Louise and Ray Leon, Jr. Selected as 2006 Great Race Marshals
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4-10-06 CONTACT: Public Information Office
SILVER CITY-- The Western New Mexico University 39th Annual Great Race Marshals are Louise and Ray Leon, Jr.
The couple will officially start the Great Race at noon on Sunday, April 23, in front of the Juan Chacon Building. The water hole will be located on 11th Street between the Child Development Center and Centennial Hall. The finish line will be at Old James Stadium.
The Great Race was started in the spring of the 1966-67 academic year by a group students looking for something to liven up the campus. The race became a yearly tradition and continues to be run with teams pushing their cars with one team member in the driver’s seat of specially-made race cars.
Mr. Leon recalls that for the first race, the students built the cars and some of them barely got off the starting line.
“A lot of the cars weren’t built that well and when they got dunked into the water hole, they almost fell apart,” he said. “It was then decided to have a few standard requirements for the cars such as pneumatic tires, a roll bar in case of a rollover, and the seats had to have seatbelts.”
The husband and wife team have been affiliated with the Great Race at WNMU since its early beginnings.
“Back in the early days, when it first started, we had a pizza house business on College Avenue and we were asked if we wanted to participate by a few of our customers who were students at Western. At that time I was working at the Gaylord Iron and Machine Company so I used that shop to build the car that would become known as the Pink Panther. That car has won every trophy there is from the hardship award to first prize,” said Ray Leon.
The Pink Panther car was painted a very bright pink color. The all-girl team, who raced the car for its maiden voyage, wore specially-made pink vests sewn by one of the teammates.
Mr. Leon recalls the vests were “very pink.” The team came in 3rd or 4th place.
“They did well. Those girls really tried hard,” he said.
The Leon’s donated the Pink Panther car to the WNMU Museum in 2002 along with a Pink Panther vest and award.
“After a number of years that no one was calling us to use the car again, we were approached by a neighbor who wanted to convert it and put a motor on it for his nephew,” said Louise Leon. “We had tried once before to donate the car to the university and they couldn’t get it into the museum so we figured after they built the elevator they could get it in. We called the museum staff and said, ‘This is it! We are either selling it to our neighbor or you’re taking it.’”
The WNMU Museum staff was pleased to add the Pink Panther car, one of the earliest Great Race cars, to its campus history collection.
The couple has attended the Great Race each year when they are in town and try to attend as many of the events during the week that they can. Although they have served as judges for the king and queen competition and sponsored cars, they have never served as Great Race marshals.
“It is certainly an honor to be asked to participate as race marshals. We will be right in the middle of everything. I think it is nice that they chose two people that used to work for the university,” said Louise Leon.
Louise worked at WNMU for 23 years at the J. Cloyd Miller Library. She was serving as the acting library director when she retired. Ray was in the steel fabricating and machine shop business for many years and was self-employed for 28 years. He owned and operated West Arc Welding and Machine Works before selling the business and retiring some 11 years ago.
“ I did work at the university for one year. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. That’s where I met my wife!,” said Ray.
The couple has been married for 26 years.
For more information on the Great Race or any of the activities planned during the week of the race, call the WNMU Multicultural Affairs/Student Activities Office at 538-6611. For information on alumni events for Great Race, contact the Alumni Office at 538-6675.
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