Evel Knievel remembered in Grant County

Moses Lake friend to be pallbearer

MOSES LAKE - Before Evel Knievel's fame peaked with his cartoon show and toy action figures, he jumped his bike over buses and boxes of rattlesnakes in Grant County.

The world famous stunt rider died Friday at the age of 69 from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal lung disease in his condominium in Clearwater, Fla.

The 1970s icon became famous for wearing patriotic jumpsuits while jumping motorcycles long distances, including an attempt to cross the Snake River in Idaho. He was known for his success as much as his crashes, leading to 40 broken bones during his career.

Before becoming famous, Knievel spent time living in Moses Lake and once owned the town Honda motorcycle dealership.

Knievel performed in the 1960s at the former Soap Lake racetrack as a half-time entertainer, said former racetrack flagman Woody Whitmore of Soap Lake.

"Nobody would jump buses," said Whitmore.

But Knievel did.

The Soap Lake track was just a quarter-mile long, Whitmore said. So Knievel made a circle around the track to gain enough speed for his jump, which he made.

"It was exciting," Whitmore said. "He did something no one else was doing."

Ray Gunn of Moses Lake said he met Knievel in the early 1960s when Knievel ran the Honda dealership in town. The two men remained friends for 45 years, Gunn said.

"He and I did a lot of riding together," Gunn said. "He lived an exciting life."

Gunn said he worked with Knievel for several years on the road and was there in 1974 when Knievel tried to jump Idaho's Snake River Canyon.

Gunn last saw Knievel in July during Evel Knievel Days in Butte.

"He was getting a little frail," Gunn said. "He lasted longer than I thought he would."

Gunn said he will be a pallbearer at Knievel's funeral next Monday in Butte, Mont.

Bob Trask Jr. of Moses Lake remembers seeing Knievel ride through town during the rodeo parade in August.

"He'd come riding his motorcycle between the crowd and floats doing a wheelie," Trask said.

Trask and his father Bob Trask Sr. attended one of Knievel's exhibition events in Moses Lake off Stratford Road.

That's when the long jump was over a box of rattlesnakes, Trask Jr. said.

Harlan Beagley of Moses Lake said he watched Knievel's famed jump in 1968 in front of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Knievel was seriously injured from the landing and ended up in a coma.

Beagley said he was only about seven or eight, but remembers the audience was concerned when the ambulance arrived.

Bob Fancher said he never saw Knievel perform on his bike. But he played golf with Knievel when he returned to Moses Lake in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

Knievel enjoyed playing golf for money and his favorite game was to play golf in a game called the "Evil Advantage," Fancher said.

Knievel had the advantage because he played alone on his team and could hit the ball himself after his first hit, unlike the opposing team with two players.

"He won most of the time," Fancher said.