Soap Box Derby
Yesterday I walked on the abandoned soap box derby track that I rode down 58 years ago. The course is located in Ernest Debs Park, and sits on a hill above the Arroyo Seco, a stone's throw from the Pasadena Freeway. It seems unlikely that this barren knoll was where thousands of spectators once came every summer to watch kids trying to qualify for the Nationals. The winner of the western competition moved on to the U. S. National Championships held in Akron, Ohio. There is nothing that remains of the grandstands that were once set against the Montecito Heights hillside but some of the racing surface is still in place. The soap box derby took place at the end of the summer and competitors were aged 11 to 15. The cars were powered by gravity alone and moved their way down a straight sloped track when released from the starting line. The various local courses across the USA were all different in length and slope. Some courses, such as the one in Debs Par