Vintage Pics of the Day

[Steve Swan]

Thank You Steve, really enjoyed your comments & pictures of your Father.

*M.A.D.*

Thanks, JoJo!

[exeric]

Me too, Steve. Thank you for sharing your family history, and glad your Father made pictures of his time with his Harley. Even today, with the ease of cell phone pictures, I have to believe we don't document enough of our own motorcycle experience.

[Steve Swan]

Me too, Steve. Thank you for sharing your family history, and glad your Father made pictures of his time with his Harley. Even today, with the ease of cell phone pictures, I have to believe we don't document enough of our own motorcycle experience.

Thanks, Eric, i know i am lucky to have them. My Dad loved technology, so i can imagine he wold have a cell phone to replace the checkbook, deposit book, Parker ballpoint pen, Scripto mechanical pencil and a 6 inch scale he always carried in his shirt pocket. Here's a wonderful picture he took of an airplane during that era.

1927 Dad's pics 2.jpg

[Steve Swan]

This next (and final) series of pictures are Dad's trip home from Cincinnati to Hartington, rural NE corner of Nebraska. Dad made the trip in August of 1927, with one of his classmates, Richard Setter from Salemville, Pennsylvania. In future posts, I will have more information to add to the intrigue of this 980 mile trip. For starters, note in particular the detail of the stone formation in the background; in both pictures you can see 5 layers of stones above the handlebars, particularly in the close-up picture. Must have been a massive rock formation. The more i study these pictures, i still notice things i hadn't noticed before. In the far away picture, they must be closer to cranking up the bike to start for the day as Richard appears to have a long coat on, as you can see the bottom of his pants that are white which match the white pants he's wearing in the close-up photo... good grief, the intransigence of youth's passage into a more conscious awareness... There are so many questions i would love to ask Dad now...

1927 Dad traveling home from Cincinnati trip 6 Richard Setter.jpg1927 Dad traveling home from Cincinnati trip 4 Richard Setter.jpg

[BigLakeBob]

Steve, what incredible pictures and story line. Thanks so much for sharing. Did your Dad continue to ride motorcycles throughout his life? As I mentioned before, maybe the administrator can group all our your pictures together for a complete uninterpreted story.

[BigLakeBob]

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[Steve Swan]

Steve, what incredible pictures and story line. Thanks so much for sharing. Did your Dad continue to ride motorcycles throughout his life? As I mentioned before, maybe the administrator can group all our your pictures together for a complete uninterpreted story.

Bob, thank you for your kind reply. Dad traded in the '27 for a new '29 to Billy Wolff Cycles in Lincoln, Nebraska. He wasn't able to make the payments and had to return the bike to the dealership. Attached are what few pics i've been able to find about Billy Wolff. Fall, 1970, i was a college student, Dad came down to visit and he said he wanted to if Billy's shop was still on "O" street which it was and Billy was a bicycle dealer; in fact a bicycle dealer with local respect and much recognition. Dad introduced himself to Billy who said he actually remembered Dad... In any event, after Dad returned to the farm to help out because his older brother had died Fall, 1929, another year passed, Dad went to college in Lincoln, met me Mom, by 1931, the Great Depression was in full force, making a living on the farm was difficult, Dad always in for something new, so he and Mom, moved to the Texas oilfields, Dad selling and installing Reclaimo oil filters on trucks and stationary engines. By 1936, my sister had come along, followed by the war and a return to the farm because Reclaimo's were made of vital defense materials, aluminum, brass and copper and because Dad's dad's health was failing (age 79). So, to answer your question, no, Dad did not ride again until i came along and he bought me my first motorcycle in 1966 (attached me a picture of with the little Yamaha 80) and from there it was a series of motorcycles including Indians during my remaining time on the farm and even thereafter. So, it's Dad's fault my red blood cells are shaped like "M's.".. Back to Billy Wollff, the Wolff Cycles sign popped up on the internet a few years ago, the owner, who lived in Lincoln said he had found the sign in a dumpster along with 2 trunks of personal belongings including a WW1 military uniform... Wolff bicycle trails in Lincoln... https://www.traillink.com/trail/bill...



Billy Wolff Cycles sign.jpgBilly Wolff whoopee.jpgBilly Wolff gravestone.jpgBilly Wolff 1917.jpg20230216_075026.jpg

[Steve Swan]

One more picture about Billy Wolff... and the link to Lincoln P.D. that has more pics of motorcycles from teens through 30's... https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Depa...tory/By-Decade

also, on the back of one of Dad's '27 pics, he wrote that the H-D dealer in Cincinnati was on Race Street...

Billy Wolff ad.jpg

[Steve Swan]

Badger, thank you so much for sharing those, really adds to the reality of what Dad was part of.

[Steve Swan]

Here's a picture of Dad dressed in white on his August road trip to Hartington. I'm surprised to see Dad dressed in white; he was always so practical...

Also stepping back earlier in the year to a cropped picture of Dad with his Brown Bobby sidecar rig, i'm assuming maybe possibly this picture was April, 1927, could there still be no leaves and snow during April in Cincinnati?

And i've included a picture of an April, 1927, calendar to make his all too brief rider's log a bit more real. We can see the actual days of the week on the dates that he gassed up. I'm going to guess that his April 5th entry might have been pretty close to when he had bought his bike as it appears possibly he had included the price of the bike at $300 and something for $40...? I'm surprised that Dad didn't keep the log going, not like the Dad i knew, but then i never knew the 21 year old version of him... (: As i look at these pictures, i'm really surprised to see the different variations of his bike, some pics with spotlights, other without, a brake lamp and no brake lamp, the cold weather canvas and wind shield.

1927 Dad traveling home from Cincinnati trip 3.jpgBrown Bobby 1.jpg1927 Dad's JD log book.jpgApril 1927 Calendar.jpg

[Steve Swan]

Badger, thank you so much for sharing those, really adds to the reality of what Dad was part of.

1410 Race Street, July, 2022 https://www.google.com/maps/place/MA...g%2F11b6tsp0rh

[BigLakeBob]

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[Steve Swan]

Steve, if it helps the proprietor of Motorcycle Service Co. in Cincinnati was a John A. Mast who passed on late in the year 1939. I too had looked at the current image of the 1410 Race St location.

Thanks, Badger, wonderful information, how do you find or know details such as the dealer was John A. Mast? i wonder what year that row of buildings were built?

[Steve Swan]

A beautiful Sunday morning, 1978, sometime, when this picture was taken of me... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3wf...flyProductions

1978 Spring 1973 Commando.jpg

[Steve Swan]

Steve,

Well it's been 15 years since I began researching my family's motorcycling history and my curiosity has remained insatiable. I've invested many hours of my time to compile resources and learn how to use them effectively. With my interest being primarily H-D, Milwaukee and Wisconsin motorcycling one of my favorite early resources was the Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel archives which has now gone dark online, luckily I had scoured and saved a lot of great material before that source disappeared. Now I use sites like Ancestry, Newspapersdotcom, Find a Grave, Historic Aerials and numerous other university, historical society and library online services. I've compiled over 21500 files including images, newspaper articles, advertising and genealogy of persons of interest. Rather than the motorcycles themselves I've found that I'm more fascinated by the people, places and events.

I appreciate your comments, as a fascination with people, places and events offers another bit of what these folks experienced that we would not otherwise imagine.