ThE sHaDoW Photo

Welcome to what may be a short series of articles about the staff here at ModSeriesScene.com. Hopefully this will allow some of our patrons a little insight into the lives of those whose efforts perpetuate Lou Cady's vision. Recently I was privileged to sit with our staff photographers Mary and Howie Hodge at the Modified Auxiliary meeting. This missive is the result of our very brief visit.

Howie was born and raised in the Nutmeg State. He grew up in Glastonbury, CT. Howie entered the armed forces shortly after he graduated from High School. As a young man our famous shutterbug was an amateur radio operator who dabbled in photography.

The Army made use of Howie's radio experience. He served the better part of his three year hitch in France as a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The powerful equipment he operated often allowed him radio contact with folks here in the states.

Mary was born on a farm in Mahned, Mississippi. At the age of four her family moved to a log cabin in McLaurin, MS. Although she showed an interest in racing in her youth, her folks would not allow her to attend racing events because ‘It wasn't ladylike'.

Mary was an accomplished operatic singer and traveled most of the state of Mississippi to perform in those early years. Mary had planned on going to nursing school after she graduated but when her plans fell through she moved to Connecticut to be with her sister. She found employment at Pratt & Whitney in their accounting department.

While at P&W Mary met some friends of Bill Slater who were fans of Red Foote. Mary would pile in cars with six to eight friends to attend the races at Waterford. The fact that she was also singing periodically opened the door that led to a date with Howie.

When Howie returned from his tour of duty, he asked his brother if he knew any nice girls he could meet. His brother arranged a blind date with Mary who he had met when she sang at his wedding. Mary and Howie have been together ever since.

One day when Howie asked Mary what she would like to do, she suggested that they go to a stock car race. That suited Howie fine, he had occasionally ventured to racetracks when he was a young lad and had been a casual fan. As their relationship bloomed, they found themselves more and more often attending race events.

They started with Waterford Sundays after church and their schedule grew to include trips to Riverside Park and Stafford. Howie often took pictures from the stands as he rediscovered the love of photography from his youth. When Howie wanted to get better pictures he asked his friend Pete Locke to help him get into the infield at the races. At the time, Pete was the pace car driver at Stafford.

Meanwhile, Howie got a job with Northeast Utilities as a meter reader. Mary left P&W when she gave birth to their son Kevin. Although she never worked full-time again, Mary often volunteered for projects and worked part-time at an elementary school.

Shortly after Howie began to take pictures from the infield, he met Val LeSieur from Speedway Scene in the infield at Trenton during a Race of Champions weekend. When Val saw the quality photographs that Howie had been taking, he enlisted his services immediately. Mary joined Howie in the endeavor as the Hodge's photographic hobby began to become a real business and things have gotten bigger and better ever since.

Howie recently retired from Northeast Utilities. After many years he had worked his way up to a position where he was responsible for logistics surrounding large commercial and industrial projects for the firm. His retirement has allowed him to spend more time with Mary and to focus more on photography.

The Hodges were introduced to our late friend Lou Cady by Charlie Pasteryak. The relationship between our founder and the Hodges helped grow ModSeriesScene.com into the popular site it is today. Howie was probably Lou's closest friend thru the final years of his life.

This dynamic duo is no stranger to receiving accolades or recognition. They were honored with the 1996 NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour ‘Dedication Award' (yes it was still the Tour back then). They were awarded the honors in memory of ‘Smiley' Waterman and Donna Parks by the Modified Auxiliary last season and Mary was given Yvonne T. Durocher award at the 2004 NEAR banquet.

Perhaps one thing that was great honor for Mary recently is that her photo of Ted Christopher graced the cover of the April 2005 edition of Speedway Illustrated Magazine. Howie has felt for a long time that the greatest recognition that they had received was the NASCAR Dedication Award because, just like they were told when they were presented it, they don't give this one out every year. They are a couple that is dedicated to the Modified Tour and to all of the faithful of this site. We are so proud and honored to have them as friends and contributors.