Westport, Connecticut: Downshifters

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SPECIAL NOTICE

This notice is for one of our own Billy Palladino, Staples H.S. graduate, class of 1968. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in November of 2009 and has been hospitalized since Feb. 6, when complications from throat cancer surgery in November robbed him of his ability to speak. He had an operation where they removed his epiglottis, the flap that covers the trachea during swallowing so that food does not enter the lungs. He had a Tracheotomy and now is unable to speak. He is presently in Danbury Hospital and is receiving Chemotherapy and Radiation and hoping to go home soon.

With all this going on for Bill, another tragedy struck his family. His wife, Janice Ann McClenathan Palladino, age 45, passed away from a massive heart attack on February 11, 2010 at her home in Sandy Hook, CT. She was also a Staples High School Graduate, class of 1983. Not only did his wife meticulously prepare meals that were injected through the feeding tube Bill had implanted after his surgery and monitor his medications, her full-time job at a small manufacturing company in Oxford provided the health insurance that covered the bulk of his medical bills.

Now there is no income for family and they don't know how long the insurance from Janice's job will cover Billy's medical bills. They have 2 daughters, Michelle and Sarah Palladino who are both in college.

We want to let you know that a trust fund has been set up for Billy and his family at:

Newtown Savings Bank
30 Main Street
Danbury CT 06810
Phone: (203) 205-0080

For those of you that want to contact him or send get well cards to, his home contact information is:

Bill Palladino
7 Overlook Knoll
Sandy Hook CT 06482
(203) 426-8960

Here are some links for more information:

Article on Billy in the Danbury News Times, Feb. 21, 2010.

Obituary from the Westport News on Janice Ann McClenathan Palladino.

Please help out where you can. Collectively we can all make a difference for Billy and his family, no matter what the $ amount is. Words of support are also needed if you can't make a donation during these hard times.

