O.F. Christner

[Gene East]

Today is an historic date in the world of outboard motors.

Oval F. Christner was born on this date 100 years ago.

Few men have had as much impact on our sport as my good friend "Chris".

We miss you my friend, boss, mentor and second Dad.

Hopefully, you and Dieter are discussing the good old days there on Lake Paradise.

Say hi to Clem and Lee and Gerry and all the others there with you.

[Original Looper 1]

Gene,

Well said, I couldn't agree with you more. What's even more special is that my father accomplished what he did in outboard racing while also raising 7 children, 4 girls and 3 boys.

Regards,

Paul :)

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I agree also. And he accomplished all that with total dedication and blood, sweat and tears, by hand and not computers.

[F-12]

Another thank you to Mr. Christner from me. The time I got to spend at Quincy Welding was some of the best times of my life. Being able to talk and learn from a legend Like O. F. who had surrounded himself with legends in their own right, and being able to create such a dominant engine design............hard to argue with that. And Wayne, he did use a computer. It was between his ears.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

But the difference is Charley, that his didn't lock up, crash, and lose data, or have to be rebooted all the time. AND most importantly......he didn't have to wait on someone else for an update. O.F. created the updates.

[jrome]

Mr Christner was a true gentleman. He always treated people with respect. I always respected him and I beleave he had the code of west. He will always be one of my boat racing heros.

[zul8tr]

I never met him but I wish a had. Such great things have been said here and what I have read in the old mags, online and told to me from other racers that it is clear he was a great contributer to boat racing and the Legend lives on. :)

[F-12]

Point well taken, Wayne. He possessed the 'perfect' computer. His mind was always working and what was created because of that, was far superior to engines of the day. There were a few 'other' projects that gave him some off time from outboards. I don't know the details of them but I'm sure Gene can come up with some good ones.

[Gene East]

Believe it or not; Paul tells me his Dad was quite an accomplished classical guitarist.

I never heard him play, but I do know he enjoyed classical music.

Maybe his taste for classical music is why he was always asking me to turn down the volume on C/W stations as we were driving all night to a race.

I need some Texas help here. What are the call letters of the big all night radio station and I'm not talking about XERF. WBAP perhaps??

Chris also was involved in politics and even once ran for a county office. He was very much against high taxes.

The State of Illinois and the United States of America could use a few more politicians cut from the same cloth as O.F. Christner.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

WOAI in San Antonio.

[David Mason]

I don't know if there is any minds like OF's. My dad talks very highly of Mr. Christner, and the times he spent down at Quincy Welding. I don't know of any builders, even today, that can compare to his knowledge. It seems Mr. Christner was born mechanical, and did not need to learn the basics. That is just some of what I gleaned from talking to my Dad about him, and what I have read here. I truly wish I could have met him. I have nothing but the highest respect for the Quincy Crew.

I hope the engine shop in the sky is turning out some Loopers for the racers already at Lake Paridise.

[Gene East]

I was asked by the president of the Melrose Chapel Methodist Church Men's Club to speak to their group last night.

Guess what this Baptist boy talked about?

It's amazing how many Quincyans know nothing at all about Chris.

Even the city library was unable to produce a copy of the book;"O.F. Christner, Father of the Quincy Mercury" even though they acknowledged it's presence in their inventory.

Today, there are a few more Methodists who are better informed of the historic role their home town played in the development of the outboard motor.

There were two men in the group who knew some of Chris and Vera's children. One even worked with Earle Hull, Chris's son-in-law. These contributed interesting additions to my presentation.

The group seemed to enjoy my comments about Carl Keikhaefer and his insistance that Chris discontinue the Quincy Merc name and start using the name Merc-Quincy to describe the Loopers, and the modified Mercurys.

I think most of you know I respected King Carl, but I certainly didn't like him.

Charlie Strang is a different story. In the 50+ years since I started working for Chris, I have never anyone say anything harsh about Charlie. He recognized and appreciated the genius that was O.F. Christner.

I hope Charlie will be at DePue.

[Frank Volker]

Gene, I can certainly identify with the errant music selections on the radio on those long racing trips. I recall cranking up The Rolling Stones tunes and Chris's inevitable response was always "That noise is gonna ruin the speaker!". I proceeded to explain that classical music was the worse thing for speakers because it didn't move the cones enough to keep them from sticking. I continued by explaining that rock and roll was like a radiator flush for speakers. This was a man who revered the classical stylings of guitarists like Andre Segovia and Carlos Montoya, so the theory fell flat and we have a good laugh over it. Chris was one of a kind in every sense.

Frank

[Master Oil Racing Team]

That is a great story Frank. And I loved your analogy.

[Gene East]

Frank,

We need you to come to Depue. It's only 350 miles on your Hog. Surely you can still ride that far in one day. A lot of guys would like to meet you. A lot more would like to see you again. Hey, none of us is getting any younger, except Alan Ishii and Charley Bradley!