NORTHEASTERN SPEEDWAY

Lower Waterford, Vermont

CLICK HERE to see Bellefeuille's work on the track site.


Courtesy of Paul Bellefeuille

Northeast_Terraserver_Photo.jpg (77556 bytes)

Terraserver Satellite Photo of present day remains

northeast_large.jpg (90385 bytes)

Courtesy of Cho Lee

Photo which shows the stands, infield, and "tower".

northeast_large_3.jpg (180398 bytes)

Courtesy of Cho Lee

Aerial Photo of the entire track 
layout when active - around 1960.

Northeast_1.jpg (174777 bytes)

This 1977 photo shows the track was still in pretty good shape then.

 

Gammell_at_Northeastern.JPG (92558 bytes)

John Gammell Photo

Former track drivers walk the front stretch in 2004. The track area is now severely grown over, but the surface remains, as does the wall.

 

Waterford_Cars_Pitting.JPG (45413 bytes)

Courtesy of Cho Lee - McIver Photo

Coupes head for the pit entrance 
at Northeastern Speedway. Cho Lee says there is a still an arrow 
visible on the front stretch wall 
that pointed out the pit entrance 
to the drivers.

 

   

 

     

    One of the most influential tracks in the formation of the personality of Catamount Stadium was Northeastern Speedway, located way up in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont - near St. Johnsbury - in Lower Waterford. Being a paved track in an era of dirt ovals, Northeast Speedway was one of the direct predecessors of  Barre, Vermont's Thunder Road - the parent track of Catamount Stadium. 

    A few of the very early stars on the Catamount third mile were veterans who had begun around Northeast Speedway and had subsequently starred at Thunder Road.

30_hanna_Waterford.jpg (363114 bytes) Courtesy of Cho Lee
Harold "Hard Luck" Hanaford with the checkers at Waterford. 

 

35_waterford.JPG (74263 bytes) Courtesy of Cho Lee
Unidentified driver wins one at Northeastern.
Beaver_70_Waterford.JPG (44959 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Future Hall-of-Famer
Beaver Dragon wins
one in his first late
model - around 1964.
chestert_waterford.jpg (176966 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Northern Vermont's famed underdog, Chester T. Wood, from Orange, VT with  his first "gorgeous" car.

 

skip_easter_archie_wateford.jpg (97623 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Starter Archie Blackadar 
trophies local driver Skip Easter. 

 


Courtesy of Glenn Andrews
Mutt Dexter gets the
Richard Rice Sportsmanship trophy
from Mrs. R. Rice.

Ladabouche Photo
A Gammell trophy
from the  track.
Beaver_7a_Waterford.jpg (115458 bytes) Courtesy of Cho Lee
This 1965 photo shows the same Beaver Dragon car, a year later - winning at Waterford.
bh_waterford.jpg (90281 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Bobby Hood
Ronnie_Marvin_Portrait.JPG (142057 bytes)
Cavalcade of Auto Racing Photo
Bethlehem, NH's Ronnie Marvin, one of Northeast's
bigger stars. 

 


Fred Daniells' car,
St. Johnsbury, VT
Both Photos Courtesy
of  Mrs. Fred Daniels via Pete Racine

 

remick_martell_spin_waterford.jpg (119614 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Paul Martell and Dwayne
Remick [left] come
together on the frontstretch
at Waterford.

 


Gadapee Family Photo
Glen Gadapee after
a wreck. Archie
Blackadar in the
background.

Courtesy of Cho Lee
John Gammell, A
at T Road with a
CJ Richards - owned
32.
Dwayne_Remick_Waterford.JPG (38901 bytes) Courtesy of Cho Lee
Dwayne Remick, a local boy from St. Johnsbury.
 

 

Freddy_Mills_Crew_Waterford.JPG (50303 bytes) Courtesy of Cho Lee
Freddy Mills, Groveton, 
NH with his crew.
 

 

gammell_65_waterford.jpg (98911 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
St. Johnsbury Center, Vermont's Johnny Gammell.
More Gammell cars
below.

 

Waterford_Cars_Pitting.JPG (45413 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Finding the Waterford
pit entrance.
 

 

r1_remick_and_archie.jpg (81896 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Starter Archie Blackadar hands off the checkers to winner Dwayne Remick.

 


Gadapee Family Photo
Glen Gadapee and
starter Bob Quinn.

Scott Haskell Photo
The original 3J
car that ran at N'eastern, as it sat
at O'Connell's
Auto Body.
glen_gadapee_waterford.jpg (159711 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Glen Gadapee in Victory Lane 

 

granger_waterford_93.jpg (129885 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Larry Granger, at Waterford

Libero Buzzi's
93 car.

 

Hay_68_Photo_FInish_Waterford.JPG (47497 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
A photo finish, with Russ Ingerson in the George Hay #68 - winning by a hair.

