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It was one of those long winter nights about 1995 that I was sittin’ around the garage with a few of the local motorheads and the conversation turned (as it usually does) to the “good old days”. And, as always, the days at South Butler were discussed at length. But this time, somebody wondered where all the film and photos that everybody seemed to take disappeared to.
That’s what started me on my quest. I only had about two dozen of my own, and among the rest of the guys, there wasn’t more than a couple dozen still surviving. So I started
calling' people from the old days to see what they
had. My first mission was to track down Paul Jackson. That was easy - turns out
he's a friend of my Dad's. I had some long talks with Paul about those early
days. His memory is sharp and clear and the results of our conversations are
evident throughout this web site. I then called Gary King (of King's Dragway).
Gary's a lifelong friend and still lives in the area, so it’s always nice to talk to him (he still has his original 1969 Dodge Charge R/T). He had a few photos and some old “tech” cards, and a wealth of information.
I won’t bore you with a whole lot of “who I called next” stuff, but from that night in 1995 to 1997 I talked to over 300 ex-racers, spectators, track workers and anybody else that might have had some association with the old track. Many of them were kind enough to share what they had and I thank them very much for their generosity.
In 1997 I took everything I found and produced a 100-minute video documentary on drag racing in the early days at South Butler. The film played on the TV cable access channel for a few years, and was even considered for PBS (they never called me back). The results of the TV exposure brought more calls from people that remember those times. That’s what this web site is all about – rememberin’ the good old days in South Butler. Hope you enjoy the web site. |
