusually slow day and Joe saw me coming. Hector told me he just went to the back, so I think I caught him too quickly before he could pull something on me.

My job was only about twenty minutes northeast of Joe's shop. It was close to the Houston Astrodome and Hobby Airport (one of the original legs of Southwest Airways) It was a directional well and they were drilling underneath the parking lot of an apartment building. At current oil prices, they will gross about 1 million per month.

It took me two hours to finish the job, including visiting with the company man who I haven't seen in three or four years. He retired and moved to Wyoming, but they found out he was in the oilfield and has been working ever since.

I hauled A back to Joe's shop and we went out for some seafood. Here's the surprising part. Joe gave his employees and half day off each for Friday and Saturday, splitting it into AM and PM shifts with Joe covering the whole day. When I got there to go to lunch with him, no one else was there....only Joe. Joe locked the front door and we went to go get some great seafood. No more worrying about getting back to the shop on time.;):D It kind of crushed my plan of the old days of conning Joe into getting away when he knew he couldn't....(but he did). It was a great day.

[jrome]

I got a big suprise this weekend from Wayne showing up. I had just asked Wayne on Thursday if he was ever get another job up here in Houston. Like always we have agreat time when we are together. We have never been mad at each other even when I called a gun jumping on him in FT. Worth. He still thinks I was blind that day. Thanks for all the great years of being a wonderfull friend and all the good times.

[jrome]

It was great day as any day I get to spend time with Wayne . Wayne and I have had more fun in over 40 years. I dont ever remember either one of us ever getting mad at each other .Even when I threw him out of a world championship.He will tell you I wes blind for a day,but he knew I was doing my job .They can never say I gave my friend a special break. Thanks for all the good times Wayne.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

You were blind that day Joe, or maybe just that one heat;). I have been tossed out before when I thought I was legal, but I never challenged a ruling. I was a good two seconds behind, and you know that unlike the early years I was making good starts by then. But you were the man in stripes that day. I knew you would never be influenced, and that's not why I told you that you were wrong. When it comes to boat racing and the rules, you do not compromise one inch. How could we ever get mad at one another. We owe each other for helping get out of a few tight spots, plus all the fun we had. Still have. If it weren't for Joe, I wouldn't be here at this forum getting back in touch with old friends and making new ones.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Here's a couple of shots of Joe at the Pro Nationals at Winona, Minn. in 1975. I believe that is Homer Kincaid behind him. I figure the second pic is when Joe is contemplating lunch. It was a great race course, and the whole event was a big success, except the only thing to eat was hot dogs. When you are there for a week, it gets old after awhile. I think Joe is thinking if there are any different ways to fix it. I'm not sure he still eats hot dogs anymore.;):D

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

Hi Wayne:

Your story about Joe and the hot dog reminds me of the Grain Belt beer tent there. I don't remember which year it was, but early in the afternoon of the last day, Grain Belt had a LOT of beer left. They made an announcement that from then on the rest of the day the beer was free. It was so bad even the boat racers wouldn't drink it even though they were giving it away. Perhaps Grain Belt had the hot dog stand also. First and last time I ever saw beer a boat racer wouldn't drink, especially since it was free.

[jrome]

That's right, no hot dogs for me!! I never ate so many hot dogs in my life. Every time I see someone eating a hot dog, I have to tell them why I don't eat them and about the week in Winona. We got to the race early in the morning and left late at night. So, all we had to eat was the hot dogs.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

..........Joe doesn't drink....so the free beer meant nothing to him.:D Joe does like methanol with a touch of castor oil though. That smell and the sound of an army of angry bees will keep Joe planted in the pits.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

These two pics are from the PRO Western Divisionals at Marine Creek Lake near Fort Worth, Texas 1975.

