Athol Daily News – Car enthusiasts show off their wheels at final Orange Drag Strip Reunion

ORANGE — Len Chaloux the moment owned two 1966 Ford Fairlane GTs, one particular for drag racing and a single for road driving. He marketed the two cars to spend for a down payment on a household, but generally skipped the cars.

When Chaloux retired in 2019, he went on an 11-month-very long mission to uncover his aged good friends. He discovered the auto of his goals in Florida in February 2020. But, getting it a thirty day period right before the pandemic established in, he was unable to go to automobile reveals. Now he brings his vehicle throughout New England each weekend.

Chaloux was amongst the roughly 100 automobile house owners at this year’s Orange Drag Strip Reunion car or truck present that took spot Saturday at the Orange Municipal Airport. Auto enthusiasts from across the condition and over and above flooded into the airport to show off their rides and communicate shop.

The Orange Municipal Airport drag races were to start with held on July 18, 1954, when the Massachusetts Automotive Council acquired permission to use the airport for “acceleration trials.” The following 12 months, the New England Timing Association took about and ran the drag races until the stop of racing in Orange in 1970.

John Durfee was far too young to check out the initial races, but his sister was capable to show up at. He established the reunion of this occasion in 2011. The reunion has ongoing due to the fact the get started, touring to distinctive locations in past several years and using a hiatus in 2020 and 2021 amid the worldwide pandemic.

Bernie Brouillet remembers likely out to dinner throughout from the Orange Municipal Airport on Father’s Working day Sunday in 1964, when he was 16 a long time previous. As he sat with his spouse and children, he grew antsy listening to revving engines across the road from the drag racers.

“They ended up hitting speeds at 133 miles for each hour,” Brouillet claimed. His enthusiasm for cars has not waned because.

“It makes you feel great when you get a piece of metallic and it will come to daily life,” stated Dave Chagnon, an attendee who confirmed his vehicle at the party. Chagnon has owned his Chevrolet Chevette for just about 50 yrs, obtaining rebuilt it numerous situations.

“Cars weren’t just to move you,” Chagnon said as he explained car or truck society in the 1960s. “Cars had been your pleasurable.”

“I arrived mainly because I generally liked cars,” Stanley Miknait claimed, sitting down in a camping chair in entrance of his 1964 Ford Falcon. “It has often been a superior passion. I used to street race as a child.”

Miknait then confirmed his Falcon on screen.

“I set my granddaughter in a automobile seat in this 1,” he mentioned.

Durfee, owning retired and moved to Florida, stated this Orange Drag Strip Reunion will be the past he organizes.

“If persons want to just take in excess of the display and provide racing back again, I would be quite pleased,” Durfee claimed. “This is the final display for me.”

Speak to Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or [email protected].