Hi Dutch:
First of all, thanks for all the great memories!!! It's good to still see you on cable every so often. My question is about an aspect of wrestling that always fascinated me. That is, the heel/face turns. Who decided when a wrestler would do a turn & how was it decided? Some of the most memorable turns were heels turning face (you, Lonnie Mayne, Bull Ramos, Buddy Rose). Do you remember if there was any talk of turning you back to a heel in the 1970's? Thanks for your time?

I don't know too much about him from the other territories , but he came to us as an obscure heel that could work,,, he later became an expert in phys. I understand Rip is in Louisiana or some other southern state at present, he has a very bad heart condition,,, I have no other info on him and he was my pupil,,, talk about mystifying,,, I can't figure him either. I never hear from him....end of story,,, Peace Dutch

Monday morning I went to the Portland PDX, jumped on an 11:00 am flight to Vancouver , B.C. territory, arrived at noon, went to a motel, took a nap, ate an early dinner about 3:00, rested went to the Pain Gardens by cab at 6:30 pm. Usually I was in every main event no matter where I went so I had to wait till about 10:00 that night to go into the ring. Did my match, went back to the motel,,, Tuesday morning I went Back to Portland, made the house show that evening , the main event, went home after wards, Wednesday morning I was either on my way to Medford, Oregon, or to San Francisco to do the TV for the Cow Palace and the House show that night, then back to Portland, then Thursday morning I made radio show for the Salem house show that evening or every other week I was booked in the Olympic in L.A. After the Salem show we would do TV at 11:30 pm then go back to Portland. Friday morning I would go to Eugene, Oregon and make radio interviews for the Eugene Cow Palace that night, back to Portland and Saturday evening the Portland Television show,,, then I would start the grind again on Monday morning,,, back to B.C.,,,,now mind you in between these shots we would alter towns, like Klamath Falls, Pendleton, the Dalles, Ashland, or,,Tronto, Winnepeg,Canada, or Sacramento, Ca., or Spokane, Wa., , Bend, Prineville. Oregon , or to Victoria, B.C. to Toronto, Winnepeg, and the list goes on and on. That was pretty much ,,,,,my schedule,,, can't speak for some of the other boys.....FUN,,,,when did I have time for that?

I was on the road 7 nights a week and some 365 days a years, many times on the road for special Christmas, Thanksgiving, my birthday, my children's birthdays and so on,,,,,,and when I became an owner/promoter the trips got even worse. I didn't have time for family, just work and lots of pain,,, when you were one of the "boys", you had to maintain your own insurance, work hurt and very exhausted most of the time and smile a lot for the fans. They never really saw what we did behind the scenes to make show as good as they were in our era,,,, thanks Alex,,, peace Dutch"

Another thing Dad was good at spotting was the good workers who made other wrestlers look good. He always said in that department, you were the best, with Jimmy Snuka a close second. He thought Bull Ramos was outstanding, too (which I didn't like, because I was a total mark and thought Bull was the devil incarnate, a tribute to his ability on the mic and in the ring). There was a time when you were busy with the
Washington promotion and, we thought, probably a little injured, too, and Jimmy teamed up with a guy named Benny Ramirez for a few months. Dad didn't like Ramirez; said he wasn't a very good worker who missed his moves a lot (countless missed drop kicks) and didn't make his opponents look all that good.

Thanks for all the great memories of Portland Wrestling and the Wednesday nights at the Armory in Medford. My father is gone now, and among my most cherished memories of youth are the times we spent together watching you and Jimmy fight it out with the various heels while he explained to me the finer points of the business -- even though I was a complete mark. *laugh* I think the funniest remark I ever heard you utter on the mic on a Saturday night was when you became angry at an end-of-match run-in that cost you a match. It was after Jesse Ventura had had a falling out with Bull Ramos and was teaming with Buddy Rose, whose mid-section was just starting to expand. Ventura supposedly had his hair cut in a hair match, and had taken to wearing a mask. At the end of the match, you went up to Bonema's crows nest, threw down the coal-miner's glove, and said, "I'm going to get that bald idiot (Ventura) and that fat *** (Rose), and run them clear out of Oregon!" Of course, I marked out and the fans cheered like nuts. Great mic work. A final note: I've been waiting for about a year now for another fan to correct a piece of misinformation posted somewhere else here. Someone wrote and asked for the name of Lord Jonathan Boyd's partner in the Royal Kangaroos, and you responded that his name was "Lord Nelson Charles." I don't mean to contradict an old man, Dutch (as Frank Bonema would say, "Katy, bar the door!"), especially one I admire so much, but the partner's name was actually "Norman Frederick Charles III." If you look carefully at the "Northwest Legends" section of the Photo Album here on the site, there's a picture of the Kangaroos in which Boyd's partner even signed the picture that way. Again, Dutch, thanks for the memories. Yours in wrestling and in Christ,
Paul in Cedar City, UT.

Jimmy Snuka learned as my partner great timing and working ability. 90% of his moves were mine, we were partners for over 6 years. Bull Ramos was the best and the greatest pure heel that ever graced a ring as far as this "OLD MAN" is concerned, boy I can't wait to meet you), (in a dark alley that is). Rameriz was a jobber, your correct in that assumption. Never did get over here or anywhere as far as I know,,, maybe L.A. That's another thing ,,I can't see Blassie beating up anyone , he couldn't lick my 3 years old grand daughter in a "shoot". Freddie was a complete worker, not a shooter.

Very glad you mentioned the Lord in your closing,,, that makes all my threats "null and void",, in this reply. "Oh God, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right Spirit within me",,, is my undying prayer every day. Again thanks for the note and blessings,,, Paul (your named after Saul of Tarsus).... Granpa "old man" Dutch"

Douglas from Seattle writes: "Guy Mitchell had a long run in the Detroit area as "The Stomper" in singles and tags with Ben Justice. He was also the wrestler who worked as "Jerry Valiant" in their last run at WWWF as tag champions. I've recently heard mention of a reunion show which was supposed to reunite Jimmy, John and Jerry Valiant, so Guy may still be with us."