Each Sunday within a few years of its inception in 1954, the Oswego Drag Raceway was drawing three times the village’s total population to the quarter-mile asphalt strip on the Wally Smith farm on U.S. Route 34 a mile and a half west of Oswego.
There’s still plenty of time to visit as the Little White School Museum, 72 Polk Street (Polk at Jackson) in Oswego as they bring a bit of that national and regional drag racing history back to life with their new, temporary exhibit, “SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!” available now through the end of September.
Admission to the special exhibit is free.
The exhibit title was inspired by commercials on popular “Top 40” AM radio stations including WLS and WCFL featuring announcer Jan Gabriel shouting “Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!” before announcing which famed drag racers and dragsters would appear during that weekend’s races. At a time when Oswego’s population was around 1,200 residents, the drag raceway regularly drew some 4,000 spectators each Sunday to see such well-known drag racers as Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick and Art Arfons and such famed dragsters as Arfons’ jet-powered “Green Monster,” not to mention well-known local racers including Al Thompson from Aurora’s Al’s Speed Shop; Plano’s Don Hausler and his 1932 Ford Roadster; and Oswego’s own Bob Mead and the dragster he built with Jerry Swanson.
The exhibit includes a variety of drag raceway memorabilia including trophies, drag racing magazines featuring the Oswego Drag Raceway, photos of dragsters and drag racers, and memorabilia from pit passes to tee shirts to a commemorative piece of the strip’s surface.
The exhibit was mounted by museum manager Anne Pesola with the help of museum assistant Emily Dutton.
“We’re always seeking more drag raceway memorabilia,” said museum director Roger Matile. “The drag raceway had a huge impact on the Oswegoland area for a quarter of a century, and we’re trying to keep a little of its history alive. We’re hoping visitors also take in the permanent drag raceway exhibit in the museum gallery when they stop by as well.”
Museum admission is free. Regular hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Mondays, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The museum is closed to visitors on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Built in 1850 as a Methodist-Episcopal church, converted into a school in 1915, and fully restored largely by volunteers between 1977 and 2002, the museum is a cooperative project of the non-profit Oswegoland Heritage Association and the Oswegoland Park District.
For more information, call the museum at 630-554-2999, send an email to info@littlewhiteschoolmuseum, or visit their website at www.littlewhiteschoolmuseum.org.
—Little White School Museum