Sometimes I Wish Milwaukee Recognized How Cool It Really Was

For Father's Day the family and I went to the Izod Indy 225 at the Milwaukee Mile--Grandma, looking for something to do, came along, too. What a fantastic experience. The stands were less than half full at the start of the race, but exceeded that as the race went along. The race had its share of crashes, action, and speed. It was great! Even Grandma gave it a "9" afterward.

Anyway, I got to talk to a pretty cool guy from MNelson.com who is from Indianapolis. Sounds like he (and they) was the Official Merchandiser for the race (had some pretty great stuff that can be found here: http://281957d.promoshop.com/featuredproduct/index.aspx?DPSV_Id=515716 ). The promoter for the race was also from Indianapolis. I kept asking myself why the Milwaukee, and Wisconsin, community can't get behind this race track--the oldest, and coolest, in the country. I wondered how a guy from Inianapolis could capture the spirit of "The Mile" on his brown and blue vintage-styled shirts (shown on the link above)--really "got it"--while most folks that live here are indifferent. Man, I hope our locals "get it" before "The Mile" is no more. It could be so much more. Which begs the question: Why, with all of the talent in Milwaukee, couldn't someone locally market and promote the place, and the race, better to the community? So what do others think about Milwaukee, while we are indifferent? See this Blurb:

http://motorsportsmarketing.blogspot.com/2010/08/milwaukee-mile-is-great-track-in-great.html

Milwaukee Mile Weekend

With lots of racing at the Mile (something that wasn't so certain just last year) this weekend, here's some great footage from 1955:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J77d1bku020&feature=related

So Who Originally Owned the Grand Prix?

I tracked down who I thought was the original owner of the Grand Prix in California a couple weeks back. Nancy, now in her 80's (although you'd never suspect it talking to her on the phone), remembers the car well. I always sort of assumed that because her name was on the California title, that she was the original owner. It turns out that she bought the car used (my original California title shows it was registered by her on December 24, 1964). She and a girlfriend went to a house in Beverly Hills to buy it from no other than, it turned out, "the Banjo King," Eddie Peabody. "They were very private, and suspicious of us girls," she told me. Eddie was considered by many "the greatest Showman of his time." She remembered that the car was extremely fast, and had great air conditioning. Ultimately, her husband (who had upwards of 30 cars) gave the car to their son. She said she would try to look for pictures--she thought there might be some around. As for Eddie:

Eddie Peabody had a Wisconsin connection--he lived in Madison in the 40's and 50's. Here he is shown with his new Lincoln Continental, receiving the title from Lucien Hanks, General Manager of Kayser Motors, 1501 Monroe Street, Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo from Wisconsin Historical Society).

Eddie's music can be sampled here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_DZPTjVieY

And here's a great history of Captain Edwin Ellsworth Peabody:

http://wn.com/eddie_peabody_the_king_of_the_banjo_,a_picture_video?orderby=published

Historic 41

Very cool that Ol' Historic US 41 is getting the respect and attention it deserves:

http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-20110602-historic-41,0,5979607.story

Learning the Metal Trade

Spent the night at Greg's learning the fine art of patch panels. Greg's old Chevy truck is the perfect candidate for practice. His buddy Ted is an expert at this stuff, with projects including motorcycles at a large local motorcycle employer--starts with "H." This will certainly help put the replacement trunk in the Grand Prix (obtained from a 1963 California Catalina a couple of years ago, and taking up a great amount of space since arrival). A plasma cutter on loan from cousin Richard is going to be fun to work with.