I don't know what Joe is laying on our good friend Reles LeBlanc. Joe doesn't golf so he couldn't have been explaining how a bad grip messed up Reles' shoulder. No....it must have had something to do with boat racing or the concession stand. Maybe explaining how he knocked the legs out from under the table holding all the weiners.;):D I went up to Houston to tag up with Joe, then we went by Houston intercontinetal in his B&W pickup in the background. We picked up a friend that had flown in from Chicago. We rode to the races in the back with the camper shell.:cool:

The next one is Joe helping Al Davis to his left and Troy Dunn on the other side of the transom lift Jim McKeans boat. Jim was piggybacked by a TV newsreporter. The cameraman was outside this frame. To the left observing were Alan Ishii and Kenneth James. Hidden behind the spray was motor cranker "Big Jim" Richardson the bear wrestler.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Here's a couple from the Baytown Joe Bowdler Memorial race on Memorial Day in 1975. I took these just hours before I stuffed my brand new Butts "Texas Tornado" and went out of action.

Joe and Louis are wondering what to do with that cable. The other is Louis, Joe and Roddy. What a trio. It's a shame I can't tell some of the stories those three were involved in.;):D

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Joe never ceases to amaze me. His "stepson" heads up the Texas Rangers (the real ones....not the baseball team), was friends with one of the most famous bootmakers, used to hang around AJ Foyt's shop, knew Red Adair, friends with Marshall Grant and Carl Perkins, and on and on.

Today I call up Joe to ask who he is rooting for in the Superbowl and he just said "Aw....I don't know. I'm just going to lay around and watch it." Normally I don't watch it, but this year some part time neighbors's son will be playing. They live in San Antonio, but have a lake house just down the road and play spades with us. Their son Michael Toudouze is an offensive tackle for the Colts. He has one ring, but was injured and had surgery last year. He recouped and they resigned him in December. I wanted to Saints to win until then....but now I guess I'll just be like Joe and watch.

But, when I told Joe we got another spades player who lives straight across the water from us whose son played for the Buffalo Bills, Joe asked "Who". I told him it was Shane Nelson who was a linebacker. Joe says, "I've met him before." So I said "How in the world did you meet an NFL player from Buffalo"?
He proceeded to tell me how he came to know Elijah Pitts who coached at Buffalo. Joe met him when he was with the Oilers and who finished his career with the Saints. Everytime they played in Houston, Joe went to dinner with him and his family. Joe used to send BBQ wood to Elijah up in Buffalo. Elijah started out as a player with the Green Bay Packers and in the very first superbowl scored two touchdowns from 5 yards out, and 1 yard. Elijah gave Joe a Buffalo Bills jacket signed by himself, Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith. So even on Super Bowl weeked, Joe has a good story to tell. With Joe, you never know when you jump off into a subject. You can ask Ron. I thought we would never get out of the Cracker Barrel the morning he first met Joe. I don't think Ron mentioned hardly anybody in boat racing that Joe didn't know something about.:cool:

[geodavid]

Joe has legions of friends around the globe. Nothing this man does would surprise me. Joe is without doubt one of the nicest people I have ever met. Always there to help, always there to shoot a barb at his friends. You know you are friends with him if he teases you. We all love you Joe!!!
I sure like those pictures of you, Louis and Reles. I wonder what happened to Rele's son? Always enjoyed hanging with him at Alex.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I believe you talked with Reles's son several months ago if I'm correct Alan. I spent twenty minutes trying to find this thread to update it, now I see how old it is.

So...skipping lots of stuff in between, since February of 2010 as you know Louis Williams passed away, Ricky LeBlac attended Louis's funeral with Joe and I and we had actually met up on Interstate 10 on the way. I had taken off near my house at the same time Ricky was leaving a job at Corpus Christi. Joe was traffic controller and after I met up with Joe and Karen in Houston, we were able to meet up for Lunch between Houston and Beaumont prior to Louis' funeral. At the restaurant Joe called up Reles and I talked to him for the last time. Louis's beautiful wife Mary asked Joe what to do with Louis' boat racing stuff. Joe told her to give the boat trailer, runabout and motor to Ricky LeBlanc which she did. Ricky did not know about this until about a month or so later when Joe called him up and asked him to make a time to meet Joe at Louis's place to pick it up. At that time, Reles was about ready to give up the ghost, but when he heard that Ricky was bringing Louis's runabout to his home in Louisiana, Reles hung on for several months more. He spent some happy moments before his end looking at Louis' runabout.