 

waterford_99.jpg (111292 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
An unidentified coupe driver scores at Northeastern.

 


Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
A hustling Archie
awards the flag to
the driver of the
car 0.


Courtesy of Cho Lee
Freddy Mills drove
this odd - looking
B Class car at
Northeastern in 1963 or 1964.


Paul Belfeuille Photo
Freddy Mills, in Victory Lane at
Northeastern. That
is an Ingerson seen in the background, directly above the roof of the car.
 
Late_Model_Lineup_Waterford.JPG (37591 bytes) Courtesy of Cho Lee
The late model division lines up for the feature in a night race at Waterford.
marching_band_at_waterford.jpg (146191 bytes) Courtesy of Cho Lee
July 4th festivities at Northeast Speedway around 1960. 

 

martell_3j_waterford.jpg (130546 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Paul Martell in a different ride 
than  his later-to-be-familiar 93. 

 

Unknown_1_55Ford_Waterford.JPG (31214 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
An unidentified Ford driver wins at Northeastern. 

 

gammell_88_waterford.jpg (109734 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
St. Johnsbury Center, Vermont's Johnny Gammell.
The Charles Ely
88.

Courtesy of Glen Gadapee
An early Glen Gadapee car, the 669.

Courtesy of Glen Gadapee
An original track stock certificate belonging to Johnny Gammell.

 
gammell_32_waterford.jpg (259024 bytes)
Courtesy of Cho Lee
St. Johnsbury Center, Vermont's Johnny Gammell.
Possibly, the
Gordon Fitzgerald
32 car.

Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
Henry Montandon,
The Frozen Logger Waits River, VT
The Lloyd Hutchins
76

Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
Johnny Gammell [rt]
and others at a
Northeastern banquet.

Cavalcade of Auto Racing
Photo by Norman McIver.
Ronnie Marvin was
shown in Cavalcade
of Auto Racing in the
early '60's as N'Er'n
representative at
Trenton.
 

Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
Johnny Gammell leads
Dick Gammell and
Ray Stygles at
Northeastern.

Courtesy of Scott Haskell
Northeastern
regular Perley Densmore.

Courtesy of Scott Haskell
Article about the
opening of the track.

Courtesy of Paul Zampieri
Unidentified car at
Northeastern.

Courtesy of Scott Haskell
Unidentified car 4
at Northeastern.


Courtesy of Scott Haskell
Unidentified car 14
at Northeastern.


Courtesy of P.Zampieri
Ted Rivers
The Sad Sack 2.

Courtesy of Scott Haskell
Harold Flanders
at Northeastern.
 

Courtesy of P.Zampieri
Rollo "Ripper" Lowe, shown here at Webster Flats, ended up running N'eastern
for a brief spell.

 


Courtesy of P.Zampieri
Ken Fenoff's car
was numbered after a cigar brand.


Courtesy of Scott Haskell
Glenn Andrews used this same car and crew at N'eastern: Bernard Perkins, Gene Remick, Glenn, and Harold Bates.
 


From the Northeastern Site
Perley Densmore in one of his earlier cars -
this might be at Lyndonville.

From the Northeastern Site
Henry Whipple,
father of writer and historian Phil.

From the Northeastern Site
Perley Densmore, as he
is today.

From the Northeastern Site
Ned Lemieux

 

From the Northeastern Site
Harold Flanders

 


From the Northeastern Site
Pete Racine and another car get a bird's eye view of this roll.

From the Northeastern Site
Colicchio [0] and others in a mixup.

From the Northeastern Site
Chester T.
Woods with a rarfe number change. He would have run this car at N'estern.

 


From the Northeastern Site
A backstretch tangle that includes the Ely 88 of Gammell.

From the Northeastern Site
A Thunder Road 1960 lineup that includes mostly cars from N'Eastern like the 16 of Andrews.

From the Northeastern Site
Northeastern Victory Lane shot that includes Bob Doyle.

From the Northeastern Site
A Thunder Road 1960 wreck of Satch Hunt's 46, a car from N'Eastern

From the Northeastern Site
A  N'Eastern
tangle by the
flagstand.

From the Northeastern Site
Pete Racine passes on the inside.

From the Northeastern Site
Dick Gammell did not have a ton of fun at N'Eastern with this car.

 


From the Northeastern Site
Denny Dearborn or maybe Harold Hanford
in trouble with the 7.

From the Northeastern Site
2 1959 views of  N'Eastern when it was dirt.

From the Northeastern Site
Colicchio steals one from Racine.

From the Northeastern Site
Bobby Waugh [left] wins the Memorial Day race.

From the Northeastern Site
A  N'Eastern peek into the infield.

From the Northeastern Site
Ken Robinson's sedan.

From the Northeastern Site
Ken Robinson's B class car.

 


From the Northeastern Site
Archie Beland

From the Northeastern Site
Clyde Andrews

From the Northeastern Site
Dwayne Remick,
Ron Marvin, and
Tony Colicchio.

