2009 Moonshine Reunion from Dawsonville, GA
I remember my dad taking me to the local dirt track in Albany, GA, and watching Gober Sosebee (a ringer imported from north Georgia) win a feature race in a '56 Chevy. Gober was a very good racer & I also remember seeing him run at the old Lakewood Speedway on the south side of Atlanta. I visited the museum in Dawsonville a couple of years ago & it brought back some old pleasant memories seeing some of his old race cars, as well as some of Bill Elliott's.
Earnest, I had some relatives from that area that raced all over south Ga. Do you have any records...from the Albany racetrack?
I don't have any records from that Albany track, it no longer exists, either. This is just from memory, but some names that I remember from those days are McDonald (Eddie & some others), Pannell, & from Valdosta 75 Speedway, there was Sam McQuagg (Columbus, GA), Harvey Jones (Tallahassee, FL).
My cousins were J.R. and David Melton. They lived in Shellman, Ga. and race the dirt tacks of South Ga. in the 60s.
The name rings a bell..........Shellman is jusy N. of Leesburg......close to my hometown of Albany. I'm certain being that close that I saw them race at one time or another.
Ernest, while you were at the HOF, did you happen to meet Vaudell Sosebee? She's Gober's widow, and one of our biggest volunteers. She is a great treasure and we're so blessed to have her as a part of the HOF family.
Jeff, I just realized I was a little off on my geography re: Shellman, GA....Shellman is on Hwy. 82 about halfway between Dawson & Cuthbert. I should have remembered that as I went to a small college in Cuthbert & drove through Shellman many times on my way to & from Albany.Brandon, I did not meet Vaudell Sosebee when I was in Dawsonville as thee weren't many people around when I ws there......in fact, I don't think they were fully open yet as there were some areas of the museum which I was not able to go into. I didn't meet him, but I believe someone told me that the HOF was being run by David Sosebee, Gober's son, I think. I do remember some of the old race cars outside which hadn't been restored yet......seems like there might have been one with Cherokee Garage (Atlanta area) as sponsor. I know I have seen a CG-sponsored racecar somewhere....just trying to pull all this up from memory.
David Sosebee is one of our top volunteers and advisors, but he doesn't run the Hall. His dad's restored Ford racer, which won three times on the beach at Daytona, is on permanent display. It was sponsored by the Cherokee Garage. There are some older unrestored racers outside the Hall of Fame on display. Next time you're up there, look up Mrs. Sosebee. Shee is without a doubt one of my favorite people in the world!