Samuel
Hawley is a writer of narrative nonfiction and fiction. His books are
highly eclectic. He has written about 16th-century East Asian history,
19th-century Korean-American relations, Olympic sprinting and land
speed racing and a circus elephant named Topsy who was electrocuted in
1903. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.
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ART
ARFONS / GREEN MONSTER: PHOTOS (PART 1)
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Art
Arfons racing his and Walt's Green
Monster #2 dragster in 1954. (courtesy Tom Joswick) |
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Art
(in white helmet) with Green Monster
#2, 1954. (courtesy Tom Joswick) |
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Art,
victorious in Green Monster,
gets a kiss from a beauty queen circa 1954. (courtesy Tom Joswick) |
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Art going to town in Green Monster #2. The Monster's
teeth, painted on by Art's mother Bessie, can clearly be seen - as can
Art's protective clothing: a T-shirt. (courtesy Tom Joswick) |
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Green Monster #2
in front of the Arfons Mills store, Art at the wheel, Walt tuning the
engine. Note the dragster's double rear wheels, and the store sign:
"Hog Feed". (courtesyTom Joswick) |
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Art behind the wheel of his
and Walt's Green Monster #5
in 1957. GM
#5 is the only dragster built by the Arfons brothers that is still in
existence. It was restored and is now owned by Jon Rowley. Check
out Jon's website, www.GreenMonster5.com, for
lots of photos of the car and other neat stuff. (courtesy Jon Rowley) |
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Art Arfons' first land
speed racer, the wheel-driven
Anteater, at
Bonneville in 1960, young Wendover native David Christensen posing
behind. (courtesy Ron Christensen) |
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Art Arfons' second land
speed car, the J-47 jet-powered Cyclops,
Bonneville, 1962. (courtesy Ron Christensen) |
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Cyclops' front end with its
off-the-rack tires. (courtesy Ron Christensen) |
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Cyclops again, Bonneville, 1962.
(courtesy Ron Christensen) |
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Here's
a nice shot of Art Arfons' Cyclops
jet dragster at Bonneville, 1962, that was taken by Mel Ellis. The guy
without the shirt is possibly Charlie Mayenschein, judging from the
flat-top crew cut. (courtesy Mel Ellis) |
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This shot of Cyclops
at Bonneville in '62 was sent along by Burly Burlile of Mendon, Utah.
Note the headlight installed in the nose, useful in the shut-down
area at drag strips, which were typically unlit after sundown. You can
also see clearly here how Art sat in an open cockpit right in the air
intake duct of the J-47 engine--between a rock and a hard place, you
might say, at 300+ mph. And here's an interesting note for you
photography buffs: Burly took this photo with his mother's 1913 Kodak
expandable camera! (courtesy Burly Burlile) |
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Here's
another shot of Art Arfons' Cyclops
at Bonneville in August 1962. This and the four photos that follow were
taken and sent to me by Dennis Jones of Jones Custom
Lettering & Pin Striping in
Whittier, California. Dennis has been around land speed racing and cool
cars for over half a century. He started out doing the lettering on Dr.
Nathan Ostich's Flying Caduceus--twice!--first
on the original tailless version of the jet car in 1960, then again
after a tail was added in 1963. Thanks for getting in touch, Dennis!
(courtesy Dennis Jones)
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A
rear view of Art Arfons' Cyclops,
showing the J-47 jet engine's exhaust. Photo taken during Speed at the
Bonneville Salt Flats, August 1962. (courtesy Dennis Jones)
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Front
view of Cyclops, August 1962.
The racing tires--provided by Firestone--haven't been installed
yet. (courtesy Dennis Jones)
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A
color shot of Cyclops being
towed, August 1962, Art in the cockpit, Firestone racing tires
installed. (courtesy Dennis Jones)
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Another
Cyclops shot,
spectators standing around (courtesy Dennis Jones)
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Charlie
Mayenschein's model
of what would come next, with what looks like a snow bank behind it.
This shot was maybe taken in Charlie's driveway. (courtesy Tom
Mayenschein) |
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copyright
© 2011 Samuel Hawley
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