Since then I saw you and Charley Bradley get your hair cut....ouch...ouch ouch from someone who was pulling more than shearing! And I last talked to you about 4 or 5 months ago. Joe is always calling me telling me he talked to you Alan. and we always end up laughing. I suspect that is the same way with you. Joe always has a good spirit and something interesting or fun to talk about unless it's the passing of another friend. I will save what I was originally going to post so this thread can get updated.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I don't remember what I was going to post, but I do have some news regarding Joe.

Joe and John Schubert (our yankee John Schubert) can go into more detail.

Joe had called a guy he knew from South Louisiana from the earliest days Joe went to races with his cousin Sonny. I forget all the details, but one thing led to another and Joe talked back and forth with some of these guys. One of them said he raced at the APBA Nationals and was pitted next to John Schubert. He told Joe details that went back into the early 60's, or maybe even earlier. Joe called John Schubert to relay this tale and John recalled in the same detail the race. John wanted this guy's phone number, which Joe provided and John ended up having a lengthy talk with this guy.

As it turns out, the guy they talked to got all hepped up and started calling up all his old boat racing friends from the 50's. A bunch of them got excited about talking the old days and the next thing you know, they have a reunion set up. I forget when it is, but it is on a Thursday. Joe is going to attend. It's a four hour drive, and for Joe to be able to take off on a weekday, it is something he is looking forward to. I told him to take pictures. I hope John Schubert will fill in on what he knows, and how he helped spark this reunion, and I told Joe he has to give us a report. Joe doesn't type much. On the phone, or in person there is no better person to fill in the detail, but on the computer, he is brief. But here is another example of the far reach of BRF. It sparked the first Lone Star reunion in which Ron added to the historical significance, which led to the two great DePue Reunions, and now this one from the Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas region that raced fifty and sixty years ago.

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

I don't remember what I was going to post, but I do have some news regarding Joe.

Joe and John Schubert (our yankee John Schubert) can go into more detail.

Joe had called a guy he knew from South Louisiana from the earliest days Joe went to races with his cousin Sonny. I forget all the details, but one thing led to another and Joe talked back and forth with some of these guys. One of them said he raced at the APBA Nationals and was pitted next to John Schubert. He told Joe details that went back into the early 60's, or maybe even earlier. Joe called John Schubert to relay this tale and John recalled in the same detail the race. John wanted this guy's phone number, which Joe provided and John ended up having a lengthy talk with this guy.

As it turns out, the guy they talked to got all hepped up and started calling up all his old boat racing friends from the 50's. A bunch of them got excited about talking the old days and the next thing you know, they have a reunion set up. I forget when it is, but it is on a Thursday. Joe is going to attend. It's a four hour drive, and for Joe to be able to take off on a weekday, it is something he is looking forward to. I told him to take pictures. I hope John Schubert will fill in on what he knows, and how he helped spark this reunion, and I told Joe he has to give us a report. Joe doesn't type much. On the phone, or in person there is no better person to fill in the detail, but on the computer, he is brief. But here is another example of the far reach of BRF. It sparked the first Lone Star reunion in which Ron added to the historical significance, which led to the two great DePue Reunions, and now this one from the Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas region that raced fifty and sixty years ago.

Wayne,

His name is TJ Dendinger. He finished 2nd in BSH at Depere, WI in 1954, I finished 4th. He was in 2nd the second heat & I tried everything I knew at only 15 to get around him, & couldn't. I think that he told me at the time hes was 17 or 18. I never really knew him either at the nationals or after & don't even recall talking to him. We have had several phone calls since, sent pictures & articles to each other & talked about a mutual good friend Byron "Cajun" Harris. AS a matter of fact if I go to FL after the 1st of the year to visit with my family I told TJ that I'll every attempt to head to Baton Rouge first to visit with him & Byron.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Thanks John. I knew you would fill in here. When Joe first told me about him remembering you, then you calling him and you guys remembering the race and all that, I thought that was something to talk about. Joe said he would take pictures. And he will give us details.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

TJ Dendinger called Joe last week and is ready for another reunion. That humdinger of a last reunion that Ray Yates of Pasadena, Texas put on in 2006 spurred a lot of old time racers getting together for more than a decade now. After some pestering from a lot of Texans Ray told Joe "Okay, I will do one more Lone Star Reunion....but this will be the last one." All us Texans hyped it up so much with the advantage of BOATRACINGFACTS to spread the message, that it got the attention of Ron Hill. He came out to be with us in the final Lone Star Boat Racing Association reunion, and a fantastic turnout of PRO, OPC, Mods, and inboard racers that came from California, Colorado, North Carolina, Louisiana and all across Texas. Then came the first of the DePue Reunions, then some regional reunions such as TJ's. Joe is kind of a ramrod in helping promote, find old timers and getting them there. Good luck Joe.

