April 3, 2010

 Mary Parks passed away today, Saturday, April 3, 2010 at 4:50 pm at her home in Corona Del Mar.  Her family assembled and was there when she passed on peacefully.  She was 93.  Mom was born on January 6, 1917 in Pocatello, Idaho.  Her parents were Newton Osborne Mant and Myrtle Howells Mant.  She grew up in South San Gabriel, California during the Great Depression.  It wasn't a very pleasant time for most and her stories show just how desperate people were.  Yet they were better off than some, for they had a home and her mother raised chickens and sold eggs, a ready source of cash and barter.  Homeless men would come by the house, hungry and dejected, but Myrtle would tell them to go and cut some wood and she would prepare a meal for them.  Mom learned, for she always had a can of soda or a sandwich for anyone who looked like they could use a bite of food.  She taught us to be generous as well.  We had a name for Mom; Mimi.  Her oldest grandchild couldn't pronounce Mom or Mary and so called her Mimi.  She liked that and so it became her nickname.  Mom was the second oldest child in the household.  Her eldest sibling, Fanny, died of diphtheria when Mom was about 3 and so Mimi became the elder statesman in the family.  Her sister Helen came next, followed by Bob, then Virginia and finally the surprise baby, Carol.  If ever there was a family blessed with personality and character traits, it was this family, but they got along and they loved each other. 
     Mimi was working as a waitress at a restaurant when a man walked in to order a hamburger.  She told the story to us and to her grandchildren many times.  A premonition came to her that told her, "This is the man that I am going to marry."  She married that man, Wallace Gordon (Wally) Parks in 1935 and they lived in the South Gate/Huntington Park area of Los Angeles.  For Mom this was what she always wanted, a loving family, with children and grandchildren.  Her first child was Richard and he came along just a few weeks after her birthday in 1944, during World War II.  At that moment, most Americans weren't sure that we would win that war or that our soldiers, sailors and airmen would ever make it back home alive.  Dad had left to go into the military and was fighting in the South Pacific Theater of Operations at that time.  He sent pictorial postcards with cartoons that he drew and a few words of love.  After the war Dad built a garage house in Downey, California and Mom finally had her home and her family.  She also attended the Downey Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and this was one of the happiest times of her life.  Mimi was there in the beginning when Dad was elected as the president of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), then became editor of Hot Rod magazine and finally founded the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).  She was proud of what her husband had accomplished and told everyone about him.  Dad would take us out to the dry lakes to see the cars race; it was an all-day trip over dirt roads to get there.  He also took us to see the boat races and sometimes to see his brother Kenny Parks run his Jalopy on the oval tracks.
     We moved to a new tract home in Pico-Rivera in 1950 and soon thereafter in 1952 her second son was born, David, in March of that year.  She named him David after a beloved uncle of hers and also because the name David means "Beloved," in Hebrew.  Our parents separated and Mom made the decision, aided and abetted by her sister Helen, to move down to Corona Del Mar, a lovely beach town, in 1956.  She loved the beach and the bay and often had vacationed there with her friends, sisters or children in the summer.  At that time it was a very isolated little town and far from the Los Angeles County area where we grew up.  She bought a pretty little yellow house and in 54 years never changed the color; the brightest yellow I've ever seen.  Mom attended church in Laguna Beach and made life-long friends there.  She also loved to play bridge with her friends well into the night.  She lived on a hill, just a half block from a supermarket and told all her friends, "That will be good exercise for me to walk to the store and back with the groceries," she said.  She never did walk up that hill, but she drove down to the beach to watch the ocean constantly. 
     In 1967 she welcomed into the family her first daughter-in-law, Epi, who would be a constant help in her life.  Epi and Richard gave her three sons; Scott, David and Michael Parks.  Scott would marry Stacy Rauch and give Mom a great-grandson, Brock Parks.  David would marry Michelle Corbin and give Mom two great-granddaughters; Allison and Jennifer Parks.  Michael would marry Tara Hafen and give Mom a great-grandson; Trevor Parks.  Mom's youngest son would marry Barbara Coddington and they would have two wonderful daughters; Mari and Tamara Parks.  Mari wed Matt Bell, another six and a half footer, for it seems the Parks' are tall people.  Mom's health began to wane and a caregiver was called in to help her.  This lady's name was Delia Asuncion and she became as close to her as if Delia was her own daughter.  Mary Parks lived to be 93 and saw Fanny, Helen, Bob and Virginia pass on before her.  Bob's widow, Olga Mant, and Mom's sister Carol Mant Eves are still with us.  Her life wasn't always easy and there were many trials and tribulations, but her friends and family remember the times when she whistled and sang and called people on the phone to wish them a happy birthday.  In fact, so entrenched was this "Western Union Birthday-gram," that we all looked forward to our birthdays so that we could "get the call."  The phone was her life; she could use it to chastise or to praise and when she lost her voice, the link to the outside world and her many friends began to close to her as well.  At her passing she was surrounded by loved ones and I think the hardships and misfortunes in her life drifted away and she found peace at last in another world with those who have gone before her.  Rest in peace, Mom, we love you very much.

