Letters to the editor October 22 to 28

'Memory sparked by coverage of SC’s historic sport car race' and more

Posted 10/21/20

Letters to the editor October 22 to 28

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in
Letters to the editor October 22 to 28

'Memory sparked by coverage of SC’s historic sport car race' and more

Posted

Memory sparked by coverage of SC’s historic sport car race

I enjoyed reading “Sullivan County Sports Car Race” by Ted Wadell. The article sparked a local memory of my own that I’d like to share.

Years ago, I was lucky enough to own a very used 1954 Healey Hundred (an original classic British sportscar). I enjoyed the challenge of keeping it on the road but never really got around to restoring it properly. One fine September morning, its yearly inspection was again overdue and I couldn’t persuade its turn indicators to work.

Try as I might to trouble-shoot the turn signals, nothing worked, so in frustration I drove over to a little grey garage in the next town over, hoping for a sympathetic ‘old school’ inspection. I’d never been inside before and didn’t ask the name of the sole grumpy old mechanic on duty that day, but the place was wonderful, a real turn-the-clock-back living antique shop. It was full of wonderfully used old equipment, with ‘50s posters on the walls extolling the importance of proper headlight alignment and regular oil changes. There were no other cars around and no hydraulic lift whatsoever, just a rectangular pit in the ground over which I was directed to drive the car for its inspection.

When the time came to prove that my turn signals worked, I used hand signals instead and fibbed that the car was a stripped-down racer that had never had turn signals. He nodded, winked, pasted a new inspection sticker on its wind-cheating, fold-back windscreen, and settled down to tell me all about the Great Sullivan County Sport Car Race that had blasted right past his front door back in the summer of ‘53.

I left with both of us in much better spirits than when I had pulled in, and I enjoyed my drive home infinitely more than the trip out, imagining the glory of racing over these very roads all those years before.

Peter Reich
Long Eddy, NY

VOTE!

Whether you support a Republican, Democrat, or any other party, please, please vote, and tell all your friends to vote. We can all agree that everyone’s vote must be registered and respected.

In a democracy, it is vital that the outcome of an election be an accurate reflection of the will of the people. So, please make sure that your vote counts.

Tom Kappner
Kenoza Lake, NY

sport car race, Sullivan County, voting

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here