Depue is 150 years old!

[huff71]

Hey guys and girls just want to tell all of you that the Village of Depue is 150 years old this year! I wanted to invite all of you to come and join us in celebrating this great time. It will all center around the granddaddy of them all the APBA PRO Nationals. If you have ever raced, pitted or just came to watch, you know what type of crowds, and action you will see on beautiful Lake Depue! If you can't make it, write some here about your memories of being in Depue!

[TomAprilsSwitzers]

What days are the races scheduled for?:eek:

[russhill]

The whole state looked that old to me

[huff71]

The dates for the Pro Nationals is July 29-31 testing on 27 and 28. Please join us for a great weekend . Thanks to the US Titles Series for all you do for us, the best bunch of people to puto put on a race!

[TomAprilsSwitzers]

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4291342910:DIf any one of you guys are interested the Switzercraft Regatta is on Saturday July 16. We will be joined by "The Motorheads of Illinois" antique Outboard Club will be there with their rigs on display. :eek:
Be nice to see some Hydros there too I know the people would love them, haven't seen one on our river since the early 1970's. It's always a great time.
:rolleyes: It all starts at 10 am at THE BIG BASIN MARINA in Channahon Illinois right off of Interstate 55. For more info go to Facebook.com and search for Switzer Craft of look for my page. Tom Arambasich:eek:

[Donald]

I thought there was going to be another reunion at the Depue nationals this year, although I haven't seen a word about it. Are there any plans for one or have I got my years wrong.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

I was talking with Wayne Baldwin the other day and asked him the same thing, as he and others had taken the lead in planning the first one. I asked him specifically as I remembered talk about a hard cover coffee table type year book that he and Tim Chance were planning, so I thought if anyone would know, it would be him.

His take was it should be postponed until next year, which I believe would actually be five years and was the original plan. His thought was with the economy the way it is, not the degree of advance planning done that was needed, etc., it would be best and have a better chance of a good crowd, especially now that Depue is only 8 weeks or so away, to delay till 2012 which was the original plan.

All that being said, I have heard or seen nothing either way other than that conversation. I do know he has been extremely busy so far this year with other things and indicated he had not had time to devote to it as he thought he would.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Officially the work on the reunion has not begun. I have not talked to Tim Chance in a while. He had E mailed me some time back that there was no way to be able to produce the book with available time, but then he thought of another approach and said we could, but too much time has passed even since that date. I'm sorry not to have brought it up earlier, and I thought I should, but I didn't see anyway to put on the Reunion in the manner it should be. I had planned to post that very fact tonite on the Reunion thread. There's no way I can make it, and had told Bill Van that we are spending all of our non business related time to get ready for the disaster that is about to hit America and to help throw out all the politicians who never saw a tax increase that they weren't ready to spend.:mad:

Frankly, I was worried that our country, boat racing as we have known it, and other American institutions were at threat, and how best to spend time than try to save it. At the same time I figured a lot of boat racers may have been thinking the same about the direction our country is headed, and get discouraged. I didn't want the DePue Reunion to go downhill. That first one was one of the grandest times of my life. When you spend more than a decade of meeting, cajoling and racing with people, and then don't see them until two decades later....and see so many of them.....it is like a life's work.:cool: I don't want the next reunion to be disappointing. I have talked with Joe Rome about it. I haven't talked with John Schubert or Ron or Russ Hill, but I think all would agree that we need to put it on hold.