April 2022 Propwash Web
In October of last year we lost one of the most beloved model boaters in all of NAMBA. I first met Bart and his brother Vince (they were an inseparable team) at the 1991 NAMBA Nationals at Legg Lake. I was off alone in my cold pits when the two of them came up to me, introduced themselves and made sure that I knew they enjoyed racing with and against me. Something they continued to make sure that I knew at every race we competed at until Bart’s last race. Although they may not have heard it, all around the model boat racing community, you would hear people say that model boating needs more people like the DiMatteo’s. Bart was Vince’s pit man for decades. B Mono was their specialty and then migrating to G Ltd Mono. Bart assisted Vince in having the most pristine boats imaginable always running at the front of the pack. Machinists by trade owning their own machine shop, and so meticulous that when they would fill up their gas container for the next race, the first gallon from the pump always went in to their automobile and not the model boat race day container. Bart had his own time when he raced, long before model boats. Back in the 60’s he would race his DiMatteo Brothers AA/Fuel Altered Austin Bantam Roadster at Orange County International Raceway. We will miss you Bart! NAMBA Nationals History _______ Perseverance Wins ! By Dave Rychalsky NAMBA Historical Chairman I went back to my list of articles that I wrote on acquiring NAMBA patches, pins and programs, and it looks as if this is #18. Talk about beating a dead horse. However, it looks as if my perseverance paid off as Jerry Dunlap and Chris Wittrig have stepped up and found some REALLY valuable NAMBA heirlooms. If you recall years ago, Chris was the member who noticed a number of patches being sold on eBay. He was able to obtain those patches and I added them to the collection. Chris emailed me in early October stating he found a patch from the 1976 national event in Baltimore, Maryland!!! Ooofah – GREAT job Chris. And, just as important, one of the original members of NAMBA, Jerry Dunlap, who counts tunnel hulls leaping over buoys when he sleeps, walked over to me during our 50th national event at Legg Lake and told me he had the 1973 Nationals patch from Seattle, Washington!! Outstanding! Many, many thanks to Chris and Jerry for taking a few moments to help get a step closer in completing our archive patch collection. For those that follow my relentless articles, acquiring these two patches means that we now have 48 of the 49 National patches in our archives. We ONLY need 1984 (Newark, New Jersey). I’m leaning on the members from the east coast because there HAS to be someone who has that patch stuffed away. HAS TO BE. Please look for some old programs and pins from the list below so we can have FULL sets of everything for the NAMBA National Historical collection. Here is what we are looking for: PROGRAMS:1977 (Reno), 1979 (Seaside), 1980 (Tacoma), 1981 (Amarillo), and 1988 (Wichita). PINS: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984 and 2001. I think pins weren’t offered in the 70’s, but I’ve been told they started in 1980, so there has to be pins from 80, 81 and 84. And I know for sure there were pins at the 2001 NAMBA Nationals!!! You know, as the years go by, we all tend to forget the events and people of the past who literally paved the way for us to race model boats. For the NAMBA 50th National event in 2021, we were asked about the history of our districts. Most people did not know that one of the greatest pioneers on the east coast in District 1 was Chuck McGaughy. Chuck was our very first district director who grew NAMBA model boating in all of the northeast. Without documentation, without people like Chuck, our heritage will be lost forever. We just cannot forget. The missing pins, patches, and programs are basically all from nationals over 25 years ago, so it’s going to be some of our ole time members who have these tucked away! If you know a member who stopped racing and possibly attended one of these Nationals, drop him / her a line and ask. For those that would like to donate their pin or program to the NAMBA National Historical Collection, please send to: Dave Rychalsky 17 Surrey Lane East Brunswick, NJ 08816 You can email me at daverychalsky@yahoo.com. Thank you in advance for your help. PROPWASH 22 April 2022 In Memory of … Bart DiMatteo By Al Waters NAMBA Secretary
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