I am proud to say that I was a good friend of Bob Speltz, and I owe him a lot for his assistance and guidance on the restoration of a couple of woodies. I suppose I was bit by the “wooden boat bug” when I was a youngster growing up in Albert Lea. I can still remember after Sunday night service at the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which was on the north side of town. It was still light out so Dad would drive us down by the beach, up the hill and by the Speltz’s family dock. There bobbing up and down in the quiet waters would be some type of wooden boat, usually a Century; they were Bob’s dad’s favorites. After admiring it for a few minutes, it was a real treat when we got to go the A&W or Dixson’s drive-in for root beers and pronto pups. I always wanted two but could never finish them. Dad and my brother got the honor of splitting it!

Fast toward to 1977 and my brother Jon and me find ourselves as industrial arts teachers in the suburbs of Minneapolis, and we find a 1951 Century to restore. Of course, Bob knows exactly where to send us for parts and answers to the questions the he doesn’t know, which weren’t many, by the way. So thanks to Bob, my Dad, my brother and myself were able to win People’s Choice at the Lake Minnetonka Wooden Boat Rendezvous for two years in a row.

The biggest thrill for me was being able to have my second boat that I restored, in Bob’s final Real Runabouts show in 1989. It was a 1953 Centuy Sea-Maid, which Bob had helped us locate in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Bob let me leave it at his dock overnight, and as I watched it bob up and down in the quiet waters, it sure brought back the memories of Sunday nights after church. The next day was the fly-by. How many years I had waited for that thrill in my own woodie on Fountain Lake, and this time with my own family riding along. To cap off a perfect weekend, at the banquet that night, Bob presented me with the Best Century trophy, which I still have and will cherish.

What a great guy he was. All I can say is “Thanks for the memories, Robert,” it was a pleasure to have called you my friend.

Tim Paske

Osseo