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Feel free to "add a message" of any news or upcoming events. You may also add or upload a photo!
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Subject copy and paste
Date
Sun Sep 6 2009 15:55
Author Magilla Gorilla
(I_saw_you_shit_your_shorts@youareaperv.com)
File: epic fail.bmp
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Subject First example
Date Tue Apr 4 2006 15:26
Author Anthony (antsitchler@comcast.net)
Here is an example of what happens when you "add a message"
Subject reply example
Date Tue Apr 4 2006 15:27
Author Anthony (antsitchler@comcast.net)
This is an example of what it looks like when you "reply" to a message that someone else posted.
Subject Photo example
Date Tue Apr 4 2006 15:28
Author Anthony (antsitchler@comcast.net)
File: Mexico 2005 043.jpg
Here is an example of how you can add or upload a photo.
Subject Congratulations!
Date Tue Apr 4 2006 15:48
Author Claire villa (clairejohnvilla@earthlink.net)
Enter your message here.
Congratulations to Dan Thompson for suggesting this family website and to Anthony for setting it up. Our news? John and Claire are on the mend from John's hernia surgery and Claire's flu bug. We will be out training for a half marathon again very soon - if the rain ever stops.
Love to all, Claire and John
Subject Congratulations!
Date Tue Apr 4 2006 20:28
Author Anthony (antsitchler@comcast.net)
Alright! Aunt Claire and Uncle John are officially the first ones to post something. Maybe we will pass out a special prize at this years reunion :-)
Definitely glad to hear you both are recovery well and I'm sure you can't wait for the rain to stop and get out walking again.
Subject Carol Thompson
Date Wed Apr 5 2006 11:43
Author Mary & Larry (lstmat@aol.com)
Enter your message here.Carol is part of the Presidential delegation sent to Benin, Africa in honor of their recent presidential elections, Oh yes Karen Hughes went along too!
Subject Carol thompson
Date Wed Apr 5 2006 13:35
Author Claire villa (clairejohnvilla@earthlink.net)
Enter your message here.
I hope Carol is keeping a journal. Her life takes such interesting turns she could write a book some day. Claire
Subject Skiing
Date Wed Apr 5 2006 15:38
Author Jeanne (jvjv@dsp.net)
File: Jeanne gets her ski legs back.jpg
My mother is SUCH an overachiever...of course she was the first one to post on the new site! My latest news is that I took my improved left hip out for a day on the slopes (after a 5 year hiatus) and survived. More than survived, skied fairly well. A friend of mine took some shots while we were up on the mountain at Heavenly. After some slalom or GS competition (I can never tell those events apart), they let us try out the course just before they took it down. Check me out in the photo attached. I felt a little rusty, but overall I think I kicked butt!
Subject Skiing
Date Tue Apr 11 2006 17:30
Author Anthony (antsitchler@comcast.net)
Hey Jeanne, you looked good overall, but I can see you were a bit rusty indeed. Your outside ski was much too horizontal...try get that inside edge dug in a little better next time!
LOL!!!! Very funny!!!!
Anthony
Subject Sold house
Date Fri Apr 14 2006 11:38
Author BILL AND COLLEEN (captbillvyc@aol.com)
WE ARE NOW HOMELESS AND FREE TO TRAVEL THE WORLD.
1 IF BY LAND 2 IF BY SEA SEAMS TO FIT AT THIS TIME IT IS 1 WE WILL BE HEADING NORTH ON APRIL 24 OR SO TO SPOKANE WA TO SEE LORETTA AND KIDS. THEN RETURNING ALONG THE COAST TO VALLEJO ABOUT MAY 18. I WILL BEGIN TEACHING SAILING AGAIN THIS YEAR ON MAY 20.
2 IF BY SEA
IN LATE SEPTEMBER I WILL LIKELY BE DELIVERING A 38' SAIL BOAT TO VALLEJO FROM HONOLULU FOR A FRIEND OF MINE AND THE ON TO MEXICO WITH MY 30' SAIL BOAT FOR THE WINTER.
I WILL TRY TO SEND PICTURES AND NOTES AS WE MOVE ON.
