Remembering Our Dear Founder
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It's been one year to this day
since we lost our dear friend. You had to know Ray Harrington on a
personal level to understand the kind of man he was. On the surface, he was all
business, fiercely committed to what he did as founder and president of
Harrington Mold and California Pony Cars (CPC).
He was intense — his mind was always at work. Ever cautious, imaginative, and
methodical, Ray was a perfectionist about everything he did — and he did it all
quietly and without fanfare. Yet, in our
midst was the genius most never knew. Most knew Ray for the products his
company produced that we use in our daily lives and take for granted. But, we
can tell you we never took Ray for granted. Those fortunate enough to work with
Ray knew him as a great teacher, mentor and friend.
Born November 19, 1947 in Ontario,
California, Ray grew up a Southern
California boy graduating from Chaffey
High School in 1965 when baby
boomers were coming of age and Ford’s sporty new Mustang was rolling into
showrooms everywhere. Although Ray was taken with the new Mustang, his first
love in those days when he was in college was mold making. He gained experience
in several mold making shops in the
Inland Empire for many years as a seasoned journeyman before founding
Harrington Mold in 1976. Once Ray founded his own mold making company, there
would be no holding back. Only his imagination could limit the possibilities.
He took his passion and turned it into rocket fuel, building a very successful
mold making operation in Southern California’s Inland
Empire.
Because Ray
also possessed an obsession for classic automobiles, designing and producing
reproduction Mustang parts became a natural extension of his Harrington Mold
operation. Ray’s first reproduction Mustang part was the
standard ’64 ½-’66 outside rearview mirror. He answered the call for a durable
reproduction mirror that wouldn’t fall apart. Enthusiasts snapped them up in
great numbers. With this success came the vision to produce a vast array of
reproduction parts. His next undertaking was the ’65 Mustang gas cap followed
by an extensive line of very successful reproduction parts that continues to
this day. Over the years, CPC’s product line
has expanded to classic and late model Mustang parts and accessories including
an unbeatable retro wheel line.
On a
personal level, Ray was a health and exercise enthusiast. He was always reading books on proper diet
and exercise and he worked out and ran several times a week. Ray participated in several competitive races,
including the La Jolla Half Marathon in 2004, 2005 and 2010 and the Claremont Village
Freedom 5000 in 2001. Ray was looking
forward to running in the 2012 La Jolla Half Marathon. He was very committed to living a healthy
lifestyle and stressed to those he cared about to do the same. The fact that Ray Harrington, the picture of health, fitness, and vision lost his
life to apparent heart failure shows us just how fragile and precious life
really is. We can
talk about how much Ray will be missed, but that’s an unspoken for anyone who
had the good fortune of knowing him.