Thank you, Shelby Goodlett Pike

Downshifters Bulletin Board To add an entry on this board, please log in or sign up.
Found a picture of a green 32 roadster on Dover site. I remember the car as a kid in Westport. Don't know who owned it.	William Masiello 1969 view posts Wednesday, 07/29/2009 12:20:04
My father was in the Downshifters! Anyone know Frank Webb? Lived on Wilton Rd. I grew up hearing stories of Freddy Fable and Corky Cookman. My mother is also from Westport, Staples class of 1970 Kate Wood. This is crazy!	Jonathan Webb guest view posts Tuesday, 06/02/2009 11:22:29
You guys were very cool. I was a 'sporty car guy' (grad. 1970) but I lusted after (I hope I get the name and car right) Vailants- 69 Roadrunner ?- a couple of very hot GTO's I pumped gas (after I quit Big Top) at Al Hutchinsons Mobil on the Post road and it was a Saturday night show every Saturday night. Damn I miss those days and cars.	Bruce Fernie 1970 view posts Tuesday, 04/14/2009 07:22:11
Any info or pics on the club The Dragmasters,, Jay Paterson,(passed)Jimmy Restino, Bill Hempson, Duke Aquino(passed),Bob Quigley,Teddy Wakeman,Everitt Johnson, they ran a D/altered at dover jay & I would invade staples parking lot with it,, most of their racing started at the CREST,,,also any pics of Corky Cookmans B/dragster MideNight Auto Parts,, As a kid pumping gas for Freddy Fable & and Corky At C&F texaco near ole Barkers was a gas Thanks Bob	Bob Quigley 1969 view posts Saturday, 03/28/2009 12:09:20
Thanks Bill for the Dover Web sight, passed it along to Donny Donny " D ," and to Bob Brownell who E-mailed me today, and is going to call Don. I E-mailed Doug back as well. Hay guys I gave Don a VHS of the dragster super 8 I took, and he is going to see if he can inhance it and put it on DVD. I still have the old reel but is starting to crack up and is very fragile. I think I also have that older 8 mm taken when Dover was dirt, I think around 55, or maybe it was some where else. I will check the basement this weekend. The Downshifters are back. Well Happy Holiday to all, and hope to here from you all. Thom	Thomas Burrows 1967 view posts Friday, 12/19/2008 15:06:55
Doug Billy Masiello here. Hope all is well with you.Hard to believ how old were getting.Still having fun Drag Racing Built a front engine dragster a couple of years ago.very fast runs 7.60s at 175 mph .My oldest son also races a dragster. If you get a chance go on the dover drag strp site lots of cool stuff and pictures.it wll bring back some memorys of the good old days.	William Masiello 1969 view posts Monday, 11/03/2008 14:45:21
I was a member of the Downshifters while I was at Staples in the mid-late '60's. Tom Burrows was one of my buddies (a couple of his pictures are already posted) along with Don Durner, Tony Beck, Bob Brownell, Bruce Ward, Bill Masiello, Eric Janeway ("Seymour") and other guys, all Staples grads. My hobby was taking pictures of the drag cars we saw at the races-- Dover Dragway in NY, East Haddam, CT (I've forgotten the name of the strip), and out on Long Island, at Raceway Park I think it was. Anyway, I have many pictures of the cars we saw, and these pictures of the dragster the Downshifters campaigned for a few years. The car was just a frame, rear end, front end and not much else when I moved to Westport in about 1963. We got the Ford flathead from some guy that had it in his Jeep, and totaled the Jeep. The first version didn't have all the good stuff yet, but we wanted to go racing, so we did what was needed, got it running, found a trailer, and went racing. This is the black & red version in the photos. The motor was so low on horsepower, it wouldn't turn over racing slicks, so we put on some street tires; the driver's seat was a fiberglass chair from Big Top Shoppe that somehow ended up in our garage. After the first season, we took some money out of our club dues, had some machine work done (porting & polishing the block, boring & stroking, and some other stuff) and started buying the pieces we wanted. This is the purple version in the other photos. Hope the photos bring back some fond memories for other Downshifters.	Doug Bowman 1968 view posts Wednesday, 10/29/2008 08:47:24
Any of you old downshifters out there there's a new web site dedicated to Dover drag strip . Just type -link-	William Masiello 1969 view posts Wednesday, 08/13/2008 04:08:13
Hi -- I THINK my brother in law was a "downshifter" -- Terry O'Grady. I'll send him a link -- he'll get a hoot out of this! By the way, I have a '56 Ford Fairlane 292. You'll think it is boring, being a 4-door, but I love it! I believe I was the first "girl" to take auto shop in 1974 ! Thanks guys!	Julie Phillips O'Grady 1975 view posts Monday, 06/30/2008 12:06:49
Charlie, Chris Lloyd was in class of 1959, I think. He was a differnt sort of guy even back then.	Tom Stoddard 1960 view posts Thursday, 09/07/2000 19:25:08
I think it had black piping to match the letters. Since only you and I are using this BB, we're limited in memories. We need to figure out how to get the Willauers, Mike Douglas, Christopher Lloyd, Mike James, Bo James, Terry Thomas etc. Mike James was at the reunion so I know he knows about this. Any ideas to get more participation?	Tom Stoddard 1960 view posts Monday, 09/04/2000 01:24:03
Tom: I got several rides in Andy's 36 Ford Pheaton. It would cook. Also Buzz's Duce Cabrolet with the Suicide Front end and helicopter seats andSlicks. AND a Chrysler mill. Buckets of torque. Wish I still had my old red jacket. We ought to get some made up. They were wool and had black lettering I think can't recall the color of the piping on the sleeves. Can you? Have fun in Washington	Charlie Taylor 1961 view posts Saturday, 09/02/2000 15:29:49
Tom Have fun in Washington this weekend. Wish I had my old red jacket. We ought to order some Black letters and ???piping. Andys 36 Phaeton was too much a 56 nailhead mill and it would scream slock. Buzz's 32 cabrolet with Chrysler hemi mill and helicopter seats was a real monster. Ah nostalgia. Wouldn't trade for my life now though.	Charlie Taylor 1961 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 01:25:19
Charlie, Do you remember the Ford Phaeton that Andy Willauer had? He used a Buick V8 and that baby would fly. Boy if we ever hit something though - about 10 guys would have gone flying. Whatever happened to our Downshifters jackets?	Tom Stoddard 1960 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 13:34:50
Charlie, No, I wasn't in Louisville. Wish I had been though. We're headed to Long Beach Washington next weekend (9/9) for the 'Rod Run to the end of the World'. Pretty ambitious title huh? Been going for 10 years or so. About 1200 street rods and classics on display in a big field with 50's rock and roll blaring all over. It's absolutely inspiring and goose bump raising. They have a drawing each year for 2 crate engines which they start every few minutes and rev em up. Straight pipes are impressive. That's Saturday. On Sunday they usually have a parade that lasts about 4 hours through the town. We have friends who display their 49 Merc, or 36 Ford or 34 coupe. We get about 12 people to camp out nearby and we have steak and steamers to fuel our hot rod frenzy. We fly there from San Franciso and everybody else drives in from Oregon (where we lived until 1998). I don't have a classic ride yet, but I'm looking for the perfect '40 Ford convert. I've seen one at the rod run, but so far, it's not for sale. What are you driving these days?	Tom Stoddard 1960 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 07:41:15
