"Smiling" Bill George

 

This fellow was my hero when I was growing up. He was from Andover. I'm not sure what he did for a living, but he had oxen that he used to pull at the fairs, so I suspect he might have been a logger. His brother, Woofie, had a garage in Andover. Woofie - whose real name was Carleton, I believe - also raced a little, but Bill really had the gift.

He won a track championship at the old Legion Bowl, and another one at the 106 Midway Raceway in Loudon. He also raced at Claremont back when it was dirt, and probably a few other places as well.

This picture is from the Legion Bowl in Wentworth, circa 1963. On a historical note, that's Raymond Heath, Sr. in front of him in the original "Sweet 16."

Yeah, that's me about the same time. It's also me with Bill in the top picture. This is the first car I saw him in, and the one up above he picked up late in the '63 season. By the way, that one was built by my uncle, Jim Parris. More on him later.

From what I understand, Bill passed away just a couple of years ago; '04 or '05. He'd have been around 90.

As usual, anyone who has any more to say about Bill is more than welcome to leave comments.