Hummingbird track owner dies at 97
Louis Caltagorone, the founder and longtime owner of Hummingbird Speedway in Reynoldsville, Pa., this morning took his final trip around the track on the day of his funeral following the Reynoldsville resident’s Oct. 27 death. He was 97.
A racer like many of his brothers as a youngster, Caltagorone gave up driving when he acquired a tract of land between Reynoldsville and Falls Creek where hummingbirds frequented a hill overlooking what would become a dirt track. He and wife Ina operated Hummingbird Speedway from 1964-75, closed the track so he could assist his brothers in the coal mining industry, then rebuilt and reopened it in 2000, owning the family-operated track until his death. The track has long had an unsanctioned Super Late Model division.
“This is a family track, there are no two ways about it. Our fans bring their families to watch the races. We run the place as a family,” Caltagorone once told the Courier Express. “My daughters, sons-in-law, my nieces, my grandchildren, we all work here. I get to get together with my family and friends here. That is the enjoyable part of it. I love seeing our fans enjoying the races. I communicate with them and they give me input. The fans really praise me for what we do.”
Caltagorone, who frequently wore a straw hat, also served on Reynoldsville Borough Council for 42 years, an accordion-playing Santa Claus at Christmastime and as a volunteer at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church and the Sykesville Fairgrounds.
His wife died in 2011. Survivors include children Josephine “Babe” Caltagorone, Louie “Peach” Caltagorone, Diane Knox, Cindy Battaglia, his brother Francis and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His funeral was held at St. Mary’s the same day his hearse took a trip around his longtime racetrack. Find a complete obituary at dargyfh.com.