Richard and Epi Parks
 
Funeral services for Mary Mant Parks will be held on April 17, 2010
at 11 a.m., at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, 2150
Bonita Canyon Drive, Newport Beach, California. The building is located
between the 73 freeway and MacArthur Boulevard. For more information
contact David Parks at 714-309-2001 or Richard Parks at 714-963-3557.
Mary was born January 6, 1917 and married Wally Parks in 1935. She
lived through the Great Depression, World War II and the recovery that
followed. Dad was a founding member of the Southern California Timing
Association (SCTA), becoming the president of the group in 1946. He
became the first professional editor of Hot Rod magazine and later
founded the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). They had two sons,
Richard and David, five grandchildren, Scott, David, Michael, Mari and
Tamara, four great-grandchildren, Allison, Jenny, Brock and Trevor, two
daughter-in-laws, Epi and Barbara, three grand-daughter-in-laws,
Michelle, Tara and Stacy, and one grand-son-in-law, Matt. Mary Parks
knew many of the old racers who were instrumental in creating both
American land speed racing and drag racing. She passed away on April 3,
2010 at the age of 93.
Sincerely, David and Richard Parks

Please go to SFI Foundation website and view the following important information:
 
March 26, 2010 - NOTICE OF DECERTIFICATION; NOTICE TO CEASE AND DESIST AND TERMINATION OF ALL CONTRACTS OF PARTICIPATION ISSUED TO IMPACT RACING

Willie and I are honored to wish Nick Nicolaides and Connie Beavers congratulations on getting married on March 3, 2010. We wish them the best. We would also like to say that we keep Connie in our prayers as they wait for a transplant donor. 

Article date 03-03-2010

Bob Oppermann is in the hospital with some heart problems. They are putting him on a pacemaker. Please keep him in your prayers.

The Mojave Mile will be held on March 6th. For more information check out the website http://www.mojavemile.com

What is the Mojave Mile?

The Mojave Mile Shootout is a motorsports “speed trial” competition based on achieving the highest possible trap speed in one mile from a standing start. Entry is open to 2-wheeled motorcycles and 4-wheeled vehicles.

02/23/10: The wind is doing its JOB, over the weekend, the wind blew out of the west & the "standing" water was moved completely out of sight (to the east)This morning, I have "Lake front property" again. We had gotten little or NO rain out of these last storms. As long as it stays cool, there will be less loss. The water seems to be all down on the west end, sure hope the BLM is/are doing their job & keeping the people off the dry spots on the east end.  George (Old & Grumpy)

 02/14/10:  We still have standing water at least on my end. The High Desert Club is still doing OUR weekend duty of "Mud Patrol".   We station our "Patrol" people about half way down the lake on "Lake Road" on high ground where they can watch both East & West ends of the lake.   The BLM volunteers who at running the Visitor Center are letting everyone KNOW (coming in) that the lake area is CLOSED. It seems to be working, as I have not heard of any problems.  George

02/08/09:  Mother Nature is doing her job. High winds yesterday blew ALL the water down to the East end late Sunday. I could NOT see any standing water on my end. This morning, the water is back, this is the kind of action we need to heal the surface. Lets hope we have many more strong winds & rain to keep this action going.  George

 No more black lines on the salt - no increase in entry fees.

Below is a link to Chuck Kalbach's 2009 expired numbers list.

http://www.scta-bni.org/pdf/2009 Expired Numbers List.pdf

12/04/2009

Willie and I would like to thank each and everyone of the Gear Grinders for giving us the opportunity to create this website for the club. It has been quite an experience and we have truly enjoyed all that it has turned out to be. We will probably keep the format for the 2010 racing year the same,but as always, we are open for suggestions. Please feel free to email us and we will see what we can do to make it a better site. 

As the 2010 events start to roll around, I will be starting out fresh with the photo albums. We will, however, make copies of all the pictures for the previous year and save them on discs.

We both wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

07/17/09:  EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY  Following a report complied by Tech Committee Chair, Cars Lee Kennedy, Motorcycle Committee Chair Van Butler and Goodyear Tire engineers the SCTA Board of Directors voted to make the 17x22x2.5 tire illegal for use as a DRIVE TIRE.

The tire in question is a 22x2.5 on a 17” rim and many tire manufactures make this size of racing tire for drag racing.  It is made by Goodyear and is listed as a “Top Fuel” frontrunner and has a tire code of D1445. Carroll Shelby has a part number of 808-102-089 or for the 22x4.5x17 a part number of 808-130-089. Some examples of other tire manufactures who make this tire include Mickey Thompson with a part number of 672-3004 and Phoenix tire with a part number of 932-PH460.

I have had a few inquiries on how the website has been doing statisticly. So here are the hits for the last six months. I am impressed on how this site has grown since it was first started.

In January '09 we had 296 hits. February '09, 891 hits. March '09, 781 hits. April '09, 1136 hits. May '09, 1151 hits. And in June '09 we had an impressive amount of 2190 hits total. Wow, have we grown. 

  I know it could be even better if we have some of the members using the site more. Come on fellow Gear Grinders its time to add a few words or pictures or sponsors of your own. I would really like to get some birthdays or special dates to put in our calendar. Lets see what you got.

Thanks Willie and Sheri

Any and all driver suits, pants, jackets, shoes and boots manufactured by Impact Racing pursuant to SFI Specifications 3.2A/15, 3.2A/20, 3.3/15 and 3.3/20 at any time during the year 2008 have been decertified by SFI Foundation, Inc. and must be immediately returned to Impact Racing offices or an Impact representative. Impact Racing has reason to believe that these products do not fully comply with the stated SFI Specifications and therefore do not meet SFI manufacturer certification requirements. This recall applies to all such products whether or not they have been updated, rebadged, or recertified by Impact Racing. This recall applies even if the product now has a 2009 SFI patch or label affixed to the product. All applicable sanctioning bodies have been notified of this noncompliance.

The 2009 El Mirage Procedures have been posted on the SCTA-BNI website. There is a link to view the rules on our links page. There has been some changes so be sure to read them. Here is a shortcut to the link.

http://www.scta-bni.org/SCTA-NewWeb/El Mirage/EMP 09 final.pdf

They have listed the SCTA club duty assignments, Patrol position and couse walk assignments and ongoing duties on pages 17 and 18. They have also listed the minimums for the cars and motorcycles on pages 19-22.