WRC Guys & Gals,
Wow another meet down and we’re just barely into June, Is it just me or is time going into (to quote someone famous) warp speed ? We arrived at Jack and Sylvia’s about 8:30 thinking we might be able to help them do some of the set up for everything but as usual they were already set up ! Just a few little details like getting the coffee ready and putting out Sylvia’s scrumptious Scones which I wasted no time in gobbling down a couple !
The guys started arriving just a little after 9:00, I think Paul wood, John Hagerman, and Bob Joynt were some of the first to get there followed by Steve bates, Jerry Kay, Steve Schmitmeyer, John & Bill Reed, Rick Whitman, and Dan Curran. The rest of the gang, Bob Peters, Tommy Kenepp, Bill Jatzek and John Fairgrieve trickled in around 10:00 or a little after. There wasn’t much activity right away as we were all waiting for the sun to warm things up a bit, But the coffee and scones were a big hit !
Mason Biller and his Mom came a little later ! John Hagerman had a present for Mason and I’m sure he was anxious to see what it was ! A while back John had brought his 7 1/2 hp WestBend to one of the meets and Mason saw it and told John he sure would love buy it from him ! But John told him he wasn’t ready to sell it as he hadn’t even run it ! Needless to say Mason was disappointed ! But John being the true Gentleman he is couldn’t just let it go ! So he scoured the internet, Craig’s list and Ebay and found another WestBend 7 1/2 and brought it to the meet, and that put a huge smile on Mason’s face !
As it warmed up a bit, the tailgates were opened and the treasurers were looked over and deals were made ! Jack told all of us that there were more treasures down in the barn so leisurely we all checked out what was there ! One of our members that couldn’t attend had contacted me asking if I’d ask everyone if they might have a recoil starter for a 12hp Hiawatha ? As I sorted thru Jack’s table I happened to see a recoil and snapped a couple pictures and sent them to Hershel Laster! Later that morning He sent me a message that he thought it was what he needed. So even long distance deals can even be made even if you can’t make it to a meet !
I did have a chance to chat with several of the guys about their different projects, Mike Seachrist and I discussed his Champion Sweet 16 twins he’s been working on ! He told me he had just acquired a pair of 2 blade props for his engines and they were what came with the twin engines originally ! Can’t wait to see how these beauties run ! Champion outboards are a rare brand that not everyone is familiar with. And they made some of the best racing engines to compete with and beat some of Mercury’s very best !
Steve Bates and I also had a nice chat ! Steve just retired recently and has been a semi regular at our Wednesday meets. I think he’s found a new enjoyment working on some of the engines he’s acquired at some of the sales we’ve had this past couple years ! But it’ll never take the place of his love for aircraft !
I sat with the Reed Brothers along with Rick Whitman and Dan Curran asking what they were up to down the southern area ? John said the Leesville lake meet is going to have a comparison run of 7 1/2 hp engines, this is being preformed by Bob Korosa ! Bob did a similar run of 9 1/2, 9.9 and 10hp engine several years ago and wrote a great story of how each engine preformed with one person and two people in the boats ! I think Bob is going to do the same thing with the 7 1/2 hp engines ? I believe the engines he will be testing are Mercury, Johnson, Champion, Elgin, and a Scott McCulloch all 7 1/2 hp so stay tuned !
After chatting with a few other members Cindi Hagerman made the announcement that lunch was on, so like a herd of turtles we all headed for the food tables that the ladies had helped Sylvia set up ! As in the past Sylvia and Jack didn’t disappoint, Macaroni shells filled with a cheese cream and meatballs topped the menu. Salad by Cindi, veggie tray by my wife and bread & butter completed the meal, and there was plenty to satisfy even the hungriest !
After everyone had their fill Jack announced that the annual Mercury Block toss was starting ! Paul Wood, John Reed, Bon Joynt, Rick Whitman were the tossers ! Paul came in first, second was Rick, and third was Bob ! Good job guys !
Jack made another announcement that he had a ‘tote” that anyone can fill with what ever parts they want but I don’t think he had any takers !
After that the crowd started to thin and pretty soon we were all that were left, Peg & I, Sylvia & Jack and Bill Jatzek ! We couldn’t abandon Syl & Jack to do all the clean up after giving such a great meet ! So we took down the canopies, folded up the tables, folded up the chairs and put them away, emptied the coolers and put them away, and carried the glass table down to lower canopy frame in the yard ! Thank you Bill Jatzek for helping !
Please bare in mind when someone hosts a meet and goes to all the work of arranging the food for the meal, providing tables to eat at, coolers for drinks, and generally puts it all together, there is still the work of cleaning up after it’s all over ! Thanks to Cindi for making the salad and Peggy for making the Veggie dish, everything else was by Sylvia and Jack and a huge thank you to both of them !
Gary & Peggy