Natalie Grove
After 20 years of volunteering at the Oregon Jamboree, Paul Ingram is passing on the torch of running the information booth.
“I had a good time, helping people out, answering questions.”
Ingram has volunteered at the Jamboree since its inception, spending 20-plus years at the information booth.
“You do it long enough, you don’t have any more good ideas, it’s time to let someone else do it.”
This year he just plans to relax. Well, sort of.
Relaxing may turn out to be more of a challenge than volunteering for the 78-year-old retired wildlife biologist, who has been active in Sweet Home over the years in a variety of capacities.
When Sweet Home had its own Habitat for Humanity chapter in 1995, Ingram was in the thick of it.
He served as a board member and construction site supervisor. “I raised my hand at the wrong time,” he chuckled.
The chapter, spearheaded by Sylvia Stock, was active for about 10 years, building about 8 houses, including one across from Hawthorne Athletic field, two on 45th Avenue, and four on Tamarack Street.
“I was good at it – I like to build. I like helping other people.”
The chapter has since disbanded and merged into the Lebanon chapter.
“It just happens. Everybody just got burned out, I think,” Ingram said. “There’s a need for that type of thing – give people a helping hand.”
Another of Ingram’s efforts was founding a vintage auto club in Sweet Home in the late 1960s and early 70s. Composed of some 30 members, it continued for over 10 years, holding car shows at the Sportsman’s Holiday, taking tours and picnics. Members would meet in a parking lot where Wells Fargo bank is today, and chat about their cars.
“A few of the members got together and built that log truck over at the museum,” Ingram said.
Though the club has drifted apart over the years, Ingram’s passion for vintage cars has only gotten stronger.
He has been building and racing vintage sports cars for the past 15 years and he’s still going strong on the track.
Last month, Ingram was awarded the AAA Wemme Trophy at the Rose City Cup in Portland. The cup is “awarded to the driver who best represents the ideals of Vintage Racing, which awards sportsmanship on the track, craftsmanship in preparing the vintage race car, and the friendliness to the fans,” according to a racing program from the event.
“When I got the award it was totally unexpected – it shocked me,” Ingram said. “I feel honored to get it because it was given by my peers. Most of them have been racing much longer than I have.
There’s only two real sports – bullfighting and racing. The rest are just games.”
Ingram’s career in racing vintage cars began 15 years ago after he retired. After working in the pits with a college friend, “I went downhill from there,” he said. Since taking up the sport again, he has raced on tracks from British Columbia to Monterey, Calif.
His current race car is an 850-pound 1965 Ladybird Mk VI, which commonly reaches speeds of 120 to 130 mph.
“People don’t give it a lot of credibility, but it sneaks up on them. It earns their respect.”
The Rose City Cup started in 1909 when the Portland Auto Club held a “free formula” race between Portland and Gresham – the first national championship auto race held in the US – a full two years prior to the opening of the Indianapolis speedway.
The Wemme award gets its name from the race’s sponsor, wealthy Portland businessman E. Henry Wemme – who had imported the city’s first automobile, a Stanley Steamer, in 1899.
Vintage racing rules allow drivers to race classic cars without as much risk of damage to the car as there is in normal racing.
The cars are built, not to modern standards, but the same configurations as when they were new.
In the races, the cars are the stars and respect on the roadway is paramount.
These races give the cars and their drivers a chance to race the way they were built to.
There is no money prize for the racers, Ingram said. “People do it just because it’s fun.”
It certainly is for him.
“I like to drive fast. It’s just something that satisfies the inner urge to be a kid again. I just go up there to have a good time, race with some friends, get my adrenaline up.”