Shortly after I graduated from Montrose High, Tom Berto, myself, Joe Crane, and Allen Frigetto went to Detroit to work at Hazel Park racetrack.

We arrived at Hazel Park nearly broke. Upstairs on one end of each barn were rooms where people could stay at no cost. We chose a room where there was a bathroom and shower downstairs. The track kitchen served meals that were reasonably priced. We ate three meals daily there.

Until our wallets started to fatten a little, we were careful not to spend money ...