georgebowland wrote:
I should also note that every driver that has died since I started hillclimbing 28 years ago, was in a fully enclosed car. In my memory, that applies to hillclimbs across the pond also.
Respectfully beg to differ.
Our Duryea fatality in 1978, Sam Osborne, was driving a Formula C car. The driver killed at Weatherly (1989?) was indeed driving a Corvette.
Then I realized that 1978 was more than 28 years ago...
"What happens in Weatherly, STAYS in Weatherly!"-Chuck Norris
Mel Horn
From the Reading Eagle: George Hatza: WITF-TV visits Berks for show in September
Thanks to Taylor Swift and the Gosselins, Trisha Urban and Michael Constantine - and many others - the gritty city of Reading and the lush county that surrounds it is becoming known across the nation. Just two weeks ago another Berks native, Jennifer Behm, won the Fox reality-competition series "MasterChef."
So it should come as no surprise that the Harrisburg-based PBS station WITF-TV would bring its show "Explore PA" to our area.
The program, about to enter its sixth and final season, takes viewers from one part of Pennsylvania to another, a kind of visual road trip. The episode shot in and around Reading is the second of the season, airing at 8 p.m. Sept. 13 with a repeat broadcast at 3 p.m. Sept. 17. The episode is hosted by Elizabeth Jennings, who visited the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles and The Peanut Bar in July.
Her fellow travelers - Al, Eric and Brian - explored the Kutztown Folk Festival, the Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center andhung out with members of the Blue Mountain Region Sports Car Club of America to learn about its hill climb events.
That was done on Friday July 8. Steve and Nancy with the Mach, Merlin with the Tiger, Bill Weaver with his Cobra, Bill Shields with his MGB, and John and Jane Stinsmen with the FC. The guys were hoping to get to drive one of the cars, but turns out none of them could drive stickshift! They did a fair amount of filming, we'll see how it turns out.
In case you're interested, here's some info about the money we raised at Duryea:
The car show raised $255, from those who drove their cars up the hill at lunchtime Sunday. The auction at the Saturday night party raised $400. BMR will donate $345 to bring the total donation to the Pagoda Flagpole Fund to $1,000.
Pagoda-Skyline took in a total of $1,090 at the event. About 90% of that came from donations, the remainder came from merchandise sales.
Shuttle bus took in enough to pay for the gas it used, ended up costing us well over $400.
Too bad that out of close to three hours of filming from all sorts of perspectives they decided to air what seems like coverage of an amusement park ride.
I have been trying to restrain my self and I thing I have cooled down enough to say this and still stay calm.
First I agree with your comment (where did they find the moderators ((goofs))?).
Second is a question. Is someone trying to get our events cancelled? Who set up a passenger riding in a non street legal race car (IE no windshield) without a helmet, thank God he had the seat belts on. Should I ask the question about a passenger without a seat, seatbelts and helmet? I think I will hold that for later.
I hope National does not see this or we may be in for very high if at all insurance next year.
It was filmed on Friday July 8. Arrangements were made by the Greater Reading Film Commission and the producers of the show in cooperation of the City of Reading. All the required paperwork was completed and permits issued. City police helped with the closing of the road.
It wasn't a BMR event. It wasn't an SCCA event. It was a TV show, and BMR members and their cars were the actors and props. I guess you could say the "goofballs" were the stuntmen.
Okay, here's the link to a TV show that was actually filmed at the event. You can view it online. Go to http://www.bctv.org and enter the word "victory" in the search window. (That's the name of the show) Scroll down to find the show. It's a half-hour show and it's all about the hillclimb.
That is far more to my taste than the other one. I guess the point of the "explore PA" clip was to promote the event? Not sure it would have worked on me, but who knows.
Anyway, on the BCVTV version, everyone interviewed did a really nice job.
If you were to make a promotional video, you might need to shorten it to keep the general public's attention span engaged, but please don't leave out Dan's "slow" ride at the end. It was perfect, and so were his comments!
The "Explore PA" show started back in June with a phone call from the TV station to Merlin. They told him that Reading and the surrounding area was to be featured on an upcoming show and they were interested in the Hillclimb. We thought it would be a good opportunity to get some free publicity. We had no idea it would turn out the way it did.
The BCTV show came about because of our association with Pagoda-Skyline. We had become regular guests on their TV show in the spring and summer, and it was after one of those shows I asked the station if they would be interested in doing something at Duryea. This show is what they did. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but waaaay better than the other show.
What the article doesn't mention is that the city presented BMR with a commendation recognizing the longstanding tradition and importance of Hillclimbing in the city of Reading.
Thanks to everyone who helped raise money for this!
The hill is in bad shape this morning. Lots of branches on road, and a couple trees have the road closed at turn 8. Its an amazing sight, too bad I don't know how to post photos from my phone.
Rich Rock wrote:The hill is in bad shape this morning. Lots of branches on road, and a couple trees have the road closed at turn 8. Its an amazing sight, too bad I don't know how to post photos from my phone.
Rich, if you text them to me I can post them. Four one two, five three seven, eight nine zero three.