[Ron Hill]

11 years has "FLOWN" by since that great reunion in Baytown, Texas. I know Jim McKean and Pete DeLackner won't make a second reunion....

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Yeah Ron....it was great to see you, Pete, Jim and many others there. What I really liked about it most besides seeing a lot of boat racing friends from the past was when you got there and came up to my room the night before the reunion. We had met one another before and had crossed paths at DePue and APBA Conventions, but we really didn't know one another. I of course had read about you for many years in Boat News, Powerboat and the Propeller. We really got acquainted through Boatracingfacts, and it was wonderful to sit down and talk face to face with a legend already by the time I started racing. Then the next morning when I introduced you to Joe Rome at breakfast in the Cracker Barrel in Baytown, that was one of the highlights of the reunion and it hadn't even started yet. You had never met Joe, but Joe knew who you were Ron. After you two got to talking, I just mostly sat back and listened. Joe knew a lot about people you talked about, and you knew a lot of the people Joe talked about. I was amazed just sitting there listening. In fact, after an hour or half or two, I had to cut in and say "We need to get out of here and head over to the Baytown Boat Club."

At the reunion Pete told me he had more pictures than I did. I challenged him and told him he needed to start posting some. He said he didn't know how, but would get his daughter to teach him or do it for him. I talked to Pete off and on over the next few years, but he never did anything about the photos. I know he has a lot, and they are good. They are mostly west coast and I think black and white. There is some very good historical photos there that I wish his daughter or someone who might have access to them could post, but I don't know who to contact. Pete and Jim were very good friends. Transplants from California. They made lots of new friends in Texas.

[Ron Hill]

We might find some posts from him.

Pete started a boat club called C.A.N.O.E.: California, Arizona and Nevada Outboard Enthusiast. I was a "Charter" member, and I won the only race they ever had. I was on the Colorado River, near Bullhead City. A land company gave us the money, oh, it was called "Holiday Shores".

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I hope you or someone can make contact with Pete's son. Pete did have a lot of photos that he brought to the reunion, but those were only some he made into prints. The photos were 8X10 and excellent quality. They were of the big names from the west coast. I looked at a lot of them. I also looked at Deannie Montgomery's collection. He also had a fantastic collection of the latter day Merc deflector's, the incoming Konigs, and Anzani's. These are some photo collections that no one else has seen except for the people that handled them, family and friends.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

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.

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

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.

[Ron Hill]

Few things Piss Ron Off
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...

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

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.

[racnbns]

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

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

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!

[Ron Hill]

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.

[racnbns]

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

[Master Oil Racing Team]

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.

[Ron Hill]

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.

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

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.
Wayne, I guess my response didn’t come of right either. I meant no offense to you at all, just was a little confused about the transition from the alone Star reunion to Depue. I’m not a glory hound nor did I intend to stir up anything. I put a lot of prep time in to that reunion & it was overwhelmingly popular & a lot of fun.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I understand John. I didn't get it either when I first read it last night. When I originally started out writing about the Lone Star Reunion, Debbie wanted help with a big suitcase. When I got back to the computer a little bit later, I continued on with the part about DePue without reading what I had previously written, so last night was the first time I read it through. I'm going to leave everything just as it was because anyone else reading later will wonder what the heck we're talking about now.

It serves as an example of what I told my mechanics at Alice Specialty Co. "If I ever call you to come to the office, finish up what you are working on first." Of course they knew I didn't mean an overhaul or anything like that, but when you stop without a logical stopping point, something is going to be left loose or out or whatever else that could go wrong. But when Debbie calls, I come. After all I'm not working on anything important any more.