From the Northeastern Site
Pete Racine

From the Northeastern Site
Satch Hunt

From the Northeastern Site
Dick Johnston,
with a partially - restored OK.

From the Northeastern Site
Sonja Struthers, apparently a trophy girl.

From the Northeastern Site
Perley Densmore, actually at Riverside in Groveton.
       


From the Thunder Road History Courtesy of John Casey and Others.
Part of  the Thunder Road history program that discusses Northeastern as a predecessor.

 

For a really good closeup satellite photo of present day Northeastern Speedway, click on this link to Google Map.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Lower+Waterford,+VT&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=44.409474,-71.927447&spn=0.001161,0.003331&t=k&om=0


Terraserver Satellite Photo

This Terraserver shot is not as distinct, as the Google shot;  but, it shows the track's remnants in the middle of the lower portion.


ACT Archives Courtesy of Cho Lee. McIver Photo
A marching band and color guard at what appears to be
opening ceremonies at the track.


Courtesy of Cho Lee
Crews scramble to untangle this pileup around 1961, during the track's glory days. The George Barber cars
of 47, Leland Ingerson and 46 Pappy Forsyth are visible, as are the George Hay 68 and a white coupe
whose number is obscured.


Courtesy of Gadapee Family
Glen Gadapee, in an early coupe of his, in a blanket finish with the George Hay 68 of Al Corey and another car.

From the Northeastern History Program
It is a wonder Mabel Densmore wasn't killed when she was dumped by Mrs. Jerry Bigelow in a powder puff race.

 

PHOTOS FROM JUSTIN ST. LOUIS
Taken in 2007


Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
Johnny Gammell, the day he led the 2007 walk around Northeastern prior to Paul Bellefeuille's restoring the grounds.


J. St. Louis Photo
Turn 4

J. St. Louis Photo
Coming out of 2

J. St. Louis Photo
Looking at wall


J. St. Louis Photo
Looking toward 2


J. St. Louis Photo
Looking at wall
from 1
 

J. St. Louis Photo
Turn 3 banking

J. St. Louis Photo
Looking into 2
from backstretch

J. St. Louis Photo
Junk on the
front stretch
 


PHOTOS FROM Bill Ladabouche
Taken in 1980


Bill Ladabouche Photo
Front wall and broken
fence mounts

Bill Ladabouche Photo
Front wall and wreckage
of stands and tower
 

Bill Ladabouche Photo
Backstretch from 2

Bill Ladabouche Photo
Backstretch to 3

Bill Ladabouche Photo
Out of 4, down
the chute

Bill Ladabouche Photo
From backstretch
to front, across infield
 


Bill Ladabouche Photo
Close up of track
surface


Bill Ladabouche Photo
A look perhaps
at parking lot ?
 

Bill Ladabouche Photo
Not sure of this view
 
Bill Ladabouche Photo
The backstretch
 

PHOTOS FROM Paul Belfray of improvements made in 2008


Paul Belfeuille Photo
The surface still
looks good.

Paul Belfeuille Photo

Paul Belfeuille Photo
The front stretch
wall, too.
 
Paul Belfeuille Photo
The house is
kind of close, eh ?
 


Courtesy of Glenn Andrews
Judging from the pace car, this is a 1963 lineup at Northeastern. The C6 belonged to CV Elms and could be Stub Fadden.

 

RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS SENT BY PAUL BELFEUILLE


Paul Belfeuille Photo
The uniform of a
Northeastern cop.
 

Paul Belfeuille Photos
One of Glen Gadapee's
trophies.


 

Paul Belfeuille Photo
Glenn and Helen Andrews
1960 Pts Champion

Paul Belfeuille Photo
Paul, with a uniform worn
by one of the sheriffs working at Northeastern.

Paul Belfeuille Photo
The Gordon Fitzgerald 32
of John Gammell, on Ed Mackay's
lawn - back in the day.

Paul Belfeuille Photo
The Gordon Fitzgerald 32
of John Gammell, on Ed Mackay's
lawn - back in the day.
 

Paul Belfeuille Photo
Merle Fitzgerald & John Gammell,
with the 32.

Paul Belfeuille Photo
A typical Northeastern
jacket patch.

 

Paul Belfeuille Photo
At one of the track
restoration meetings, a
participant examines a
model of a Northeastern
car - likely Ely's 88.
 

Paul Belfeuille Photo
A track trophy -
probably of Glen
Gadapee - at
a restoration meeting.

Paul Belfeuille Photo
Paul Bellefeuille, [foreground]
the force behind the track
watches Johnny Gammell
examine albums.

Paul Belfeuille Photo
The Gadapee trophy.

Phil Whipple Photo
Glenn Andrews, at
one of the meetings,
with one of his many
N'east'n trophies.

 

Paul Belfeuille Photo
Glenn and Helen
Andrews, at home.
   

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