( Click link here ECSHOF 1998 to go directly to the Class Of 1998’s bio and photo gallery pages )
It is a very slow, very methodical, painstaking process to curate imagery – as well as write the bios – for each class of East Coast Surfing Hall Of Fame and each inductee . The deep, dark, winding rabbit holes you must go down to try and do each HOF ‘er proper justice by attempting to visually and verbally encapsulate their accomplishments requires intense sleuthing of written biographical materials and photos through a myriad of research methods.
East Coast Surfing Hall Of Fame 1998 inductee, Greg “Da Bull” Noll was the guy who planted the seed and encouraged his long time friend, Cecil Lear ( inaugural Class of 1996 at right presenting The Cecil Lear Award ) to start the HOF and, 25 years of bi-annual inductions later, the rest, as they say, is history. Photo: Mez
On the photo side the obvious go-to’s are Google and Facebook, which are the low hanging fruit of research if you will, but it also includes contacting the inductees themselves and their families to have them send material to scan if they can’t or don’t have the means to do it, meticulously leafing through decades of surf mags and books about surfing page by page sticky noting the gems you want to use, getting in touch with photographers ( some HOF’ers themselves ) then scanning, scanning, scanning all that until the cows come home.
Want to know if you’re big time and HOF worthy. Get coverage in The Surfers Journal shapers feature like Jim “The Genius” Phillips did recently. Courtesy TSJ
In other words, lot’s of phone calls, texts and e-mails, downloading of files and incessant tapping on the keyboards of your computer before you bring all the digitized materials into a processing program and attempt buff them out into a presentable, useable looking photo or restore them just enough to help illustrate that individual career despite any flaws it might have.
Jersey Girl Joey Rorher-Adric started surfing in Ocean City and continues to surf to this day – mostly on Aliis in Hawaii. Joey on the tip back in the day. Photo courtesy Rorher-Adric.
Oh, and did we mention proofing, proofing, proofing all the reams of inductee bio text and cataloguing the photos and making sure each and everyone is correctly ID’ed with enough pertinent background ( the who, what, where, when etc. ) info embedded in the metadata so you can find them with a simple search for the here and now as well as, and probably more importantly, for future reference ?
Glasser, shaper, phenomenal surfer from the heart of Central Florida once dominant board manufacturing industry on just as legendary Tomahawk Drive in Satellite Beach, Freddy Grosskreutz. Photo: Larry Pope
To say it’s a labor of love / passion project by everyone behind the scenes on the ( all volunteer ) ECSHOF board of directors to deep dive research each bio then immerse ones self into a photo curating each and every class like this is an understatement. And the beauty of it all is that it results, finally, in this recent posting by the East Coast Surfing Hall Of Fame on their well put together website where you can now go directly via this page link https://eastcoastsurfinghalloffame.org/portfolio_category/1998/ and checkout the Class of 1998 in words and images.
Class of 1998 inductee is called “Balsa Bill” Yerkes for a very good reason. He’s one of the best wood surfboard sculptures around who also plays a mean Uke. Photo courtesy Bill Yerkes
This Group of EC legends are about as stacked as you can get and include such venerable names like Aaron, Adric, Anderson, DiMenna, Fawess, Grosskreutz, Keller, Marsh, Noll, Phillips, Reed, Roland, Sharpe, Shaw, Snodgrass, Whitman, Whitman, Yerkes who are some of the true titans and pioneers of our east coast surf scene.
Don’t know much about Daytona Beach’s OG Waterman, Gaulden Reed ? Click on the link here https://eastcoastsurfinghalloffame.org/portfolio_category/1998/ and go find out more about him and his 17 other 1998 ECSHOF classmates. Quote Reed in his HOF bio, “I lived in the right place at the right time to enjoy man’s dance with the sea and got to have a small part in it”. The too modest Gaulden dancing in Hawaii circa late 1940’s. Photo courtesy Reed Family
They encourage you to take the time and learn more about this legendary group and learn more about your east coast surfing heritage, history and roots. – Mez –
“Da Bull” loved the East Coast, and his many, many friends there, so much he helped found the ECSHOF and was an honorary Right Coaster if ever there was one. Photo: Granny
Classic East Coast crew back in the day on the North Shore circa 1974 ( L-R ) unidentified, Ron Condon, Ronnie Rannie, ECSHOF nominee ( and no doubt a future inductee imho ) George Williams and Class of 1998 inductee, Bill “Flea” Shaw. Photo courtesy Williams
Bill “Flea Shaw” might be recognized as 4 X world champion Freida Zamba’s former shaper, coach – mentor, travelling support crew who helped influence her career but there is way more to this legend than that and you can read all about in in his ECSHOFC lass of 1998 bio. Flea ripping the shiitake out of Garbanzo Reefs long right walls in the central Bahamas. Photo: Mez