LOVE TO ALL BILL AND COLLEEN THOMAS
Subject Bon Voyage
Date Sat Apr 15 2006 13:11
Author Claire villa (clairejohnvilla@earthlink.net)
Have wonderful travels by land and by sea. We look forward to photos and tales of your journeys. Give hugs from us to your children and grandchildren as you visit them in your travels.
Subject Cruzin'
Date Wed Apr 19 2006 15:18
Author Helen & Carl
File: Tulum Mayan Ruins.jpg
Just back from our 12 days cruise to the Panama Canal, with ports of call of Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Grand Caymans and Jamaica.
Afterwards we visited Carl's relatives in Houston and Helen's friend from San Rafael.
We had a great time with lots of sun!
Now we are back to checking ourcalendar and the humdrum of daily life :-)
Check out the attached photo!
Our Love,
Helen and Carl
Subject Earth Day @ Samual P Taylor
Date Sun Apr 23 2006 20:43
Author Jerry Thompson (jerry@integrityelectic.net)
Enter your message here.
Well on April 22nd Kari, Danielle, Isabelle and myself went to help out at Samual P Taylor for earth day by cleaning out some envasive plants and such. This place for me is a snap shoot into my past of family gatherings that include all the old faces. 44 years ago, I was telling Kari, this is where I was in my crib. Oh and this is the tree stump that all the kids tried to climb. The river was flowing quite nicely and I could still hear the voice of George Thomas SR. saying "get your own meat" as I eyed what was clearly ear-marked for him. I't nice to have old familiar places so close at hand. don't you think? Jerry T
Subject Earth Day
Date Mon Apr 24 2006 10:29
Author Claire villa (clairejohnvilla@earthlink.net)
Youe message brings back familiar and happy memories, Jerry. On Earth Day Steve was cleaning the area along the bay in San Rafael with the Rotary Club. Hurray for all of you for doing a good deed. Claire
Subject Lois Grimes
Date Fri May 12 2006 19:31
Author Claire villa (clairejohnvilla@earthlink.net)
Lois' memorial service was true to the lady herself. It was filled with grace and style and good humor. The church was filled. She was much loved. Steve Grimes and other family and friends paid tribute to her with beautiful eulogies. Laurie and Gil, along with Steve and Mike and Joni and Lois' pastor planned the service with some input from Lois herself before she went to her reward. She will never be forgotten.
Subject Reno Cinco de Mayo race
Date Fri May 12 2006 19:50
Author Claire Villa (clairejohnvilla@earthlink.net)
John, Claire, Jeanne, Beth and Jessie Villa participated in the recent Marathon de Mayo in Reno. Jeanne did the half marathon (13.1 miles) and the rest of us did the 10K (6.2 miles) The 10K walk took us along the Truckee river - a beautiful walk and we all completed it in good times. The half marathon included hills, wind and heat but Jeanne did very well. Meanwhile Joe Villa was doing a 50 mile bike ride - a benefit for diabetes and next Saturday Steve will do the Marin Human race as a benefit for the Marin Literacy Program. All of this activity is supposed to keep us fit and healthy. I sure hope it works that way! Whew!!
Subject TRAVEL
Date Thu Jun 8 2006 17:53
Author BILL AND COLLEEN (captbillvyc@aol.com)
WE HAD GREATE VISIT IN SPOKANE WITH LORETTA AND KIDS THEN HEDED OUT TO THE ORIGON COAST AND SOUTH TO VALLEJO.
WE HAD A GREATE TIME AND NOW I AM BACK TO TEACHING SAILING AND PREPARING FOR THE PACIFIC CUP RACE TO HAWAII ON JULY 3. I WILL BE ON BEQUIA A BENITO 41'. THEN I WILL FLY BACK FOR MORE LESSONS AND RETURN TO HAWAII IN MID SEPTEMBER TO BRING ANOTHER BOAT BACK TO VALLEJO.
SHORTLEY AFTER THAT THE PLAN IS TO TAKE OUR BOAT TO MEXICO FOR THE WINTER, I NEED TO GET FAR AWAY SO I CAN FIND TIME TO RELAX.
BILL &COLLEEN THOMAS
Subject Nancy's 80th birthday party!
Date Thu Jun 15 2006 18:07
Author from Vicki, Jan and Eric (lundblad@salk.edu)
File: nancy party 2.pdf
Hi Family!
