Chevrolet dealer for 20 years; senior consultant to auto industry.

I needed Sullivan and Welker to confirm my recollection of the following events:

Shootout at McDonalds

On April 1, 1969, my 18th birthday, Jack Welker, Gary Sullivan, Steve Van Fossen and me were at a party at Bill Cook's house. We decided to leave and go to the Red Barn (remember that place?) and stage a fight where upon Fossen would pull out his blank gun and shoot Welker. We would leave in the two cars we were driving and have a big laugh because it was April Fool's Day.

I should like to point out that we had been consuming adult beverages and Welker was enjoying some whiskey. As I remember, and Sully confirmed, whiskey and Welker usually resulted in disaster.

We proceeded to the Red Barn, staged our "shootout", and much to our dismay, nobody noticed. Not to be discouraged, we went to do the same thing at McDonald's. Jack and I walked through the parking lot. Sully and Fossen "provoked" a fight and Jack was subsequently "shot". This time we got noticed!

Now the plan was to get into our cars, Sully and Fossen going one way and Jack and me another way and meet at the BHS parking lot. Remember whiskey and Welker? Jack decided not to get in my car but instead he ran away. Sully and I met at the high school and suddenly we saw Jack sitting on top of the fence just as he fell off. When we picked him up he now looked like he was beaten up. We heard sirens and figured it was time to leave. We drove around for a while and by this time Jack was semi-conscious. Again, whiskey and Welker. We decided to deposit Jack at his house. We parked down the street, dragged him to the back door, rang the door bell and got the hell out of there. Jack fell over in the shrubs and I think that's where his parents found him.

From here the events are somewhat fuzzy but Jack confirmed that the police showed up at his house to determine if he was shot. An ambulance showed up as well since they thought he was suffering from a concussion. Again, whiskey and Welker.

Someone from McDonald's called the Boardman Police and gave our descriptions. When Officer Grant Hess (remember him?) got the descriptions of two male suspects wearing BHS letter jackets, one driving a yellow Dodge Charger and the other driving a white Chevy Impala, he knew who it was. The chief of police knew Sully's grandfather and called him. Sully's grandfather called his father and we had to report to the police station the next morning.

While all this was happening, I was at home fast asleep.

Sully called me early the next morning and said we were in big trouble and had to be at the Boardman Police Department A.S.A.P.

As it turned out, all we got was a lecture from the Chief, Welker's parents, Sully's parents, and maybe his grandfather as well. I don't remember if anyone wished my a happy birthday, though.

And that's the way it was, April 1, 1969.

I always remember this on my birthday while I'm enjoying some Jack Daniels whiskey.