There is a heck of a lot of work involved with writing a book. After completing eleven hot rod history books, I have a much clearer idea of just what is involved in completing a big project. In this particular case, I am still finishing up a complicated history project called “Thunder By The Beach, Grand Bend Dragway 1964-1969”.
So many of the various steps in assembling this project seem to merge at times. One day, you come across strategic information from a new source, and at the same time, you get a phone call from a contact who remembers an episode that coincides and verifies previous information I have already gathered. Another day, a whole new source of photographic information falls magically into my lap with pictures that I specifically needed to complete an important event record. I have worked the phones and met with people in person, talked to racers, track staff, and race fans who were there in an effort to get the story straight and present as comprehensive a history as possible.
At times, I think that perhaps I have everything I need, and then I look through my many notes and realize that there are a few holes and questions that need to be addressed before I can fully complete this project. It’s an ongoing battle at times, but well worth the effort to make such a complicated story as accurate as possible. Mistakes are always made, and that is not surprising. It’s a big story with a lot of twists and turns. Some people see things differently than others. In other cases, a story is told that may or may not be true. As the years go by, the storyteller may get dates or facts mixed up. There is the real chance that I have made the wrong assumption. In fact, I don’t think I have ever written a story that has been 100% free of errors.
However, I have realized that whenever I produce a huge project such as this work, there are going to be things come up that are incorrect, and I’m ok with that. The whole idea of the project is to tell a story for my readers about something they may or may not know anything about, in a way that is both interesting to read and to record this worthwhile Canadian history before it’s gone forever. I think that the pioneers and heroes of the sport deserve to be recognized for their work and to be remembered.
As a historian, that is what is important to me.