* Andy moved from Manitoba to Langford in 1938
as a young man, and even then
he had a deep and abiding love for auto racing.
* He had the courage and foresight to carve
out Western Speedway from a raw
62 acre tract of land off Millstream Road in the early 1950's. With no
money, he sold his logging equipment and borrowed money from the bank
and
from his brother George to finance his dream. His son George helped him
clear the land where Western Speedway now stands.
* Andy opened the track for the first race on
May 22, 1954. It was a 3/8
mile dirt track with seating for 3,500 and parking for about 2,000 cars.
* For the next 13 years, Andy owned and managed
Western Speedway, running
his domain with an iron hand but also a very fair hand.
* During the 1957 racing season, Andy had the
track paved, also changing the
configuration to a flat oval with the size reduced to 4/10ths of a mile,
as
it remains today.
* In the fall of 1966, Andy sold the speedway
to a group of local businessmen
and racing enthusiasts. He retained shares in the speedway and was on
the
board of directors.
* Andy played a major role in the building of
the new steel and cement structured
grandstands in the late 1970's. The original stands were becoming structurally
unsound, and with the new facilities, it would act as an investment in
the future
of racing in the Victoria area. The $250,000 project (at the time), made
it one
of the most ambitious privately financed undertaking in Vancouver Island
sports
history.
* The grandstands, which are still solidily
standing today, were dedicated to
Andy on the opening race of the Langford oval in 1979.
