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Published on 10/26/1998 All articles from this issue

LAH car enthusiast gives 'thanks for the memories' after driving Bob Hope

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Special to the Town Crier

Some people have brushes with celebrities. Los Altos Hills resident O.D. Peterson got to drive them around. In this case, the celebrity passengers were none other than Bob and Delores Hope, who were guests of honor at the "Wings Over Stockton" Air Show, Oct. 3-4. The event was put on by Stockton resident and multimillionaire Alex G. Spanos as a tribute to the Hopes, his longtime friends.

O.D. Peterson, a retired American Airlines captain who owns a 1961 four-door "Royal Red" Lincoln Continental Convertible, was invited by air show staff to bring his car and chauffeur Bob and Delores Hope as they were paraded along the spectator lines. 200,000 people attended the two day event. He got the invite after friend and Atherton mayor William Conwell, who knows Spagnos, put in a good word for Peterson. Spanos, who owns several companies throughout the United States, may be best known for his ownership of the San Diego Chargers football team.

Peterson, drove the Hopes and Spanos for several hours at different times throughout the weekend. He found Bob Hope at age 95 to be "most alert and active, and Delores Hope a delightful and charming lady." Peterson also said that Bob Hope displayed "an amazing stamina to fulfill the busy round of events."

He described "Wings Over Stockton" as "a spectacular show, featuring the Blue Angels as well as scores of top national and international aerial performers." Among the honored guests were Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, William Anders and James A. Lovell, 30 years after they guided the Apollo 8 spacecraft as it orbited the moon.

Peterson himself is a veteran air show pilot who has flown a World War II PBY Catalina at shows in Australia and the United States.