Jack Pot Speedway
As a child I worked parking cars at the Jack Pot Speedway in Williamsford Ont.
For pay we were giver free tickets to the races each Sunday.It was trully amasing to see hundreds of spectators come out every week to watch the races, it did not matter if it was sunny or raining cats and dogs the races went on.
My brother Tim Pearson and a few freinds built a race car and Tim drove it.
The owner and developers name was Don Carpenter he was a hands on kind of guy, he would grade the track, run the tow truck, flip hot dogs and some times announce the races and at the end of every race day pay out the winning prixes, pay the staf all from the gate proceeds and if the gate proceeds did not cover it he would reach into his own pocket to make sure all were paid.
Don Carpenter was a consultant engineer who worked in Toronto and spent the weekends on his farm in Williamsford were he first got in the chicken business with ten thousand hens laying eggs and then he got into cattle and then breeding horses then came the race track and after that he built a man made lake and stocked it with thousands of pike.
After the lake was built he tried to sell off building lots on his farm as a type of co-op as he could not subdevide the farm and that as well as every venture he went on not one made him any money.
But with that being said I realy believe money was the last thing Don had in mind.
Don is deceased now and I am sure were ever he is he is creating some thing from nothing and injoying every minute of it.
Thanks for the good times you brought this young boy and the thousands who turned out every Sunday to watch the races, the crashes and them great 25 cent hotdogs.
Rest in Peace Don
Paul Pearson
Kamloops BC |