| BEAR RIDGE SPEEDWAY |
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It is hard to find this track on satellite, but we
did it.
According to
area racing historian Cho Lee, Northeast Speedway, in Lower Waterford was one of
the last bastions of the flathead coupes. But, by 1966, the track was not
running the coupes any longer. What's more, Thunder Road - the other last
bastion - had gone NASCAR and had also eliminated the flatheads. This made for a
hiatus of almost three years, in which those who had the coupes were forced to
mothball them and hope for another day.
That other day came when legendary car owner George Barber,
of Bradford, Vermont, bought some remote land in his community and planned to
build a temporary race track so coupes could still have somewhere to race.
According to legend, when Barber and others were first on the land, trying to
determine how they would lay out the facility, a bear was seen slipping away
from its nearby hiding place and away from the men. Hence, the name Bear Ridge
Speedway.
Courtesy of Cho Lee
C.V. Elms, Sr, or Chuck [center], poses with Devils Bowl
promoter C.J. Richards
[left] and Bob Doyle
Barber recently told Lee he had only envisioned a
lifespan of two or three years for the little dirt fifth mile oval, but it took
on a life of its own and even rated an article in STOCK CAR RACING magazine. As
we all know, the track is still there today, having been enlarged and improved
gradually. Barber soon sold out to a group including C.V. Elms, Sr., and the Elm
family still runs it today. This set of photos is from the
late 1970's and early 1980's. I have recently learned that the first announcer at the track was Sam
Hayward, whose family ran a local trucking firm called Hayward Transportation.
Bill Ladabouche Photo
With apologies to Cho Lee, this poor photo shows a poster
from the first show at Bear Ridge.
It was dated and collected by George Barber, given to Cho Lee, and finally
donated to
Butch Elms on the 40th anniversary of the track in July of 2007.
Courtesy of Cho Lee
First Bear Ridge starter Ted Wynot and other Bear Ridge Officials.
THE EARLY YEARS
 Courtesy Cho Lee Skip Elliott |
 Courtesy Cho Lee "Happy" Harold Derosia with Emilio Girelli |
 Courtesy Cho Lee Fred Kidder ex-Bud Messier 50 |
 Courtesy Cho Lee Rabbit Chaffee |
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 Courtesy Cho Lee Roger Rouleau |
 Courtesy Cho Lee Allen Whipple Claremont, NH  Courtesy Neal Davis  Courtesy P Zampieri |
 Courtesy Cho Lee Unknown Team |
 Courtesy Cho Lee Cecil Bosworth, Athol, MA The Geo. Ingalls 888  Courtesy Neal Davis |
 Courtesy Cho Lee Bob Rushford, Bradford, VT with Bob Doyle |
 Courtesy Cho Lee Ed Jennings, with Merlin Bean |
 Courtesy Cho Lee Herb Gray, Thetford, VT |
THE 1970's AND 1980's
 Evelyn Elms Photo Two unidentified Coupe Division cars at speed. The second is #96, Robert "Rabbit" Chaffee. |
 Evelyn Elms Photo Chuck Beede [orange shirt] looks on as Frank Keene receives his trophy. |
 Bill Ladabouche Photo Gassing up the Chuck Beede coupe in the pits at Bear Ridge |
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 Bill Ladabouche Photo Preparations in the C.V. Elms pit area. |
 Evelyn Elms Photo The C.V. Elms Gremlin at speed around 1982ish  Evelyn Elms Photo Frank Keene's Gremlin pressures the Gremlin of Butch Elms |
 Neal Davis Photo Ralphie Stygles |
ERVINE "BROTHER" EASTMAN
 George Hill Photo Brother, with his most famous coupe and lots of trophies. |
 George Hill Photo Brother, with his most famous coupe at speed. |
 George Hill Photo Brother, with his most famous coupe and lots of trophies. |
 George Hill Photo Brother, with a newer modified. |
C. V. "Butch" Elms
 George Hill Photo Fans admire his latest modified, around mid '80's |
 George Hill Photo A later coupe with a victory. |
 George Hill Photo A modified, in the Gremlin body era. |
George Hill Photo
Bear Ridge lineup in the 1980's. For some reason, both
divisions are in one race. Might be kiddie rides.
