A special thanks to Dale Hoffert for taking these great photos and sending them to us to post on our site to share with you. Dale sent us the following email that we'd like to share with you: I got on your website and I love the old pictures. I was born and raised in DePue and have always loved racing. In the early 80's I almost took the plunge and bought a runabout and motor , I still wish I had. Even when the races left Lake DePue while it was being dredged I still managed to go to quite a few races , I went to Springfield , Constantine , Dayton Oh. Winona and a few other sites. I must say I have made some friends in the racing community and it is always good to see them. A lot of people still enjoy the sounds of the early Quincy and Merc engines and every once in a while they show up and run. The most notable is the 1100cc runabout of Paul Fuchslin - unfortunately he stuck his primary motor at Constantine this year and the back-up he tried to run at DePue had ignition problems and never made a heat. I really love the picture of Howard Anderson's 1100cc or " F " back in the day runabout. A quick story for you. As young kids growing up in DePue you waited every year for the boat races. As the trailers pulled into town you would go down to the lake and try to get with a team. With bucket and sponge or rag in hand we would ask if we could wash their boats for the weekend. It was cool because you could then sit on the trailer for the weekend and watch the races. I , for many years sat atop Howards trailer and still talk to him every year at the Nationals. I have passed my love of boat racing to my four kids and they now look forward to going to the races. One of my daughters went with me to Constantine to take pictures with me this year. She would love to give racing a shot but my wife is not in favor of it and I respect her decision. Maybe one day she will come around!!!!!! Dale Hoffert

Race Results: 1100cc Hydro - (1) Sean McKean, (2) Brandon Thirlby. 1100cc Runabout - (1) Greg Keller, (2) Jim Kirts, (3) Tim Chance. 125cc Hydro - (1) B. J. Tetro, (2) Kevin Ellison. 125cc Runabout - (1) Paul Bosnich III, (2) Brian Payn. 175cc Hydro - (1) Diane Murray, (2) Buddy Tennell. 250cc Hydro - (1) Brandon Thirlby, (2) David Mitchell. 250cc Runabout - (1) Brandon Thirlby, (2) Buddy Tennell. 350cc Hydro - (1) Josh Burton, (2) David Mitchell. 350cc Runabout - (1) Mike Krier, (2) Mark Stahl. 500cc Hydro - (1) Sean McKean, (2) Brandon Thirlby. 500cc Runabout - (1) Mike Thirlby, (2) Jared Gryskiewicz. K-Pro: (1) Wendy Eldredge, (2) Kurt Nydahl.