Checkered Flag falls for the Last Time

 At the age of 73 years. The checkered flag fell for the last time on the life of Walter M. Smith Jr. of Dayton, Ohio, on December 7, 2001,at his home, after a lengthy battle with a terminal disease.

 A native Kentuckian, Walt moved to the Dayton area as a young man and developed a career as a precision grinder of close tolerance details at the old N.C.R., then moved to the Delco Products Div. of G.M.C., from which he retired some eight years ago.

 As a life long devotee of motor sports, Walt was a Charter member of the old Dayton Pleasure Car Club, which became the State Wide Stock Car Ass'n in the late 1940's.

As a racecar driver, Walt competed regularly on the local tracks, viz., Forest Park, Kil Kare, Dayton Speedway, the Shady Bowl, plus other tracks in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

 Walt was also an avid motorcyclist and joined the Dayton Motorcycle Club, (Which was incorporated on April 11, 1910) in 1949. Ever since its' birth in 1910, the D.M.C. was a social club, per se, that sponsored various motorcycle events down through the years, they held their weekly meetings at different locations until 1946, when they erected a small building on leased property for their clubhouse.

 Walt was elected to the Presidents Chair for fourteen different terms during his membership and under his tutelage, was responsible for bringing fiscal responsibility to the conduct of the clubs business affairs. Under his guidance, the club acquired acreage on Stony Hollow Rd. in 1962, developed a motor sport complex for the use by the youth of the area for motorcycle racing and trail riding, and built a substantial clubhouse in 1971.

 The passing of Walt Smith will leave a void in the hearts of his comrades in the D.M.C., as he was a consummate gentleman who very rarely missed a weekly meeting, when he would have kind words for the new members, sound advice and encouragement for the younger members who were assuming the reins of leadership and responsibility of conducting the clubs' affairs, his presence will be missed by all. His friendship and guidance left a legacy that will guide the club forward into the Twenty-First century as a monument to progress.

 Walt was laid to rest in the family plot in the Bobbitt Cemetery in Somerset, Kentucky, on December 14, 2001.   R.I.P. Walt, your were great.