Nancy Lundblad will be celebrating her 80th birthday on Saturday, June 24th, and Jan, Eric and I are planning a small shindig to help her celebrate.
If you are free and would like to stop by, Nancy would love to see you.
WHEN: Saturday, June 24, drop in anytime between 1 pm to 5 pm
WHERE: Mom's house, 1390 Club View Court in El Cerrito
(map attached)
Subject Stunt World 1
Date Tue Jul 18 2006 20:20
Author Stunt World (autothrillshows@uniserve.com)
File: HolyCarShow.jpg
Thursday, August 12 - 8 PM
CHARLIE BELKNAP’S HOLLYWOOD STUNT SHOW
NORTH AMERICA’S #1 THRILL SHOW
http://www.autothrillshow1.com
NORTH AMERICA’S #1 THRILL SHOW
http://www.autothrillshow.com
As we move into the new millennium, Charlie Belknap’s Hollywood Stunt Show, a modern-day stunt spectacular, unchallenged in size, scope, equipment and talent marks 15 consecutive seasons of being North America’s number one and only nationally sponsored automobile thrill show attraction. Performing at America’s premier fairs and speedways, Charlie Belknap's Hollywood Stunt Show is over 70 minutes of absorbing actin, suspense, surprise and hilarity, staged in the same wholesome, family spirit that your parents and grandparents enjoyed and which your children and children’s children will enjoy in years ahead.
As in the past, breathtaking stunts will be under the direction of internationally famous stunt man Tonny Petersen. A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Petersen is a professional stunt coordinator with over four decades worth of stunt driving experience. Performing along side Petersen in the intricate, highly calculated precision-driving maneuvers would be stunt veteran and crash artist Bill Dominick. You will marvel at the skill and daring of rising stunt star Chris Morena as he recreates awe-inspiring stunts from current award-winning motion pictures and television shoes. Be amazed by the masterfully executed motorcycle maneuvers of a motorcycle daredevil as he explodes through a flaming barrier. Andrew Guerriero, performing in his 12th season with the show, returns once again as America’s most celebrated and recognized automobile thrill show stunt clown “Sparky the Daredevil Clown”. Andrew also serves as Director of Promotions and Publicity for the show as well as being the liaison between the show and its national sponsors.
This all-new production will rekindle “Americana” as it features America’s authentic muscle car, the high performance 260 HP Ford Mustang GT. The show will also showcase the Ford Ranger XLT and F-Series trucks.
The thrill is back once again in this great American tradition with the exhilarating roar of a great American automobile in what is guaranteed to be a “Tournament of thrills.”
Charlie Belknap’s Hollywood Stunt Show once again showcases a fleet of current model Ford cars and trucks in a 70 minute, hihg-energy spectacle of speed and sound for their 15th annual 2004 tour.
Watch in awe as your favorite stuntmen drive a fleet of Fords through a series of memorable stunt re-creations. The action begins with the classic, high-speed, bumper-clicking precision driving routine with 260 HP Mustang GT coupes. Experience car chases that include near mmisses and rubber screeching 180 degree reverse spins. Prepare to be thrilled and amazed as veteran stunt man Tonny Petersen attempts to drive and balance a Ford Ranger XLT pickup truck on two wheels while “Sparky the Daredevil Clown” attempts a balancing act while perched on the side of the truck.
Don’t miss the legendary stunt of all time, the human battering ram, as daredevil crashes through a flaming barrier while being mounted on the hood of a speeding automobile. The action heats up even more as a motorcycle rider soars through a burning barricade and another daredevil leaps from the rear bumper of a speeding Ford Mustang GT into a pool of flaming gasoline.
Skill and daring are held in balance as veteran crash artist’s snap roll automobiles. You’ll be on the edge of your seat for the fitting finale, as stuntmen smash, crash and demolish automobiles in the high-flying “Hollywood Dive-Bomber Crash.”