[Ketzer]

Wise, Wayne. In aviation, there were required turn-over meetings between shifts and a turn-over log describing the works in progress. There were also tags or flags to hang on items that were being worked but unfinished to describe status. Before such programs were put in place, there were several instances where either one shift took over from another, or one mechanic from another, without adequate briefings, and the plane went back into service without the work completed…and crashed.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I myself have messed up by starting and stopping work on switching out a turbocharger, but nothing so critical as what you were describing Steve. It was one of my top mechanics that suggested that policy, and he knew what he was talking about. A little bit digressing off the Joe Rome thread, but not quite. Joe's business revolves around changing parts, fluids, filters, hoses, etc. He's deeply involved in helping people who are not only professionals, but many who don't know exactly what they are doing but need help. Joe knows his stuff. He is not a national chain with an HR department, and all that stuff. Joe can find stuff that no one else can. I had a local O'Brien store ship me two different starters that were wrong. I called up Joe and he told me what I needed and I had the auto shop call Joe. This shop had always been good, but something was different about the starter and after Joe talked to the shop foreman, I got the right starter.

When my Son-in-Law went back to Afghanistan a few years ago Steve, he went back this time as a mechanic for a private contractor. He started up in Masuri Al Sharif, which was relatively safe. Before he went he had to buy all his own tools and toolbox, then he spent many hours laying out his tools and spray painting them on a background. Each and every tool had its own slot. That was one of the requirements. As a former avionics guy in the marines flying in an H=53, he knew exactly why there was this policy. After several months went by the head guy for the mechanics went for two weeks leave. My Som-in-Law had by that time gotten such a reputation for his work, he was put in charge as they never had a second in command while he was there. One day a tool went missing. My Son-n-law called in the mechanic who was working on the helicopter and talked to him. Then they went to his toolbox, and he had never done the outline for his tools in his tool box. He was terminated on the spot and packed up and went back to the U.S. They shut everything down and searched until they found the missing tool.

[Ketzer]

I never got to meet Joe Rome, but I saw him more than a few times, mostly at Alex—you couldn’t miss him! From the stories I’ve heard, Joe reminds me of my Uncle Ed, who was always our #1 pit crew man. Ed was an aircraft mechanic, like his brother, my dad, and his specialty was rebuilding aircraft engines. Ed was calm, meticulous and could fix anything. Although, sometimes he had to stand there and chew on his cigar for a minute or two before he made a move, but when he made that move, it was the correct one. Unlike some help we got in the pit, we never had to go looking for Ed, because Ed was always looking for us. He knew where we were and what we needed, which sounds like Joe. Ed went to every race we attended, but was never interested in racing himself. My dad tried to get him into it, and even talked Ed into taking a couple boats out for a run, a runabout and a hydro (Ed preferred the runabout), but Ed was just happy to work in the pits and then sit on a boat stand to watch the race.

[jrome]

Steve we were never introduced properly but Tommy Gossely told me about your family.Baldy did inttroduced me to your dad.I liked the blue uniforms

[Ketzer]

Well, Joe, if you ever venture into the Florida swamp, I have a bedroom with your name on it. Tommy, an old C-Service boat racer, taught me and my dad a lot about the sport--a great guy, Tommy, and his son, Jeff. Tommy, by the way, owned a print shop in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and did a lot of work for the Razorback Boat Racing Club and always pro bono. Happy to hear you met my dad. He passed away in 1993, and I still miss him.

[jrome]

Tommy old slow poke was a great guy.If you couldn't get along with Tommy you have a problem.i know he was heiped the Razorback club

[Ketzer]

Joe, did you know the Boltons from Texarkana who raced C-Service? They were another father & son team who taught us a lot. The dad's name was Joe; the son's name has slipped my mind.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I didn't know Joe Steve, but I did know Bobby Bolton. 92-T He was also a great guy. Don't know why I didn't ever know Joe. And another great C Service and C Runabout guy from that area was Lyndol Reid. I knew Tommy very well but I didn't really talk to Jeff much that I can remember. I think he was kind of on the shy side like you. I wish now I would have spent more time with so many racer friends of the past. Well, it's a good thing that we have Boatracingfacts, so we are now getting together like never before. I know Joe knows Bobby because we talked about him before, but Hey Joe....did you know Joe Bolton too?

[Ron Hill]

I am very sorry to hear that Joe Rome passed yesterday. He as a dear friend.