Jerry Waldman

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I had posted this information previously, but here is additional stuff.

The morning after the race, we weren't in any hurry. Everything was over and done. All the racers were gone, but we still had to go back to Diamondhead to finalize everything.

I went down in one of the pickup boats to load up the bouys. I don't remember who kept them. Mickey McGuire was a boatracer from Hot Springs who helped us a lot with the things that needed to be taken care of locally, so maybe he stored them, or had made the arrangements. We had planned an annual event and this was the first of the invitationals.

The bouys had styrofoam painted with a flourescent orange on them. When we got to the center bouy of the first turn, I noticed some wood stuck to it. I pulled it off. I realized it was a piece of Jerry Waldman's cowling. It was part of the top center of his cowling that had a snap button for the canvas cockpit cover. I didn't say anything. I just stuffed it in my pocket and went on about the business of gathering bouys with an renewed heaviness in my heart.

I am sure I showed it to my Dad, but when I got home I just put it in a shoebox with other mementos.

When we built our music/racing room I placed it on the trophy shelf. I told Joe and Ron about it but the only racers to see it are Mike and Kate Hauenstein. Since this thread is a history of Jerry Waldman, I thought it appropriate to include a photo. I am very sorry about what happened, but this is to me a connection of the brief time I was able to spend with one of the greatest alky drivers of all time.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I came across this photo while looking for something else. I don't know who took it, but it was at Alex in 1968. Jerry in the background in what I'm thinking is NOA F Hydro World Championship race and inside in Y48 with a Konig is who I believe is Freddie Goehl in one of his last races driving for Ed Holstein. I may be wrong, but lets see if anyone else can get the facts right.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

When I was looking around BRF a few days ago I noticed someone looking at this thread. I thought there was something new I might have missed. No... nothing was new, except I realized there were a few pictures I took of Jerry that should be here. Then while looking, I found the pic I posted previously. I wish I could tell you who took it, but I can't. The next three were taken at Lake Catherine on the Ozarks near Hot Springs in 1972. It was the last testing session of Jerry. Paul Christener has these. I guess I was so busy posting stuff I forgot to post them here. The Quincy site is the go to site for all things about Waldman, but BRF is the site of historical record of boat racing, so I will add these photos of Jerry.

[Gene East]

Wayne

Thanks for posting these. I keep looking at the computer screen and then over my right shoulder at the copy you gave me!

He was the greatest and he's waiting for us at Lake Paradise!

You have that piece of cowling and I know how important it is to you. I have a sponson fin that I hold dear.

Your piece of cowling is not "just a piece of wood" nor is my fin "just a piece of scrap metal".

Of course niether of us needs any material thing to remember our dear friend.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

You're right Gene, but my piece of wood and your piece of metal were objects that Jerry touched, and that's special. I'm glad when I saw someone reading this thread the other day, and when I went to it, found it is way lacking in pictures, stories, and photos of Jerry. I'm going to find more stuff to post so that people that didn't know him, can learn what a great man he was. He wasn't just one of the greatest racers of all time, but he took a lot of time to help promote racing.