Tom great stuff. I remember Kenny Smith's car as his. I just returned from the Street Rod Natl's in Louisville, KY . Were youy there. I OD'd on classic pre '48 Detroit Iron. Never heard so much horsepower rolling by in my life. really over stimulating. . How is your new ride coming ? Detail me on it.	Charlie Taylor 1961 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 02:51:32
Hey Charlie, So that's what happened to my model A huh? I had totally forgotten. I rememember Lance Gurney vividly though and I am not surprised by his soapsuds recommendation. After the '29, I bought a 1948 Ford convertible from Kenny Smith. We towed it home to Weston and found a '51 Ford engine to drop in. My Dad and I did this successfully. I found a '39 Ford floor shift and installed that with a greatly extended shifter lever - about 3 feet high. It had a huge knob on top, but unfortunately, the lever kept breaking off after many 'speed shifts'. Mom reupholstered the seats in a real soft velvet like material. A lot of Bondo later and a fresh coat of black paint and I was ready. I have many fond memories of driving down to Compo Beach and watching the whale races. That was in the days before the Town of Westport began charging for 'the privilege' of parking at the beach.	Tom Stoddard 1960 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 04:03:16
When I was a Downshifter, in 1958-61, I had two cars. The first was a '29 Ford Sedan 4-door ($25 from Tom Stoddard), in which I dropped a '48 Merc (original engine in Mike James's '34 Ford Roadster - $45), but I never got the rod on the road. Lance Gurney and I towed it from Weston to Westport behind Lances JEEP. We put Soapsuds in the crankcase because Lance advised me that soapsuds were a suitable substitute for real oil. A sad, demented experiment, but I fell for it. One toasted fourbanger I can tell you. Can you say "Froze Up?" It served as a laboratory for my teenage experiments (or excrements) on Detroit Iron. The other car was a '38 Ford Deluxe 2 door ($85), in which I put a '53 Ford Flattie, with 3 duces and a 3/4 race cam, which I bought from Dexter Williams. In 1961 I left for college in KY and my mom called the junk man and he collected it. (I did Forgive her!!!!!) The Downshifters had Courtesy Cards that we gave to ladies that we helped change flats etc., to combat the street racing image. Westport had some great rods. The Police were our advisers. I remember one car show somewhere in Westport in 1958-59 that attracted some pretty cool cars. Frankie Lasardo of Frank's Gulf station had a blown Buick in a '40 Ford coupe that I got several rides in. Frankie was a hell of a driver, and one evening in the summer of 1960 I dropped our family's 1961 Ford Country Squire off for service, and Frankie gave me a ride home. We went down from Hillspoint on the Post Road past Calise's store, to the Sherwood Island Connector. Frankie creeped past the State Police Barracks and managed to stay off the gas until we cleared the bridge. We must have been doing 15 when he dropped the hammer. (Before he launched, he double clutched it into first and lit the fuse). He had the element of suprise. All I remember was the adrenline rush of my young teenage life--fear and joy wrapped in 30 seconds of hot rod fury: WWWAAAAAAAAAAAA-- WWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-- WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! I could not get the "beggin' for mercy" words out of my mouth, because my heart had already gotten there first. My white knuckles and fingers were tightly wrapped around the door handle. I have no idea how much past 100 we were going when he began to brake, but Col. Stapp could not have accelerated on his rocket sled much faster than we did. Warp Speed comes to mind. The cars of that day were not the highly engineered ones of today. Forget about 4 wheel disc brakes. You felt every bump, and the wind whistled past your ears. I do remember him losing traction in 2nd and 3rd. I'm sure he got off on watching my eyes widen to resemble dinner plates. I remember Frankie dropping me off at home, letting me out, and waving to my mom as he gingerly backed out of the drive way. I still remember the lumpy idle on that car. The thin racing slicks , the Halibrand quick change rear end, and the grey primer. An ever so sinsiter rake... Rumpty-Lumpty-Rumpty-Rumpty... Sunday! Sunday! Long Island Drag way presents Frankie Lasardo...Arnie the Farmer Beswick, Art Afrons and the Green Monster going head to head! Don't miss it! Sunday! Sunday! Special appearence by WINS Cousin Brucie...	Charlie Taylor 1961 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 17:46:02
I have a 49 Ford Club Coupe. I'm doing the mild JAS Dean #. Wirth Flat head, 2 Stromberg 97's Mallory Ign. Headers, Smittys. I burned the wiring out of it in a less than lucid moment and fell into a deep depression. I am just coming out of it and hope to tackle the rewire with my 16 year old son Trevor.	Charlie Taylor 1961 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 01:18:40
Downshifters were a great young group when I was a rookie cop. Their advisor was Bill Etsch, and I recall Freddie Fable, Corky Cookman, Karl Gajdozik. Law Enforcement had much better communication with young people in those days than we do today. The Downshifters held their own "court hearings" wherein if a member was caught violating motor vehicle laws, he received much stricter punishment from his club members than he would have received in Town Court. Catching a kid who we knew was a downshifter violating the motor vehicle laws left us with the decision of writing a ticket or giving one of the other downshifters a phone call. It didn't happen often, as the club had a very positive effect on young people's driving habits. Unfortunately, Corky Cookman was killed on the race track a number of years back. Freddie Fable still lives in town, and I lost track of Karl a long time ago. I don't remember any of the cars the Downshifters owned, but in '53 Freddie Jayne had a great '49 or '50 Ford that would scream; Bob Clark had a souped up Model A, Jack Watson had a '41 Ford Convertible that was gorgeous and Robbo Bernhard had an Austin that found its way into the hallway at Staples one morning.	Richard Alley 1953 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 17:06:05
Congratulations to Firinn for getting this page up. I hope that we all contribute what we can to make the memories of hot rodding culture in Westport in the late fifties and early '60's come alive on the web. Please send your photos of your old rods and any old Downshifters memoribilia to Firinn to put them on this site. There must be some amazing black and white photos in the attic or hiding in the drawers of the bureau around the house. Any pictures of the actual "Jacket"! Old newspaper articles an old photo of the club members at a drag race in RI or Conn strips?	Charlie Taylor 1961 view posts Tuesday, 08/22/2000 22:48:59

