The 'Rigdon's Special' races again in 'fun' event for all

The world-renowned All-American Soap Box Derby is a dozen years shy of its centennial celebration, having had its origins in 1933 Dayton, Ohio. The Rigdon family of Cape Girardeau has its ties to the event nearly that long and its legacy continued Saturday as local residents David and John Rigdon served as “team owners” for 8-year-old Tate Diebold of Jackson, who drove the “Rigdon’s Special” in the annual event, which was sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club.

In 1936, the late Dr. Francis Rigdon of Cape Girardeau created the initial “Rigdon’s Special” for a local race and was photographed sitting in the car ready to roll.

Fast-forward many decades, and his grandson (and John’s son), Dr. Mathew Rigdon of Cape Girardeau, was serving as the director for the event and stumbled across the old photo.

John, left, and David Rigdon, both of Cape Girardeau, pose with a medal and photo of their late father, Francis Rigdon, in the first "Rigdon's Special" soap box derby car in 1936. The two brothers sponsored a car, named after their father's car, in Saturday's 21st annual Cape Girardeau Rotary Club Soap Box Derby.Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

“Mathew saw this picture and said ‘Dad, that old black-and-white picture looks like it says “Rigdon’s Special” on it,’” John explained. “I said ‘Yeah, that was your grandfather.’”

Three years ago, the Rigdon’s had a grandchild resurrect the legendary soap box car and compete, complete with the old Rigdon’s Laundry logo on the side panels. A year later, the “racing team” expanded to two cars, both driven by grandsons.

Diebold was the lone entry of the “Rigdon’s Special” this year, but the owners may expand again next year.

“We have a second car,” David explained, “but we didn’t have a second driver. Tate wants to race again next year, and we may have found another driver (on Saturday) for next year.”

Saturday’s event, which was the 21st organized by the local Rotary Club, attracted 27 boys and girls ranging in ages from 7 to 13 (the derby allows 7- to 20-year-olds to compete).

The racers sped down a straight track on North Sprigg Street in front of Blanchard Elementary School.

“When you go down the hill,” Aiden Preusser, 12, of Jackson said, “you feel the wind against your face and it feels fun.”

“Fun” is the main reason Aiden’s younger brother, Landry, 10, wanted to take part in the event.

“I don’t care if I win or not,” Landry said. “All I know is that it is a chance to have fun.”

That follows the mission of the event, which John Rigdon said expands far beyond race day.

“The mission is to have the young drivers participate from the very beginning,” John said. “In building the car to understanding turning the wrenches and understanding some of the mechanics of the construction of the car.”

The top finishers at the 21st annual Cape Girardeau Rotary Club Soap Box Derby on Saturday pose with their trophies following the event. Front, from left, second place Super Stock, Katie Carr; first place, Super Stock, Jack Lehrian; first place, Stock, Jacob Koenig; and second place, Stock, Bailey Carr. Back, from left, fourth place, Super Stock, Kamden Gerhardt; third place, Super Stock, Emma Pylate; third place, Stock, Tate Diebold; and fourth place, Stock, Peyton Pollock.Submitted

The cars arrived at Blanchard Elementary on Friday and underwent an inspection before being impounded until Saturday morning.

There were two classes of cars that raced: the Stock and Super Stock classes.

Jack Lehrian, 11, of Memphis, Tennessee, won the top spot in the Super Stock class, while Jacob Koenig, 12, of Jackson won the Stock category.

Both of those drivers advance to the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby held from July 19 to 25 in Akron, Ohio.

Diebold drove the “Rigdon’s Special” to a third-place finish in the Stock category, while the Preusser brothers didn’t advance to the big event in Ohio, either. However, as Landry noted, that wasn’t the point of participating, and his father, David Preusser, concurred after entering his boys for the first time.

“It just seems like a neat event,” David said, “and the boys learned a lot of things.”