August 2007 news articles |
August, 2007 We Have a Chief, Back in July 2005, I saw a flyer advertising the MMR’s “Skeets” Tibbetts Memorial Cookout which promised “good food and biker games.” I decided to check it out. I wondered what kind of organization the Manomet Mystery Riders was? A Marlon Brando, “The Wild One” type of gang or a Sesame Street scooter club? What I found was a great bunch of people who love to ride (and eat ice cream). I was honored to be granted immediate membership into the group. My sponsor, Tom Samuelson, told me “If you screw up, I’ll have to kill ya.” Well, I’m still here and I enjoy promoting the well being of the group. One of the aspects of the Mystery Riders that I enjoy is that it’s not brand prejudice. Although, probably 50% or more of the members are Harley or custom Harley owners, the Mystery Riders celebrate any two wheels that get you where you want to go. I’ve been riding for many years. In my travels and sojourns, I’ve met many Harley bigots. You know what I’m talking about brothers and sisters: the bikers whose credo is, “God makith the Harley, there is no other bike.” Well, allow me to put this credo in perspective. Over 100 years ago, spark plugs started to glow on a bicycle. Within a few years, there were over 150 motorcycle shops in America. Some were locals like Crouch in Stoneham, Eagle in Brockton and Indian in Springfield. All these shops were started by bicycle mechanics. Before there was the William Harley and the Davidson brothers shop (1903) there was the George Hendee and Oscar Hedstrom shop (1901). H & H were both bicycle racers and engineers. Oscar Hedstrom was a Boston native. Harley-Davidson would go on to establish their plant in Milwaukee while Hendee and Hedstrom would establish their plant in Springfield, the Indian Motorcycle Company. Hendee and Hedstrom were the first to produce the V-twin engine in 1907. H-D responded with their V-twin in 1909. H & H were very active in the motorcycle racing circuit and forced Harley to do the same. Their fierce competition kept adding improvements to the motorcycle. Many factors brought the demise of the other 150 motorcycle shops in the U.S. such as: the Mass. produced Ford Model T, W.W.I. and the great depression. By 1913, the Indian Motorcycle Co. was the largest in the world. But H & H were having disagreements in manufacturing decisions. Oscar Hedstrom resigned as chief engineer in 1913 and George Hendee retired as company president less than two years later. H & H sold their interest in Indian in 1917 while a family influence was maintained in H-D for most of the twentieth century. During the depression of the 1930’s, Harley had a plant in Japan and produced bikes for the Japanese market. Who knew the Imperial air force would one day bomb Pearl Harbor? But then Harley and Indian made bikes for the U.S. and Canadian militaries. Wow, a global market before the phrase was coined! I still own a Honda but in January, 2005 I found, then bought a second generation Indian Chief 2000 reminiscent of the 1948 -50 Indian Chief with great art-deco lines. The California Motorcycle Company in Gilroy, CA made Indians between 1999-2003. From 1999-2002 the California Motorcycle Co. was using the S&S V-twin as the power plant. In 2003, Indian introduced their own proprietary engine. Word on the street is that financial miss-management brought a second arrow to the head of the Indian. However, there are plans to build a new Indian plant outside of Charlotte, SC. to produce the third generation Indian. H&H chose the name “Indian” to represent the free American spirit. I also have an affinity to the American tribal philosophies, so the Chief is an appropriate signature for me. I would like to see other Indians added to our eclectic group. But when it gets down to it - what’s in a name? Paulatics - by Paula McCallum Big surprise, I found a lot of negative comments about bikers on the “Loud Pipe” discussion group for “Wicked Local.” Yet, I don’t encourage anyone to feed into this ignorant “mud” slinging. I was attempting to let them know who we are and not the “Biker Scum” they perceive us to be, I guess, to no avail. To my ears, there are far more pressing issues at hand than the “Loud Pipe” issue but why debate this topic when it only falls on deaf ears? From Awhite on the “Loud Pipe” Forum: “...OH Please, doctors, lawyers, and police are in the slightest, if any, minority. Most are, let’s just say NOT doctors or lawyers. To be honest, NO we would not miss you. I do agree that generalizing is wrong, but in this instance the majority far outweighs the minority. Please just take your bikes elsewhere.” My Reply: I thought I'd throw my helmet into