The thrill is back once again in this great American tradition with the exhilarating roar of a great automobile in what is guaranteed to be a “Tournament of Thrills.”
www.stuntdriver1.com
Subject Auto Thrill Shows
Date Fri Jul 28 2006 00:03
Author Stunt World (autothrillshows@uniserve.com)
File: stuntworld1.jpg
Good Comments
Subject Auto Thrill Show's History
Date Sun Dec 10 2006 17:39
Author Pierre J. Lachance Productions. (autothrillshow@uniserve.com)
File: stuntlogo.jpg
Auto Thrill Show
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stunt World1.com www.stuntworld1.com
08-3-2006 01:03:51 am CDT
The History of Stoney Roberts Many people say that you often have events in your lives that create life-altering changes. For Keith Roberts, one of those events occurred at the age of 15. The year was 1936. His cousin Pete Grant was working for the B Ward Beam World Champion Daredevils. The automobile thrill show was playing Proctorville, Ohio, across the river from Keith’s home in Huntington, West Virginia. Pete talked Keith into attending the show as his guest. Little did he know that they were short of show personnel. Once he was track-side, the crew convinced him that he would make a good ramp hand and candidate for the Human Battering Ram (this is where a man lies on a junk car’s hood and is rammed through a flaming board wall). The car used for his first stunt was driven by none other than his cousin, Pete Grant. He did the stunt and the crowd gave him a round of applause. He was hooked! Much the same thing happens to many demolition derby drivers. During that year, in 1936, he was dubbed "Stoney" by Pete. After all, most stuntmen end up with fancy show names. In the years that followed, he became one of the most experienced crash & precision drivers in the nation. He worked his way from being a ramp hand to performing motorcycle stunts, to precision driving, and to performing stunts like the Transcontinental Bus Jump, with Rollovers, T-Bones, Dive Bombers, Flying Head-ons, Side Winders, Head-ons, Solid Wall Crashes (both Brick & Ice) and all the flaming stunts in between. He learned many skills on his way to becoming Ward Beam’s Show Foreman. In 1949, another life-altering change occurred. On a strip of highway between Providence, RI and Fall River, MA, an oncoming tractor-trailer sideswiped Stoney’s Hell Driving car. The truck caused a blowout of the car’s left front tire and tore his arm off just above the elbow. Two Navy Ensigns came upon the wreck and administered lifesaving tactics, but not limb-saving. Upon waking up in the hospital, the first person he recognized was Mr. Beam. Stoney Roberts Ed Congden Business Mgr. . Vermont State Fair He often credited Ward for making him so mad at that moment that he was given an incentive to battle to recover his way of life. Ward informed him he was finished as a stuntman, and at the same time confirmed to him the loss of his arm. He told Ward that he would prove him wrong. In less than nine months, Stoney was back on the racetrack doing stunts. He became one of the first, if not the first, handicapped stuntman in the nation. Others have followed since then. Stoney never believed in the term "Handicapped", and was very pleased at the use of the term "Physically Challenged". In the spring of 1955, another stuntman by the name of Jim Curry (Thunder Bolt Curry), talked Stoney into producing a thrill show of their own called "The All American Thrill Show". By years end, Stoney went off into business on his own. In the years that followed, Stoney, using his one arm, performed in and produced his thrill show. He based the show on the strength of 28 Stunts & Crashes, not just precision driving, although that was a part of the show, right down to the reverse spin in a convertible, all accomplished using his one arm. He became known for training and producing crashmen along with stuntmen. He believed in teaching his men to have the ability to perform any and all of the stunts required, eliminating the loss of a stunt during the show, if someone was hurt. He trained some of the best; Guy Arthur, Emerson (Buzz) Davis, Ernie Hamilton, Wayne King, Calvin King (the first black thrill show stuntman billed as the Cuban Wonder), Butch Whitehead, and Kenny Winters, just to name a few of the many. It was in 1963 at Kenton, Ohio, that the first Demolition Derby heat was produced in front of the grandstand in the format that is so well known today. It all had to do with a blown motor in the bus that we used for the final jump of the show. The bus never made it to Kenton. The bus jump required eight cars. One car leaped the bus, and seven cars caught the leaping car. Needing a finale for the show Stoney recalled seeing a racetrack promoter on Long Island, NY staging an event at his track where drivers using old cars did a tough man contest smashing into each other. That event had proven to be successful for the track and had even gained interest and coverage from TV media. For Kenton’s finale, Stoney staged a heat using his own crashmen as drivers. The crowd went wild! He knew right then that he was onto something that really pleased the crowd. After the show, a good many people came down to the track. He overheard one man say that he would pay to smash a car like that. Over the next five years, Stoney slowly converted his show over to nothing but Demolition Derbies. The show is now called the "STONEY ROBERTS DEMOLITION DERBY". He could see the handwriting on the wall for thrill shows. Cars used for stunts were harder to get and sponsors were decreasing. The difference between then and now is that the common person can be a Daredevil for a day. All they have to do is pay an entry fee, provide their own car, and take the wildest ride of their lives. It sometimes is a life-changing experience. Stoney passed away in July of 1992 due to complications from a surgical procedure he underwent. He passed the reins of the company to his son, Frank Roberts. Frank had promised his father to take the Demolition experience into the 21st Century. He did so by producing the first Demolition Derby at Bushnell, Florida, in February of 2000 for the Discovery Channel’s documentary "The History of Demolition Derby". It was the first Derby of the 21st Century and the documentary continues to be shown occasionally on cable stations today. Frank and his crew continue to produce the Highest Quality of Demolition Derbies in the Nation. In the last 41 years, the company has produced derbies in more than twenty-three states east of the Mississippi River.
