10/15/2026
I have video taped a lot of videos in my life but Wednesday night had to be the most special one and it wasnt a race video. Let me explain. In June of this year I made a post about a Shawano Speedway race fan who befriended my wife and I. His Name? Richard Kaquatosh. Richard is a Native American Veteran. Big race fan for many years at Shawano. Very quiet and always kept to himself until we became friends. It was such a special friendship that is hard to put in to words. One day he came to us and said he was moving to the Veterans Home in Kings Wisconsin. A very sad day for us.
Deb and I went to visit him once to surprise him but were told he was no longer there and for years we lost touch. Then in June of this year lo and behold Justin Fisher who is the Menominee County Veterans Service Officer posted a picture of a Menominee Veteran he had met at the Veterans Home and it was Richard! I was blown away. Justin said that after meeting Richard that Richard had one request. He wanted to bring a Pow Wow to the Veterans Home so that other Veterans there could see one. You see Richard was not only a proud Veteran he was also very proud of his Native American Heritage. So Justin set out to make Richards request come true.
I reached out to Justin to see how we could help and I asked you all if you would donate and several of you did! I want to thank those that did because you helped not only a race fan but a Veteran to get his dream Pow Wow. Now it was originally scheduled for August but got pushed back to October.
As I got to the Veterans Home I didnt even know if Richard would remember me. It had been years since we seen each other and his health was slowly getting worse. He came in to the room and seen me and the next thing he said was Mike. A big smile crossed his face and he cried and then I cried. Just two old friends meeting after a long time a part. He even remembered Debbie and looked for her but she hadnt come along.
The Pow Wow or Social dance as they call it was performed in front of many Veterans and what an event it was. The dancers and drummers were absolutely fantastic! Veterans in wheel chairs joined in on some dances and Richard? Well along with some help he got to dance too.
When the night ended I said goodbye to my friend Richard knowing quite well we might never see each other again. It was very emotional. You see people I always say that there is more to life than racing even though racing is what brought us together. Thank you everyone who had a hand in making Richards dream come true. It was a very special night.