the ring after reading these discussions about loud pipes and your opinions of who bikers are. I am college educated, attend church every Sunday and have never done drugs. I ride a sweet Harley-Davidson with modified pipes but I don't rev my engine, I obey the traffic laws, I stop for pedestrians in the cross walks, I always "Check Twice" before proceeding at intersections because too many of my friends have been killed when drivers take a left into their lane, didn't see them in their blind spot or were talking on their cell phones instead or operating their motor vehicles. I became a riding enthusiast several years ago after meeting some extraordinary people in the motorcycle community here in Plymouth. I may have been a little prejudiced myself when I first met my first burly tattooed biker, but beneath the surface, I came to know them as the most genuine and generous people whom I'm now proud to call friends. Many are tattoo free and are known to shave frequently! Our organization alone, gave over $12,000 last year to local families at cancer benefits, veteran's causes, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, The American Lung & Stroke Associations, The Jett Foundation, an Epilepsy Walk, the Plymouth Council on Aging. We sponsordinners and Christmas gifts to needy families through a local church sponsored program as well as donating toys to the pediatric ward at the Jordan Hospital at our annual Toy Run. This year we wereto give our first H.S. scholarship to a Plymouth South senior. We are a small group but we are not alone. There are many local riding enthusiast groups on the South Shore who sponsor fundraisers so they can give to local charities and to the families of fallen brothers who’s lives have been cut short while they were pursuing their passions. I'm sorry you didn't have the privilege of knowing Don Estey, Josh McKenna or a New Bedford Fireman named Brian Mello. We are not beer guzzlers, most opt for an ice cream cone at Ziggy's or a coffee at Dunkin Donuts in lieu of alcohol because we realize the serious dangers of operating any motor vehicle while under the influence. I can't speak for my younger brothers who frequent the Cabby Shack or the East Bay Grill on the weekends but most of them are just as conscientious. We are local residents. We don't just come to Plymouth during tourist season. We patronize the restaurants on the waterfront and throughout the Plymouth area all year long, whether we come in our Volvos, pickup trucks or by riding our motorcycles to get there. We come because we enjoy the scenery of the harbor and riding the local back roads, Rte. 105 being my favorite. We are middle-aged, most having raised our families and are now able to enjoy this lifestyle. We welcome all brands of motorcycles to our group from Moto Guzzi's and Hondas to Harley-Davidsons and BMWs. Many of these bikes are not loud at all.of them are cheap therefore we still must maintain our 9 to 5 jobs in order to pay for them. We are local business owners where you probably frequent, some of us may have built your home, educated your children, serviced your vehicles or delivered your babies. We are not outlaws but Massachusetts taxpayers. Signed, The President of the Manomet Mystery Riders Response from Tedmonster: “So what?” Raring Lee, Tack själv, Olaf RARING OLAF, Translation for of you Non-Swedes ... Dear Lee, Thanks, Olaf DEAR OLAF Dear Lee, DEAR GOOEY
What’s My Name? By Paula McCallum This mystery has baffled us now for far too long. We can’t take it any more and just have to KNOW! On our trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway a few weeks ago, we passed the time before dinner was served trying to figure out Katherine L. McHenry’s middle name. There was a $10 prize at stake for the person who could come up with it before the trip’s end. Sadly, we were unsuccessful. The only hints we received were: the name belonged to Katherine’s dad’s favorite aunt. Katherine has never heard anyone else with this name. And it has less the 8 letters. Please help us out, can you guess what it is? I’m willing to shell out the $10 to the first member who gets it right, providing that Katherine is willing to spill the beans. So far we came up with names like: Lucinda, Lorelei, Liesl, Locishia, “Lush,” Lily, Leia, LuLu, Lolita, Lilith, Lomalinda, and the obvious: Lynn, Linda, Lisa, etc. So I’m not just throwing Katherine under the bus, here are some of the nicknames that I gave to our Blue Ridge travelers based on our experience: Art “Follow me!” Lally Look for next month’s issue to see more photos and stories from our trip to NC, Virginia and Tennessee...
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