In 1973 amid the Arab Oil embargo a few of us who were into things diesel, and trucks said lets do up a cb/junior truckers 4-H Club. We did and the club grew. In mid 1974 by mutual agreement I went to a center in Lewiston Idaho for advanced academics youth. I saw at Lewiston High School an older set of radio broadcast gear. I met with the teacher, as long as I kept up my grades I could do a 45 minute week day radio show, over the lunch hour. I did. Came one night the school had a basketball game, while there were people in the gym, doing play-by-play there had to be someone in the studio. I did the in studio part. After the game, I asked if I could do an hour or so. The station of 100 watts never ran at night before. Amongst the content and tunes of all things high gear kountry trucking, the content was based on our 4-H truckers club. The TeenAge Truckers Association. The club grew by 100 fold over the next week. It was decided that I return back to Hazzard, and so life went. The TeenAge Truckers Association grew into the RoadMaster Association, the early name for the Independent Truckers Association. We had the blessings of the ITA's President Mike Parkhurst original publisher of Overdrive Magazine. In 1980 I was supposed to go to the Salt Lake City Autorama, to view upcoming trends, as we had just opened the Pat & Jim's Speed Shop in downtown Hagerman Idaho, population at the time 852. We did well but not as we could be. Then it hit. In the search of some props for the diorama for a car we had thought to enter for the 81 AutoRama in SLC, a poorly done 70 Dodge Charger replica of ye old General Lee, was up for sale. $1,500.00 . A bit of wrangling with My Mom and Jimmy, and the old General was on its way back to Hagerman. The town was never to be the same again. Our General took home a trophy for best street custom, but more over Custom Rodder Magazine took pics of our ride. With the popularity of our General and blessings of the people involved in the Dukes of Hazzard, the original off TV version of the Hazzard County Garage was opened. Since I resembled at least some looks wise Cooter, I caught the nick name and so it went. Jimmy and I by the mid 1982, had vowed that to unify the gearheads in the area a grass roots, rural gearheads club ought to be formed. Based on two criteria being rural, and home grown rods, customs, bikes. What to call the club? There was a popular big screen movie running at the time called the Hollywood Knights. The movie was centered on a bunch of graduating teens facing the arisocrats of Beverly Hills tearing down a hang out on Wilshire in LA. Fight the system. This fit our core ideals along with the rural Hazzard County platform. With the Hazzard County Garage open, the notice was put in the Times News, the Gooding Leader and Buhl Herald, DOH/Hot rod club forming in Hagerman, first meeting at the Polish Palace(now Snake River Grill) . 15 people showed up. That 15 people formed a group, that we called the Hazzard County Knytes(Knights) Kustmz Association. Or Hazzard Knytes for short. Over time the members of the RoadMasters from all Mountain western states joined, today after several revisions, the Knytes-of-Dixie, is now 50,000 member strong in all 50 states, and continues to grow. The bottom line we all believed in the core values of the group. More importantly the club provided the market for the Hazzard County Garage, and the Hazzard County Garage provided the products and method of the delivery to the club. We all prospered, because we all had the same vision. As time went on the shop reduced size, I moved out of Hazzard(Hagerman) to Boise then to Pocatello then to Utah. So rather than attempt although I tried several times the decision was to rename the Hazzard County Garage, to Hazzard County Choppers, the end run, we are still operational because of the club. And the club is still going because of the three currently going shops of Hazzard County Choppers. The Evanston Wyoming shop makes number 4 of the HCC family. As far as the radio station and now emerging network, that came since few if any other media outlet would let a radical, rebel hot rod club on their stations. So we said phooey, we'll do it ourselves. We did. That is HazzardAyre Radio, and its siblings on Livestream.com . The reason we succeeded and continue to do so, is we as a club, and shop crew believe in the dream, vision, and goals. We don't keep questioning each other. Suggestions can be made, advice shared, thats what you do in a democracy. But you don't tell the person in charge, this is how you do this, or you can't do this or that. Likewise kind gentile suggestion can and will make me or others in charge step back and look and say maybe they are right, but you don't come at someone barking orders, when that other person is not picking up the tab for the expenses. Paying half or part of the rent on the shop is one thing, but there are other expenses, power, phone, trash pick up, etc. That all falls on me and the bit albeit small right now due to lack of progress on both the radio station part here in Evanston, and the failure of the gearhead bar & Grill here in Evanston the club is being cautious . Even so, if we show progress, built on the foundation of the core of the club, and tradition, the club will provide funds, that will make this tiny shop grow faster than weed in a Hazzard County corn field. Bottom line as Casey Kassm of AT-40 said it, success doesn't come from a vaccum, your only as good as the people you work with and the people you work for. I've been blessed with working for and with the best, and I'll be damned if I'm going to sacrifice that by one slightly disgruntled back woods person that thinks its his way or nothing. If he wants a shop, go rent one and do it yourself. Or as my Mom of much knowledge said it, if you don't like my gate, don't swing on it.
How we got into the air and flying, next time here on Hazzard County Tymez.
TTYLY
