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RIP Michael Summa

Started by TheHighwayMan3561, June 12, 2024, 11:20:22 PM

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TheHighwayMan3561

Sad news to report from our roads world that the legendary early roadgeek Michael Summa died on Monday according to a Facebook post from his brother. His photos have been such a huge trove of historical knowledge, and those who knew him said he was just as great a person.

RIP.


ClassicHasClass

 :-(

A true trailblazer (pun intended) for us all.

Scott5114

#2
We lost one of the greats. I don't think I ever crossed paths with Mr. Summa, but it's hard to overstate what he has done for our hobby—we have him to thank for so much of our knowledge of the signage of the era he was most active in.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

WillWeaverRVA

If not for Michael Summa, the roadgeek hobby isn't where it is today. RIP.
Will Weaver
WillWeaverRVA Photography | Twitter

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hbelkins

He sent me a treasure trove of old photo scans from Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee that I had on my old site. And I had the pleasure of meeting him at my Pikeville meet back in October 2013. He had relocated to Blacksburg, Va. then, so it was an easy trip for him to make across US 460 to Pikeville for the meet.
Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

snowc

Quote from: TheHighwayMan3561 on June 12, 2024, 11:20:22 PMSad news to report from our roads world that the legendary early roadgeek Michael Summa died on Monday according to a Facebook post from his brother. His photos have been such a huge trove of historical knowledge, and those who knew him said he was just as great a person.

RIP.
Wait... I thought he was :ded: already?
southeastern road geek since 2001.
here's my clinched counties https://mob-rule.com/user/snowc
and my clinched roads https://travelmapping.net/user/?units=miles&u=snowc
i'm on kartaview as well https://kartaview.org/user/computer-geek
wikipedia too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:BryceM2001

snowc

Jokes aside, RIP Michael Summa. I really liked the old photos of I-95, especially this one.
southeastern road geek since 2001.
here's my clinched counties https://mob-rule.com/user/snowc
and my clinched roads https://travelmapping.net/user/?units=miles&u=snowc
i'm on kartaview as well https://kartaview.org/user/computer-geek
wikipedia too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:BryceM2001

Henry

I've also seen many of Mr. Summa's old pics on alpsroads.net. That being said, RIP to the original roadgeek, and may his many contributions live on for generations to come.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

Max Rockatansky

He had been fairly active on a lot of Facebook road groups as of late.

epzik8

Quote from: snowc on June 13, 2024, 02:24:48 PMJokes aside, RIP Michael Summa. I really liked the old photos of I-95, especially this one.


That is awesome. RIP Michael.
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

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My clinched counties: http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/USA/epzik8.gif

bandit957

That photo looks like it's from the '70s. That looks like an AMC Gremlin in the background.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

1995hoo

Quote from: bandit957 on June 13, 2024, 05:05:31 PMThat photo looks like it's from the '70s. That looks like an AMC Gremlin in the background.

It is indeed a Gremlin.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

kurumi

RIP and gratitude for all his irreplaceable contributions. The times we've thought "I wish I'd been around in 19xx to see that and to take pictures"... he was, and he did.
My first SF/horror short story collection is available: "Young Man, Open Your Winter Eye"

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/therealkurumi.bsky.social

formulanone

#13
Michael Summa was simply ahead of his time for this hobby. I'm not sure if he photographed all of these signs for work or just pleasure, but it's simply amazing how much dedication he had for it over the years. There's so many of these signs, structures, and places which have transformed multiple times since initial captured on film, and would merely be memories as time marched on.

This sign is one that disappeared around 1985 or so, and I'm just glad he photographed it. Seeing that something was 16 miles away in the urban core of South Florida wasn't typical!



Now we have the luxury of digital, so you can just keep clicking until you run out of battery power or drive space, and almost everyone has an "instant" camera of some kind.

SSOWorld

Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

-- US 175 --

I looked, and so far no one has posted a memorial on Find A Grave.

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Founder of Hunty Roads & Hunty's Travels.

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https://huntyroadsva.blogspot.com

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https://huntyroadsnc.blogspot.com

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https://huntystravels.blogspot.com



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