LEGENDS DAY HONORS STEVENS,
SUMMERS AND BOUCHARD
On Saturday, November 4, a sold-out crowd was treated to a rollicking good-time afternoon as three of New England’s all-time greats were honored with banners hung from the ceiling of the new North East Motor Sports Museum. The banners are a permanent part of the museum.
Three-time national Modified champion Bugsy Stevens and his wife Doris, all-time top Seekonk winner George Summers and his wife Maggie shared the stage with Paula Bouchard, widow of Ron Bouchard, as all three drivers and their wives were honored.
Stories of racing in days gone by, of friends and on-track foes, and the zany things that happened late at night after so many checkered flags produced a fun time for everyone. There were plenty of laughs and an occasional tear or two.
The event was organized by Russ Conway. (photos by Scott Patten) |
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| WINTER HOURS During the winter, please check the website (NEMSmuseum.com) to see the most updated days and hours of operation. It’s our intention to be open the first and third Saturday each month during winter from 10am-4pm. Returning to more normal hours in the spring. |
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| VOLUNTEERSMeet Skip Ambrose, a resident of near-to-the-museum Meredith, NH, and one of the museum’s most enthusiastic volunteers. Like many volunteers, Skip finds things to do to improve the museum. He prepares the food volunteers have for lunch, sweeps the floor, cleans the bathroom, answers our guest’s questions and has considerable input into the way things should run.During the summer when the museum is open three days each week, Skip is on property nearly every one of them and sometimes during the week when we’re not open. There’s always things to do and Skip does it all from fixing broken trophies to hanging photos on the walls and setting up the floor for meetings.
It helps that he’s retired and loves racing. Skip winters in Florida where he continues to participate by sharing his thoughts on what the museum should do next.
“I have a good time when I’m at the museum,” he says. Skip has been right there when family members share memories of a loved-one’s racing many years ago. Those are emotional moments that can make his day or even his week.
You’d like working with Skip. To sign on as a volunteer, call the museum’s Executive Director Ray Boissoneau, 603-566-5770 or email NEMSmuseum@gmail.com. (pictured engine restored by Dave Bennett) |
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MEMBERSHIP EXPIRATION
If you joined the museum before it opened, you are probably a Charter Member. Check your membership card to be sure. Charter memberships are good until December, 2018. Other memberships are good for one year. Either way, we’ll let you know when your membership is due for renewal. |
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| CHRISTOPHER DISPLAYThe day the museum opened, three of Ted Christopher’s most important trophies and his helmet were in the building. The display has grown to now include more photos (with still more on the way) and one his famed bent front bumpers. It is our intention to do all we can to ensure that Ted is forever remembered by the racing community. |
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| WELCOME THE MUSEUM’S NEW TREASURERWe welcome Rick Humprey (he’s the one on the left of the photo, but you knew that) to the Board of Directors as the museum’s Treasurer. Rick’s interests bring him to NHMS every race weekend. He is a CPA with a long tenure at the same firm and, like everyone else at the museum, he is donating his time. An avid sailor, Rick is on the water as part of Marblehead, MA racing sail teams. He’s the treasurer of the Boston Yacht club and is an experienced non-profit accountant. |
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| Make a hit with family and friends with gifts from the North East Motor Sports Museum. Headlining the gifts are engraved bricks which can be cemented into the museum’s wall to become a permanent part of the lobby. While most Holiday gifts are outgrown, wear out or exchanged, this one lasts forever. Order on the museum’s NEMSmuseum.com website or write to us for an order blank (RHPG, 7 Bayview Rd., Ipswich, MA 01938).For something in brass, sponsor a library bookcase for $300. Your beneficiary’s name will go on the plaque and become a permanent part of the museum. Email (nemsmuseum@gmail.com) or snail-mail (North East Motor Sports Museum, 922NH Rt 106 N, Loudon, NH 03307) with your contact information and whatever you want on the brass plaque.The museum’s book, “A History of Auto Racing in New England” has been enormously popular and is an excellent Holiday gift. $35 + S&H at Coastal181.com, 877-907-8181.
Available at Coastal181.com or the museum, Gil Coraine, Cary Boyd and Bernie Shuman worked to reproduce the New England drag racing’s most definitive history, “Cool Cars and Square Roll Bars.” The well written and entertaining book covers the sport’s earliest history and is replete with photography. $29.95 + S&H. |
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EVEN DOZEN
We are interested in racing’s history but we’re also interested in today’s racing. At the annual Thompson World Series in October, twelve of the museum’s Board were in attendance. Russ Conway, Lew Boyd, Frank Manafort, Dave Swenson, Jim Martel, Ed Shea, Dick Berggren, Bob Bianchi, Frank Grimaldi, Mark Hann, RA Silvia and George Summers were all there for the races. |
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| HONORED VISITORTom Schmeh was the man behind the magnificent Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum in Knoxville, IA. He put together the financing and the team that built a huge facility that covers just a narrow portion of US motorsports but it’s a big success. We were thrilled when Tom came to our museum in October. |
| FLYING THE FLAGGeorge and Maggie Summers donated the funds to erect a flagpole and outfit it. Bob Bianchi, Andy Kaski, Eric Rollins, Steve Locke, and others created a concrete foundation for the pole and hoisted the flag which is lit at night. |
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| TWO VETERANS AND A PROMOTERVeteran drivers Dick Wolstenhulme, and Ralph Cusack were joined by Beech Ridge Speedway promoter Andy Cusack as they went through old photos of the track. The photos were taken in the very early 1950s and few are still alive and have good memories who saw the races at that time. Identifying old photos is an important part of the museum’s effort to preserve the history of New England motorsports. |
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| NEW TO THE FLOORWhen Ed Shea owned a race team, his team won many races with this car that was recently restored. Driven by Russ Wood, the car won four championships, two at Lee and two on the ISMA Tour. When you see it, we think you’ll agree that this is one of the nicest restorations in the museum.Also joining floor as we add cars is the cut-down driven by the late Joey O’Brien at Beech Ridge. A good bit of work has been done to make what was already a stunning restoration into a restoration that is closer to the way the car ran when Joey drove it. This one is typical of cars seen at tracks across New England with weight saving features, Buick brakes and stout construction. |
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| FROM NOTHING TO SOMETHING SPECIALJim Martel’s restoration of the Jim Carter/Bentley Warren #44 sedan nears completion. As with all of his prior restorations, Martel’s work on this one was done to make the car as close to the way it was raced as possible. With that in mind, the entire country was searched for a new body which was ultimately found in Florida and was crated and shipped to Martel’s Massachusetts shop. Compare the two photos and the result is pretty miraculous. |
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