Life at Lake X in the '60s

[gofish7070]

Seeroy can borrow a jet from the Air Force create a diversion,,,,,,,,,while all the old F**ts will storm the gate,,,,,,, Led by ECK and all the ghosts,,,,, Lets find Odell, Bakos and the hundreds more mentioned in this thread,,,,,,,, Of course at our age and shape this invasion would take months,,,,,,,,,,, Semper Fi

[Kirk Dunteman]

My dads first offshore race boat Agitator, a 30' Shadow cat, was rigged there in 1985. Later I got a job there running endurance after having a DESK job as a Stock Broker. Nothing beats working outdoors. I just saw this thread and wanted to add to it. I took some pictures of the closing ceremony that I thought you might like to see. The first is Bill Harris giving out bricks from the original lake x road with an original cleat attached tho Fred kiekaeffer. The second is the crew of the Lake. The last is the deer of lake x. Hope you enjoy!

[nianticgary]

Went by the former Placida test facility about a week ago on my way off of Boca Grande from lunch. Place wasn't quite as I remembered it. Wasgreat to see aerial shot from transomstand. Next time I'll take a few minutes to nose around and see if I can get some pics from the ground. Also going to look around south end of Siesta, but assume its all gone. Sure would like to have some good shots of the old test facilities. Wonder if Mercury has any in its archives or maybe Fred Kiekhaefer. Does Mercury have any museum open to the public?
I worked for a small Merc dealer in Waterford, CT as a teen. The owner was a proud Kiekhaefer Mercury dealer and had lots of big Mercs(60's, 70's and 80's) for the 1960's. He referred to Mr K as Carl and would occassionally talk to him. We always had a few speedmasters around which we could use to build up some motors to play with. One day a Mark 78A DR just happened to show up on the back of my 13 ft Glasspar just for me to try out. Never came off the boat again and it never cost me anything. No matter how we tuned a motor, my boss could always get more. So Mercs have always been special and a part of me.
Just restored a 14 ft Power Cat and dropped an older I-6 Merc 150 on it and am enjoying scaring the crap out of myself.
Gary

[Bob V]

I worked for a small Merc dealer in Waterford, CT as a teen. The owner was a proud Kiekhaefer Mercury dealer and had lots of big Mercs(60's, 70's and 80's) for the 1960's.

Gary...Does the name Tommy Holmes ring a bell? He was out of your area and in the early 1960s he had several Power Cats (bought a new one each year) and powered them with twin I-6 Merc 800s (white). After reading your post, I was wondering if his boats came out of your shop. He had two tow vehicles, a silver 1963 Corvette Split Window Coupe and a gold 1962 Jaguar XKE coupe.

[nianticgary]

Bob, Any idea where Tommy Holmes was from? I don't recall his name or boats. Weren't too many Power Cats in this area. I ended up with a 15 ft model in 1971 powered by twin Merc 50's. Just found it again this fall and am restoring it also. Gary

[Wild Wil]

Seeroy this is a great part of history here thanks. And being a Black motor guy its a great read. As I saw in post 112? you were talking about the race around Long Island, well back in the 60s my grandfather got a boat that was goin to enter but never did. Well we worked on the boat, a Seasled out of plywood (V hull cut in half and switched sides so it had a V cut out)if I remember right. This had a V8 hemi in it w/ twin 4 barrels on it. Was a crazy boat and a fuel eater!!!! But it had a "head" under the front deck. Well thanks again to you and the other guys. Keep them comming.
Wild Wil

[rowle1jt]

What an awesome thread!!!

I joined just so I could see the pics and post this reply. Thank you to all that have posted anything. I have heard a few of the "Lake X" legends and until reading this thread never knew where it was. It would have been an awesome place to work that is for sure. I can't even imagine getting paid to run the heck out of boat, what job that must have been. Trying at times, but it sounds like there were a lot of good times as well.

About 3 weeks ago, I was on vacation about 15 minutes from there. Knowing what I know now, I'd have taken the short drive out... if only to see that gate.

Thanks again to all who have posted!

