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.
| GREEN MONSTER: PHOTOS (PART 1)
|
 | | Art Arfons racing his and Walt's Green Monster #2 dragster in 1954. (courtesy Tom Joswick) |
 | | Art (in white helmet) with Green Monster #2, 1954. (courtesy Tom Joswick) |
 | | Art, victorious in Green Monster, gets a kiss from a beauty queen circa 1954. (courtesy Tom Joswick) |
 | | 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) |
 | | 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". (courtesy Tom Joswick) |
 | | 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) |
 | | Art Arfons' first land speed racer, the wheel-driven Anteater, at Bonneville in 1960, young Wendover native David Christensen posing behind. (courtesy Ron Christensen) |
 | | Art Arfons' second land speed car, the J-47 jet-powered Cyclops, Bonneville, 1962. (courtesy Ron Christensen) |
 | | Cyclops' front end with its off-the-rack tires. (courtesy Ron Christensen) |
 | | Cyclops again, Bonneville, 1962. (courtesy Ron Christensen) |
 | | 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) |
 | | 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) |
 | | Charlie Mayenschein's model of what would come next. (courtesy Tom Mayenschein) |
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copyright © 2011 Samuel Hawley
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