When rock and roll began in Vancouver I would follow the crowds to the beach or wherever they gathered. This photo was taken in 1955 at Abbotsford Airport. In those days they reserved Sundays for drag racing. It was a co-operative effort between the province, the hot rod clubs and the town of Abbotsford. If you look back, many hit songs were about hot rods: Hot Rod Lincoln by Charlie Ryan, Stick Shift by The Duals, Little Deuce Coupe, 409,  and Shut Down by the Beach Boys, Drag City, Dead Man’s Curve, and Little Old Lady from Pasadena by Jan & Dean, G.T.O. by Ronny and the Daytonas, Hey Little Cobra by the Rip Chords… the list goes on and on! 

It was a natural for me to be there and grow my audience. No, I did not drive this car down the tarmac, but with a Mohawk tape recorder strapped to my body I rode down the track with my uncle at the wheel of his ’32 Ford. My uncle Chuck was one of the founders of the BC Custom Car Association. You can actually hear me screaming as the flag falls to get us underway. We reached a speed over 130 mph by the end of the run. Oh, the things you do when you are young. It was a blast and this photo is a blast from the past!