The Downshifters Gallery

Please send any images you'd like added to the gallery to admin@westporters.com. Include as much information about the picture as you can: Who is in it, when and where it was taken. Thanks!

The Downshifters in the Town Crier - image 1 Picture dated 10-31-57. The picture was taken in Corky Cookman's back yard and the car was his old green Ford Roadster, with a 4 port riley engine. (I think my memory is correct on the engine.)

The Downshifters in the Town Crier - image 2 Taken about the same time period as the first picture, when the Downshifters were recognized in Parents Magazine.
Sent in by Mary Lou Cookman Schmerker, Staples '59

Dragster
Sent in by Dave Audley, Staples '74

"Hot Rod Glory Boys" - Ode to a Downshifter
The Downshifters Plaque
Dragster #1
Dragster #2
Sent in by Tom Burrows, Staples '67

Dragster - multiple images
Dragster
Flathead
Sent in by Doug Bowman, Staples '68

1940 Ford Coupe
shot 1 | shot 2 | shot 3 | shot 4
Sent in by Michael James, Staples '60

1934 Ford Coupe
1949 Ford Club Coupe
Carburetors for '49 Ford Coupe

Other images:

Nostal.jpg
Coupes1.jpg
Roadstr.jpg
Chevy.jpg
Triumphs.jpg
Roadstr2.jpg
37ford.jpg
40s.jpg
Spots.jpg
40ford.jpg
Duece.jpg
Strom97.jpg
Vsc_men.jpg
1940.jpg
Engines.jpg
36frds.jpg
Road.jpg
Hotrods.jpg
Flath.jpg
Hiy.jpg
46merc.jpg
Sent in by Charlie Taylor, Staples '61

Please send any images you'd like to add to the Downshifters gallery to