[seeroy]

I just returned from the funeral of Mabry Edwards. Some of you knew him from the distant past and I have talked of him on this thread in posts #41, 43, 45, 46, 83, 84 As well as the Miami-Nassau thread. He died in his sleep on Monday 3/10/08 at the age of 87. His obituary can be found in todays (3/14/08) Florida Times Union (Jacksonville Florida). Mabry was a mentor of mine in both the world of boat racing and aviation. However there were accomplishments of his that even I did not know about. At the funeral, MG Doug Burnett spoke eloquently of Mabry's early days in boat racing. I did not know that Mabry held a number of boat racing records from his early days. As well, he helped to guide many boat racers, fishermen, and pilots onto the right course in life. He was kind of like a human Instrument Landing System (ILS). He was also compassionate and true to old friends. During the time when Mr. Kiekhaefer was nearing the end of life, he was sick and in pain. Mabry took him to a point just off the coast of Saint Augustine where they sat quietly rocking in the gentle swells of the Atlantic. I think Mabry knew that this would be a place of comfort and peace for his long time friend. Even though my brother often called him "Mayberry", Mabry remained a true friend to Bill and they would often consult with each other. In the recent years, I had not seen Mabry, but someone had told me that he went to "work" on his boat on a daily basis. Best Regards - Steve Sirois

[seeroy]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class="Large Heading TopPadSmall" vAlign=bottom width="55%">Retired Brig. Gen. Mabry Edwards</TD><TD width="1%"></TD><TD class=TopPadSmall align=right width="44%"></TD></TR><TR><TD class="Notice TopPadSmall" colSpan=3>EDWARDS Retired Brig. Gen. Mabry Edwards, 87, of Crescent Beach, FL passed away peacefully on March 10, 2008. He was born August 9, 1920 in Quincy, FL and resided in Jacksonville until his appointment as Assistant Adjutant General for the Florida Air National Guard at its State Headquarters in St. Augustine. As an accomplished mechanical engineer, pilot, boat designer and photographer, his competitive spirit was evidenced by his motto, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity". He was taught to fly by aviation pioneer Laurie Younge, won several outboard hydroplane national and world boat racing championships, received his commercial captain's license from the Merchant Marine at age 22, was a pioneer in NE Florida offshore sports fishing, founded a boat building company and filmed Florida Gator and Gator Bowl football games as a commercial photographer. He designed and built numerous custom sports fishing and offshore race boats, including five class winners in the Bahamas 500 endurance runs. As a boat captain, he and his crew were credited with catching and releasing over 1,100 billfish, including the first blue marlin caught off the First Coast. His military career began as a civilian flight instructor for the Navy. When the U.S. entered WW II, he joined the Army Air Corps. In 1945, he became a member of the initial Florida Air National Guard unit and later served as the 125th Fighter Group's Chief of Maintenance and senior pilot for several of the state's governors. Family members celebrating his life include: June Powell Edwards, his loving wife for 66 years; sons Mabry Edwards, Jr. (Linda) and Lee Edwards; daughter Susan Henderson (Robert); grandchildren Tracy Edwards, Brian Edwards (Christine), Kevin Edwards (Kim), Graham Henderson, Katherine Dickey (Adam), Kimberly Whitfield (Clay), and Andy Edwards; and several great grandchildren. The family will receive friends on Thursday evening from 6 PM until 8 PM at the Craig Funeral Home located at 1475 Old Dixie Highway in St. Augustine. Funeral services will commence at 10 AM on Friday morning in the Chapel at the same location. Internment will follow at St. Augustine Memorial Park, 2600 Old Moultrie Road. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer Association. Please Sign the Guestbook @ Jacksonville.com EDWARDS Please Sign the Guestbook @ Jacksonville.com


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[Mark75H]

Add to his accomplishments Mr. Edwards developed and produced the racing lower unit for the "Martin HS 60" 6 hp based racing motor and I suspect had some involvement in the development of the Merc Quicksilver racing lower units, too.

[seeroy]

Thanks Sam - I knew you could add. My guess is that others out there have more to add on Mabry.

Hope all is well with you and your's - Steve

[Mark75H]

Well, I don't know as much as I would like to know about Mr Edwards. If Marshall Eldredge Jr wasn't at the races this weekend, I'd call him and have him fill in the blanks. Maybe next weekend.

Mabry was one of the movers and shakers of outboard racing in Florida in the post WWII era well into the 1960's

[T2x]

May he rest in peace...........

I wonder if he's in the APBA Honor Squadron. If not he should be.

T2x

[seeroy]

What's This all about? Just took my every-once-in-awhile look at Lake X on MSN Virtual Earth..then went to Bird's Eye View...Interesting tent structures just to the North of the boat slip/shop. Also interesting pics of the old boat slip which is now closed off from the lake and all remnants of the Motel and Old shop are now gone. But the old Boat Shed is still there.
Best Regards - Steve Sirois

[seeroy]

Here are the pics of the Old slip/shop and Motel area. -Steve