This week’s edition of The Southsider Voice pays tribute to the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. I have had a wonderful time working and visiting with some of my friends who have connections to the race.
It is amazing that three gals who I grew up with and graduated from Southport High School with had fathers who were involved with the race. 

Betty Jo McCrary-Ball’s father, William R. “Bill” McCrary, served as director of racing for Firestone Tire. 
Sue Ellen Schuster-Jenson’s dad, Frank Schuster, sponsored IndyCars for several years. The family owned and operated Troy Oil Co. for many years.

Nancy Wilcox-Vittorio-DeBaun’s father, Howdy Wilcox II, drove to second-place finish in 1932 and was a charter member in the Champion Spark Plug 100 Mile an Hour Club.

I have been meeting with people while putting together this edition. One day I had lunch with Nancy and Wendy Barth-Servies. Wendy was the 500 Festival queen in 1986. Her mother, Diane Hunt-Barth, was queen in 1961. 
Joe Langley was a chief mechanic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for years, and he worked out of a small garage behind his house on Madison Avenue. I don’t believe that any of Joe’s cars won the race, but I’m sure that one of his cars won a pole.

My dad operated a Sunoco station on Madison Avenue just north of Epler Avenue. One morning I was driving north on Madison when I heard a loud noise and my car shuddered. Shortly after arriving at our station and opening for business, Joe Langley pulled up in an IndyCar. Since these cars don’t have headlights, I didn’t see him on the road, but I had heard the roar when we passed each other.

He needed to borrow our service truck to drive back to his shop and get the external starter to restart the car. Long story short ... he had to adjust things on the engine to keep it running so I had to sit in the car. It ended up that I had to drive the car back to his shop because its engine would die when we tried to slide me out of the driver’s seat and slide him in.

I stopped by to see Pat Kennedy, a fourth-generation family member to lead Kennedy Tank and Manufacturing Co., last week. The company has sponsored IndyCars and for a number of years and provided the standing fuel tanks for the race cars. Pat has just published an updated book about the race.

A few years ago the Southport/Perry Township Historical Society presented “Perry Township’s Contributions to the Indianapolis 500.” IMS historian Donald Davidson was our master of ceremonies. Since we have been receiving requests to do it again, we might tackle it in a couple of years.
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Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools. 

My wife, Lyn, and I have had season tickets to the Indiana Fever’s home games for a good number of years. We used to have great seats in the first row of the second level of Bankers Life Fieldhouse before being offered seats on the first level a few years ago.

I wasn’t excited about the new seats at first. But after seeing them I thought we might enjoy them. The Fever’s bench is close to us, and although we are in Row 6 there are no seats in front of us. In front of our seats are a wall and a metal railing. Chairs can be stored on the other side of the wall for folks who are working during the games.

We have met lots of season ticket holders who sit in our general area and have been befriended by several staff members. 

A couple of weeks ago we attended the first preseason home game of the season, which will be extended because the league will suspend games during the Summer Olympics. The Fever’s Tamika Catchings in on the Olympics team for the fourth time. 

A lot of fun things go on at the games between the quarters and time-outs. Team mascot Freddie Fever and The Fever Inferno (dance and cheer group) toss T-shirts into the crowd. Freddie has an air gun that can propel T-shirts a long distance.

Late in the first preseason game and during a time-out, I told Lyn that I needed to stand up and stretch. I had only been standing a couple of seconds when I noticed a knotted T-shirt heading our way. I leaped into the air and snagged the shirt like it was line drive and I was a major league shortstop. Upon landing on the floor I began to wave to the crowd in preparation of accepting their applause.

“Hold it! Hold it!” said my better half. “That’s not even close to what happened. Your article was basically OK until you mentioned getting up to stretch. The T-shirt hit you right in the face before falling to the floor below us. One of the folks working in the area picked up the shirt and handed it to you. Everyone was laughing, not applauding.”
Wow! I felt like I was smoothly sailing in my quiet ship when all of a sudden I was taken over by a band of pirates. Well, one pirate. I’m sure you will agree that my version is the most believable one.

When we arrived home, Stuart, our therapy dog, was told both versions. And because I usually fix his meals, he sided with me.
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Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools.