For years I would see Bill Minder on a regular basis in Bayonne NJ where, of all things, he ran a meat processing plant. This would be in the mid to late 1990’s. Don’t know exactly when, but Bill went permanently to his home in Maine and to my knowledge is still there. I will reach out to Freddy LeRue who would know more.
balsa
i thought that pete poe was surfers union but you could be right my memory is a little foggy at this point if you know what i mean
I thought Peter and Dennis were partners in the shop on the east side and then split up. Then Peter built the big shop across the street in the late seventies.
Surfer’s Union was originally opened by Dennis and his Father Al. They didn’t run it for long. Maybe a year or two. Then they sold it to Peter Poe. To my knowledge Dennis and Peter were never partners. Peter ran it for a while in the old location and then built the big building across the street where he could live upstairs.
Been following this thread for awhile. started surfing in 69. Was in awe of the Monmouth beach surf shop team, as well as peanuts there was Jimmy Jeffries, Hank Gilbertson,Charlie Kunes,and a few others I cant recall right now. Does anyone else rember the Challenger Eastern shop on Atlantic ave. back in 70- 71? I bought 5'4" twin fin there from Jesse Brandt. He ran the shop and was a serious presence in the water back then. The following year Ted Brantley and Phil Iannerone opened Kiernan Surfboards also on Atlantic ave. Ted shaped Phill glassed and sanded, and Hank Gilbertson would come in and gloss. I learned to do repairs and polish from those guys. Gary Germain was the hot young rat from our area at the time and was on the kiernan team. Thanks for opening up so many memories.Oh by the way I remember Tinker coming in to the Kiernan shop one day and standing across the shop looking at a board being glassed on the racks probably twent feet away. and remarking the rails were off which didnt go over to well with Ted, but he didnt say a thing untill after Tinker left then he blew up. The other guy who deserves mention is Tom Eadon who was building boards in his parents basement at that time under the Rise Surfboards name and is still putting out quality shapes today
I had a 6’6" Kiernan rounded pin that was one of my all time favorites.
They used Colorflo Glass for a while. I went to Hatteras that summer with John Goodhue
and Bob Garrison who were Kiernan regulars. Tom Eadon is still shaping a great board
under his Cosmic Bull label. I think he has glassing done by Bryan Wynn. The boards that I have seen
looked great.
tomp, Your right they used colorflo when it first came out , but wetting it out was difficult and sanding nose and tail laps was problematic. I think I was on that hatteras trip. Went down with Pete Brinkerhoff and Gary Germain that summer and met you guys there. Tom Eadon also does the Island Style boards as well .He is a true craftsmen and one of the best shapers I have had the chance to glass for.
MikeDaniel,
“Back on topic, I should mention that when I told Gary Philhower about
this Challenger Eastern thread, the first words out of his mouth were,
‘‘Those guys built the best boards!’’. Another thing he mentioned was that he had started doing airbrush work on boards in the late 60s
before he moved to Florida. I’m not sure when others started doing
airbrush, but he had to be one of the first, from what I know…”
Nice compliment from a guy who was obviously a visionary, in-as-much as he probably was the first to airbrush. Obviously we made mistakes, but we did try to identify with being good craftsmen in our day.
Randy W
Hi Randy,
I might have to start a thread on the history of airbrush, now that I've talked to Gary and gotten curious. I started one on the history of electric planer use (largely because I was curious where Tinker learned, it seemed he was right there at the beginning), no resolution but lots of arrows pointing at Velzy.... Remember; Tinker taught Jim, Jim taught me.
Another aside: G mentioned that he worked at Oceanside's famous Melbourne factory also, that company came up earlier on this thread, and might be a candidate for it's own topic here. This thread started as ''info on....'', now it should be re-titled ''History of Challenger Eastern and Assorted Hilarious Jim Phillips Stories''.
Back to what Gary said about you guys - it is always nice when other pros recognize the quality of your work. He remembers it well.
That’s one thing not to be afraid of, complimenting a fellow craftsman on high caiber work well done.
A job worth doing, is a job well done, I like working with Sam Cody, a humble yet amazing artist, Bill Bahne, visionary fin pioneer, Curtis Hesselgrave, fin designer/craftsman.
High cabiler workers pull the whole operation up by the boot straps
Sam Cody in 1969 and again in 2009
Jim, you’re fortunate to get to work everyday with two of my favorite people. Sam Cody and Bill Bahne.
I know there are some ex Rockaway guys reading and posting to this thread. If you get the Sundance channel look for a short film called “Aloha New York.” It’s entertaining and amusing with quotes like: “Back in the day, Surfing in Rockaway…” This from a guy who’s been living in New York for 18 years. Lots of observations on how shocked, shocked people are that you can surf in NYC. Maybe a novelty 45-50 years ago.
I think Geri Vartan might have been the first subway surfer. Remember Vartan, Randy?
Howzit Bill, Classic picture and I love that Sam is using the razor blade to clean up a pinline it looks like, some things never change.The guy in the back ground looks very familar. Aloha,Kokua
Paul,
“Remember Vartan, Randy?”
Someone would have to joggle my memory. I remember the name but not the circumstances.
Randy W
Jerry Vartan was a NYC lifeguard in Rockaway and also Art director for Atlantic Surfing Magazine Called Loco in Puerto Rico an apt desxription. Wenrt to Canada the Australia.
Jerry Vartan was a NYC lifeguard in Rockaway and also Art director for Atlantic Surfing Magazine Called Loco in Puerto Rico an apt desxription. Went to Canada then Australia.
Randy, I know you knew Vartan but hey what’s 45 years?
He was a Pratt grad and a very talented graphic designer. Wally and Kenny might object to my saying he was a good friend of theirs but he was. I’ve tried to locate him in Australia but no luck. I liked him a lot.
Paul,
Yeah, what is 45 years?
Sometimes I have to strain a bit to remember all my grandchildren’s birthdays … 
There must be some way to look Vartan up down under.
kaps,
So lets get in touch with him, go down under, get the barbie going, and wrestle some “barrels” or “tubes” and laugh about good times.
Paul
He was a friend and we had many fun and some dangerous adventures together which should probably remain between us. There was a reason Coco and Freddie called him Loco. I found a web site that may turn up a way to reconnect.
Kenny