History Of Auto Thrill Shows.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Stunt World 1
www.stuntworld1.com
Those Magnificent Men & Their Flying Machines
Stunt drivers Jimmy Canton and Bumps Willert once toured the country performing death-defying feats with ordinary cars. And they lived to tell about it.
It's hard to believe, but there was a time when auto thrill shows drew larger crowds than NASCAR races. Spectators packed rickety wooden grandstands to watch daring young men in spiffy white uniforms do the "slide for life" or the "T-bone crash," to drive cars on two wheels, or to jump cars or motorcycles from ramp to ramp. In the late 1950s as many as 29 stunt shows - including Jack Kochman's Hell Drivers, Joie Chitwood's Tournament of Thrills, and Jimmy Lynch's Death Dodgers - toured, the country.
Last year there were only three. Live shows of flying, crashing, and spinning automobiles have been supplanted by TV programs like World's Greatest Police Chases, Car Crashes, and Stupid Driving. Today, only a few drivers know how to do a T-bone crash, crawl from the wreckage, and salute the crowd with a cocky smile and a jaunty wave.
One of Lucky Teter's Hell Drivers catches significant air in the late '4Os (above), and an unidentified member of Jimmy Lynch's Death Dodgers does likewise (below right).
Bumps Willert and Jimmy Canton are two of them.
Loren (Bumps) Willert joined Joie Chitwood's auto thrill show as a mechanic the day after he graduated from high school, in 1953. The next night, Willert did the slide for life, where the stunt man lowers himself off the back of a speeding car and slides on his posterior through a circle of flaming gasoline. "I'd only seen it once, the night before, when the original guy got hurt," says Willert. "Two days later I did the firewall stunt, where you drive a car through a burning wall, and two days after that I barrel-rolled my first car. I guess I was either real gullible or a quick learner."
Jimmy Kolstow was already a seasoned thrill show veteran when Willert joined Chitwood's show. Kolstow ran away from home to join Chitwood in 1951, and performed as "Jimmy Canton" so his parents wouldn't recognize his name on posters advertising the show. After 52 years as Jimmy Canton, that's the way he's listed in the phone book - "in case somebody from my thrill show days needs to find me."
Canton, like Willert, was recruited to do the slide for life after only one day on the job. "You had the leather pad you slid on, gloves, coveralls, and a helmet," he recalls. "You slid through the fire so fast you barely felt it. The trick was to keep your hands and legs up and just slide on your fanny till you stopped. Later on, it was a tradition that for the last show of the year, before we laid off for the winter, that the crew would hide the leather pad. They'd be generous and give you an extra pair of coveralls, and you'd do the slide that way, without the leather pad. That was the one time you'd want to roll instead of slide. As soon as you cleared the fire, you'd tuck your arms in tight and start rolling like a log. It's pretty amazing how far you can roll like that, and not really get much more than a few bruises. The coveralls were pretty much worn out, though."
