I'm sure most of you have heard by now... Tom Medley, the man with a pencil behind Stroker McGurk, survived a pretty nasty fire late last week that apparently took out his garage, his '40 coupe, and a lot of other valuables. It's a disaster that need... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
In my travels in the HotRod business I only met Tom once but when he found out I was from Nebraska he related that he had spent time in Omaha during the war. Sad to see his loss but good to see he's still going
Hell of a guy. Glad he wasn't physically hurt. He did fall but refused medical care.....Hard headed old man!!
When I saw Tom's name alone at the start of the thread after last weeks fire, I thought the worst... Glad that he is still alive and kicking. I know If my shop and car went, I wouldn't be too far behind. I too have only met him once, but what a guy!
Tom's comment, "I always wanted a '40 with flames", sums up his attitude on life, and is one of the reasons he's still with us. He has mastered the art of keeping stress out of his daily life.
Can't beat that spirit.....he knows what's important in life......LIFE! All the best to one of the best!
It'd be a real privilege to meet the man,he sounds like he's pretty cool.And to have lived around all of those legends,that's even cooler.....
dam i hate to hear this, i met tom also at bg reunion, he is a great guy. we had our 40 parked at the host hotel and this guy walked up in the dark walked straight up to the car , he put his waist up to the front and center of the hood and said, yep, it sits just right! he liked it low! jack chisenhall from vintage air was with him and they were on the street rodder tour, we really enjoyed talking to him. he said make sure you stop by the booth tomorrow so we can talk. so we did, very talented man, hes done it all, hes the reason many of us enjoyed gocarts as a kid. he helped promote karting in all the magazines. man i really hate to have him go threw this, he loved that forty. if you want to help him out to rebuild that car or another one count me in for some cash ryan, would love to help that gentleman out.
Wow,Sad to see that and read this, I remember Kent Fuller putting in a Jag suspension in that 40. He is one of Kent's best friends as well as Tex's. I only met him once and he only lives about 15 miles away if he's still in La Canada. Tom being a pioneer in the Hot Rod World and may now need our help, What can we do to help repair and replace some of the things that he lost? I hope that he is healthy and able to deal with such a loss. If I had a garage fire, I'd be done . It's where I make my living, house my 34 Woody and 34 Coupe and countless other irreplaceable items. Again, what can we do to help a friend in need?
Sure glad Tom is ok!---Always enjoyed Tom's "Stroker" cartoons in HRM's magazines, he was always on top of the current gearheads adventures & slang talk. Had the pleasure of meeting Tom & Bud Bryan in 1972 when they both were working for R&C magazine, & we traveled cross country to the Detroit Nats, driving our roadsters round trip L.A. to Detroit,Mich. 5000 miles, what a great time we had! Hope he gets the '40 back on the road soon!------Don Pix are going over Colorado's Continental Divide 1972.
All the best thoughts toward Mr.Medley.....that would suck beyond belief and I am OCD about fire prevention in regards to our house and garage. Hurts to see his coupe like that. His art always brings a smile to my face!
Reading through the R&C article I was instantly struck when I got to the last paragraph of the 'Educated Hot Rods' section and remembered this http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=533903 thread from last year. Could that be the Petersen Publishing safe still laying there after all these years? Hhmmm,if so it needs to be saved and re-purposed at Atomic Industry World Headquarters... I surely wish Mr Medley the best. Having suffered through a garage fire when I was 23 I can surely relate to just how devastating it can be. BUT in the 30 years since I have learned a lot and am well on my way to realizing that as long as no one is hurt everything destroyed is all just stuff and can be replaced. I think that if I ever get to see 91 years of age and can still tinker with my stuff I believe that I will be in better shape yet to understand what is truly important.
I've know Mr. Medley for almost thirty years. He's one tough old man. Or as we say in the South " He's tougher than a pine knot".
Never met him, but all of who grew up with Stroker McGurk know and love his work, interesting that he really got his hot rod start at Blair's, of course Don Blair died very recently, also 90....sorry to learn about his garage fire, maybe the '40 coupe will get a rebuild....
Maybe on a weird side note, but a little while back, someone posted pics in a thread about a '40 behind or around the "Hollywood" sign in LA. They mentioned and showed a pic of a safe that was there also. It may be a weird long shot, but could it be the safe mentioned in the Rod and Custom article?! "Just when the magazine was starting to grow, disaster struck: "We came to work one morning and the safe with a load of subscriptions that guys had written in for with money was stolen from the office. We didn't dare put something in the magazine about what happened because then everyone would say their subscription got lost. They later found the safe behind the big Hollywood sign; of course the money was long gone." If so, THAT would be some cool shit! I'm searching for the thread. EDIT: Okay, someone already brought it up in that thread. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=533903&highlight=40+ford+hollywood+sign
Sad to see anyone go through that. I too met Tom in Detroit back in 72, those California guys were all superstars that weekend! Hope everything was over insured so it can be resurrected or replaced quickly.
I was pretty bummed when I heard the news. Been lucky enought to meet and chew the fat with Tom a few times now thanks to our mutual buddy. First time was the most memorable. Y'know when you grow up hanging on the words and images of somebody far away, and slowly they gain hero status. Sometimes when you meet those folks the reality is thay are not quite the hero you imagined. That wasn't/isn't the case with Tom Medley. He's a bloke that deserves respect but doesn't demand it, a bloke to look up to because he's the real deal. The stories are incredible to listen to and I don't think I've ever laughed so hard as listening to Tom tell them. He loved that Forty Coupe, quite possibly his most prized possession, it was one of the best you'll ever see. The comment about always wanting a flamed '40 is typical Medley, he's still one of my heros and always will be, the cartoons he's given me, will remain among my prized possessions but the memories of his time at R&C and real life meetings moreso. I know this won't be any more than a minor setback and look forward to hearing the story next time we meet.
Wow that is not good, however; good to hear Mr. Medley was not physically hurt. I have never had the priviladge of meeeting Tom, however; Stroker McGurk is one of the best !
I met Tom back in 1958 at the drags in Shelton, Washington,,, he had an Olds convert,, I think 49 or 50, running in E/Gas if my memory serves me correctly. I had a 40 Ford coupe with a 52 Merc engine 2x2 Edmonds tall manifold, also they put me in E/Gas. Tom has 20 years on me so I approached him with a bunch of questions about how they figured the classes. He said there wasn't enough cars to make up all the classes so they paired us up because of engine mods. Needless to say I got my doors blown off,,, I think I ran a 16:90--but my win was talking with Tom just as if we were buddies in a club or something of the sorts. I'm sure Tom would have to search his memory to recall the race,, but to me it is etched in stone, He is an outstanding gentleman. I am glad that he is alright and can keep his sense of humor in a difficult situation. Babyearl
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=634946 I don't need to add to what I mentioned in the above link except, thanks to Ryan for the great tributes and thanks Tom for the priceless inspiration.
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