Once upon a time in a land so far, far, away called Hagerman in another part of this strange space we call Idaho, there were three renegade hot rodders, who had built a super sleek custom that was called the General Jackson.
We had our confederate roots and our southern heritage flying in the back ground and were pleased as we could be. So we decided to cool off in the big room upstairs in my easy chair, mom at her spot by the kitchen table, drinking her constant coffee, I sat there with a longed neck bottle of Lone Star, (hey you could buy that here then), and turned on the TV. There before our eyes was a TV show, that little less than three years prior those same fellers were here on our place fixing to going hunting quail on our farm.
I watched this TV show very intently. There as the stories were told it was like somebody had found a long lost journal of mine and could have from their quail hunting visit, an old journal. This began the entry into a world that would become a part of my life, not just as a casual fan of this TV show, but as an integral part of my every day life.
The General Jackson was ready to go to the 1981 Salt Lake City AutoRama. We needed a display, so I had been looking at a roller skating car hop, made from a mannequin and all, kindly furnished by Mr. Faulkner of then the Paris Clothier in downtown Twin Falls, but I happened on a movie that was popular called the Hollywood Knights. Something that will come into this later. So I thought there is the look. White Go-Go drill team boots, short white shorts and a T shirt of orange. This works. The shorts and T shirt, donated by T-shirts plus of then the Blue Lakes Mall Twin Falls, but those boots. After much inquiry couldn’t find any in Twin Falls. In the early 80’s the fashion was no longer fashion, imagine that. So I remembered Burley High School, had used these.
So over in my reworked VW (KW) Rabbit we wented.
So found Burley no longer used these, but, East Minico Junior High did. So over we went. When out of my eye I saw, 1970 Dodge Charger for sale , $1,500.00 . I talked to Mom and three days after the car was in Hagerman an event that would change this valley forever.
Myself, Allan, Karl, Jimmy, Alfred and myself , busted ass. And by the first week of July The General Lee rolled out of the shop, ready to take on all comers. 440 Mag TNT Police Pursuit 13.5:1 Comp ratio, 650 horses to those back wheels, a genuine Dyna Glyde Detroit locker Posi rear end with 4:10 gears. Two trips to Roy Utah with the VW and Mickey Ellis and Show team of the SLC AutoRama said okay, and off to the show we went, just before Thanksgiving 1981 our General Lee was there.
The second night I was there I got to thinking, hey, I don’t look like a Duke, nor does Allan, but Cooter, now really I did look alike, plus the scene was similar, I too run a tow truck at a hot rod shop in the middle of damn near nowhere. Hey this works.
Some talks with studio execs at the time, and I was granted permission and in March 1982 the official true to life Hazzard County Garage opened for business in Hagerman, that had now got the nick name Hazzard Idaho.
So Jimmy and I sat down one afternoon over ice cream, at the then Polish Palace, now Snake River Grill, and thought to stimulate business how about organizing the areas gearheads and Dukes fans into a one of group? So Jimmy set a meeting, had Willy put an ad in the Gooding Leader and we met on June 13th at 7:00PM there at the Polish Palace.
So some very major now days people got together there one who would become a sitting county Sheriff, one who is an area FBI Agent, and one a very important businessman all assembled in that café. But what to call the club. Allan who I still call Bro, did then, do today, thought what about that movie we saw? The one that gave us the idea of the boots?
Some redoing of the names, and by September 1982 the Hazzard County Knytes(Knights) was born.
The areas news and media never gave us serious consideration, we fixed that with what became the foundation of what we do now as HazzardAyre. But back then, that tiny 100 watt radio station was as outlaw as one could be. We’d only fire up, when it was dark, only from midnight to 6:00AM and about the only people tuned in were the over the road truckers. Hey most were from the south anyway and we pushed the edges as far as they’d go. To the degree that other radio stations started taking a hit. Since our miniscule ad rates were out doing theirs. Our ratings were second to none.
Then we started bringing in those programs that we thought were important from an educational point of view. While some outside authorities blinked a bit, the fact is such programs as Dr. Ruth were OTT , but we thought, what better authority than that of a true pioneering sexual and relationship therapist than Dr. Ruth? Of course Doctor Demento, TalkNet dealing with financial issues and all we thought we had a good rounded bunch of programs.
By 1983, my Mom’s health was suffering, her ability to monitor every day life as well as the club’s the shop, and me was just too much.
I can remember returning to Hazzard from fetching the son, of the legal services director at the time’ T Bird to be restored by the Hazzard Garage. Only to find that in the night that Mom had passed away. No need to waste time. The General got me over to the hospital here in Twin quite rapidly, Mom had awakened long enough to tell me good bye.
Bro drove home as I was in no condition.
Over the next few weeks, everybody that could plunder , the possessions of our humble home did. Many things that today would be worth a fortune. But the radio gear and my world purtty much stayed intact.
It was May that year, the month of Mom’s birthday. We had just gotten our official call letters for the radio station KTOW, and gotten our NBC Radio affiliation. This ran on, until mid August. When I got the news that the club’s and Montgomery Foundation’s main bean counter and distributor, thought it be best if I were to move to Boise.
I hesitated until June 1984, but by then any love I had for this valley was lost.
We went to Boise, I reworked the shop into Cooter’s Customs that later in LowRiders speak became Kustmz and in March 1987 we opened the new shop in Boise. I needed certain degrees school wise, so while still serving in my capacity for the UCSMC I moved to Pocatello. Over the next 3 years changes came, to where , I had a son, gave birth to the Dixie Diesel Shop, and decided in 1990 to move to Utah. While there, in Utah, things were coming unglued here in the home plate of the Hazzard Knytes, so reluctantly, I moved here, again. If anyone thought I wasn’t loyal by now, should ought to have a sandwich.
The new CDL Law came into effect, and Boise State University, in Nampa had a program to get one. Cept by the time I could get there, my spot was taken. But I met the one real human love of my life, so I transplanted them here and eventually to Rupert.
By late 1992 I had met Robin, and in March 1993, we refried KTOW back to life. Then I got frustrated by the bassackwards ways of Tweaker Flatts and Tragic Valley Idaho, and moved back into Utah, were I remained until 1997 when I thought I saw a ray of sun in Rigby. Then found that it was possible to regain ground at the old homestead.
But that in a nutshell is the history of HazzardAyre.
Now I gotta pass this on since it reared its fugdugly head again. So I must clarify, in no way in hell, is A1 Towing, Big C in any way involved outside of my SSA Payee, involved in the operations or affiliated with HazzardAyre The Hazzard County Knytes or Knytes-of-Anarchy. Nor is A1 Towing affiliated with Dixie Toewing or AyreWolf Aviation. These firms and the club is ours , not A1’s, so please for Heavens sake don’t bother the A1 crew with any and I mean ANY inquiries. Seems as though an ad I thought was flagged , unflagged. Meaning ol Big C called pee-owed.
This sort of thing is the reason that for years the club , never hired or reached outside the club. We did everything in house, and with club members and/or club members families. Now all of a sudden we open up the gate, two get ditched due to getting greedy, one who had no intention of showing up anyway. And bugging Big C. Leave Big C and his company alone, they have nothing to do with us. Any more and the club will shut this down, I’ll move and anybody who ever thought of working here will be sol. I’ll just do it myself until I move back to Wyoming and or Utah.
Until L8R
Quote of the Day:
We are always getting ready to live, but never living.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
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