Canton specialized in motorcycle stunts. His talent for jumping 30 or 40 feet in the air pales in comparison to today's flamboyant motocross jumping exhibitions - until you compare the equipment. "I usually jumped a 300-pound BSA 350 Scrambler with maybe three or four inches of suspension travel, and both the take-off and landing ramps were two feet wide," he says. "The other guys used to tease me that I was showing off twisting the handlebars and my body in the air, but I wasn't. I was manhandling the bike so I'd hit that narrow little landing ramp."
Canton's most memorable motorcycle crash came when he rode an imported Benelli motorcycle, marketed briefly in the United States by Montgomery Ward department stores. When he left the take-off ramp, the front forks separated and the front wheel fell off. He pole-vaulted over the handlebars when he landed. "I did a lot of serious rolling, until things finally stopped moving," says Canton. "I was laying there face down, taking mental inventory of body parts, thinking, Hey, I got away with it. . .and Bam! That damned Monkey Ward motorcycle landed on my back. No permanent damage, but I was sure sore for a couple days."
If there were a Hall of Fame for the Wall of Flame, Canton would surely be in it. Note the many scars on top of his helmet.
While Canton and Willert downplay their injuries, they acknowledge that their jobs humored few mistakes. Freak accidents were their greatest concern. "The first year I was with the show, Snooks Wentzel died doing a simple barrel roll," says Willert. "There was a fire in the engine compartment, just a brief flash fire that put itself out, but when the car rolled, the hood buckled up at the rear and the fire flashed into the driver's compartment. Snooks must have taken a breath at the wrong time, and sucked fire down into his lungs. He was sitting there, dead, when we got to the car. There wasn't a burn on him. Just one of those freak things that kept you awake at night sometimes."
Neither man admits to ever being afraid before a stunt, but both agree that the T-bone crash worried them. The stunt required them to jump a car off a ramp and land nose-first on a car parked sideways, then finish with an end-over-end roll. The potential for odd twists and flips was high. Willert says the secret was to "get in the cellar and hang on for dear life."
Canton executes a T-bone crash in 1958 (above). You can't see him because he's already hunkered down in the "cellar" to protect himself from the inevitable roof collapse. This was the stunt that worried even the most seasoned of thrill show drivers.
The "cellar" or "basement" was the area below an imaginary line that ran from the top of the dashboard across the top of the seats to the rear deck. No matter how many times a car rolled, or how violently, the roof couldn't crush lower than that imaginary line. "For the T-bone, we'd take off the back of the passenger side of the seat, and wear a seat belt about half tight," says Willert. "You'd kind of sit toward the middle, steer with your left hand until you left the ramp, then throw yourself face first down onto the seat and wrap your arms around the passenger side, with your feet wedged up under the dashboard so they didn't flop loose. Then you just hugged that seat like it was a pretty girl until everything stopped moving."
Both Canton and Willert are proud of their ability to wreck cars, but take special pride in the cars they didn't wreck. Both men were aces at driving cars on two wheels. Spectators often swore the cars bad hidden "training wheels." "One time in Oklahoma, an oilman came down after the show and told us he had $1,000 that said the cars were rigged," recalls Canton. "Our bosses had left for the night, so we looked at each other, pooled our money to take the bet, and set up the ramp. Once we got the car up on two wheels, we drove real slow, so the guy could run alongside the car with a flashlight, looking for extra wheels or trick stuff. It was easy money, because the cars weren't rigged. The sponsors wouldn't allow us to do any suspension or drivetrain or engine modifications to the two-wheel and precision-driving cars," Canton says. "They wanted the thrill show to be a demonstration of how tough those Chevys or Fords or Dodges were. We finally convinced them to let us lock the rear end on the two-wheel cars, and that's how we were able to drive them all the way around the tracks. But the announcer always had to tell the crowd the rear end was locked. The companies would even send spies out to check the cars to make sure we hadn't modified them - they were really strict about it."
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a. . .Chevette? Twenty-five years after launching his career with Chitwood's show, Canton was still launching himself.
Both men concede that while their early salaries were minimum wage, they got some big paydays in the end, including offers to stunt-drive in movies. Willert, for example, was cajoled into making the famed 360° aerial roll in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. "I had a reputation as a pretty good car jumper, and the stunt coordinator for that movie was having trouble getting the stunt to work," says Willert. "The whole thing was designed by computer, and when they put a human-sized weight in
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