Bly's Hot Rod History

Last month, we shared just a hint of backstory for the car featured as the magnetic dash plaque for the 2018 Waynesburg 50s Fest & Car Cruise. There’s so much great history that surrounds the car that we knew we needed to include a bigger story about it. The modified racecar featured won the honor and trophy for having the fastest time at the Harper Dry Lakes in Southern California in 1941. It belonged to Bill Blystone, Waynesburg resident George ‘Bly’ Blystone’s father.

Bly was born and raised in California and grew up in the Valley and Hollywood. His father, Bill, was an alcoholic and his parents divorced when he was around 9 years old. After the divorce, Bly, his sister Stephanie Tascione, and his mother Jean lived in the Valley (San Fernando Valley, CA.). Jean’s brother Ike Williams ran the B&S Garage in nearby Hollywood and the family would often go there to get their car serviced.

Baldwin & Sommerfeld Automotive Service was originally run by Robert “Baldy” Baldwin and August “Gus” Sommerfeld before Ike took over the shop in the mid-1950s. The Garage was a hotspot for racers and hot rods; Baldy and Gus ran their own customized cars at the lakes, on the street, and on the track and most of their clientele did the same. Growing up nearby put young Bly right in the middle of hot rod history.

“Ike’s friends were my friends. We were all like a big family,” Bly says. “My mom started going out with Baldy when I was about 11. Eventually, I started going to the garage more and more often and I was hanging out there with the race car and engine builders.”

Bly didn’t have a relationship with his father after the divorce. One day while hanging out at the garage as he often did, he opened a drawer and found a bunch of pictures of his dad’s car.

“I thought it was cool,” Bly remembers. “I knew about the cars, but the early stuff that happened never really registered. It was interesting to learn it was in my blood and I didn’t know it.”

In 1970 Bly moved to Greene County with John Eckerd and his family. John and Bly were both Civil War buffs at the time and wanted to be closer to Gettysburg. Greene County was a perfect fit with a “cheap farm for sale.” The Blystone family was actually from the area, having settled here in the 1700s, before eventually making their way to Wisconsin and then Hollywood for the film industry. Bly spent 40 years in reenactment as part of Knapp’s Battery, which is an entirely different story that just may show up in a future issue of the GreeneScene.

About 3 years ago Bly’s cousin and son of Gordon Williams, Grumpy Jim Donoho called him: “I got pictures of race cars and your dad is in some of them.” Grumpy Jim sent a few to Bly and asked if he recognized anything or anyone.

“As he led me on, I started realizing I recognized stuff that he didn’t,” Bly says. “And I saw people that I grew up with – like my mom’s brothers, Ike Williams and Gordy Williams.”

The pictures revealed a lot of history, not just of Bly’s family and friends but also of the southern California car scene. Bill, Baldy, Ike, Gordy and more of Bly’s friends were part of the Bungholers of Hollywood, a Los Angeles-based hot rod club established in 1937. The Bungholers were a collection of men that loved to race fast cars. Together with the Throttlers and 5 other car clubs, they formed the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), still in existence today. Bill Blystone was also a member of the Hollywood Throttlers. The clubs would race at the Harper Dry Lakes and Bonneville.

“All of this was a part of my dad’s and uncles’ history,” Bly says. “ Even my mom would race.” He laughs a little and then added, “Once my parents got divorced she had to go out and actually get a driver’s license. She’d always raced without one.”

Bly’s cousin Andria, Ike’s daughter, is also heavily involved in the California car scene. She’s part of the Safety Team Committee at Bonneville and was the first woman President of the SCTA.

“We have over a thousand pictures that have to do with our relations,” Bly shares. “It’s really exciting to have a history like this, that I grew up not knowing anything about.”

Published in October 2018 GreeneScene Magazine.