Doodle Bug LjVE
Harry Mertz, design engineer at Beam Industries in Webster City, looked at the company’s laundry appliance business and saw opportunity. By modifying the fluid-drive transmission used in washing machines, it would fit into a small motor scooter.
The company’s purchasing agents, already buying thousands of electric motors a year, could also buy the 1.5-horsepower gasoline engine Mertz specified for the scooter. The factory’s existing tools, fixtures and employees making washer and dryer cabinets could also make the frame, housings and fenders for a scooter.
Why make a scooter in the first place?
Everywhere Mertz looked he saw people struggling to afford a car. Auto plants, converted to war material manufacturing early in the war, were slow to resume car production, so demand far out-paced supply in the early years after WW II ended.
This kept prices for new cars inordinately high.
A well-designed, well-made, inexpensive scooter, though, could quickly be tooled and put into production. It could take the place of a second car in many families, or provide basic transportation to a teenager going to school, holding down an afterschool job or delivering newspapers.
Farm kids could go to town whenever they wanted without pestering their folks. Yes, the company concluded, demand was there. With a patent filed on April 15, 1946, the scooter went into production.
The factory built them in runs of 10,000, to “make the numbers work.” The bikes were sold by Western Auto and Gambles stores, which
By ROBERT E. OLIVER
were owned by Gamble Skogmo, Inc., which also owned Beam. In the early 1950s, Gamble Skogmo, with headquarters in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, also owned Mode O Day clothing stores, Leath Furniture stores, Red Owl Grocery, Snyder Drug, and the Alden’s mail order catalog.
Beam made washers and dryers, for sale through Western Auto and Gambles, under its Coronado brand. It was a true, vertically-integrated conglomerate years before such companies were common. The 1946 suggested retail price of the scooters, sold under the brand name “Hiawatha” and the far more marketable “Doodlebug” was $89.98.
By comparison, a 1946 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Coupe sold for just over $1,000. For those looking for a safer ride after dark, a set of head and tail lights was available as an extra-cost option.
There are those who claim the Doodlebug name is a tribute to U.S. Army General James “Jimmie” Doolittle, who is best known for leading a retaliatory air strike against the main Japanese islands after the Pearl Harbor attacks that preceded WW II. He had advocated use of small scooters by army personnel and it’s possible a bike designed for the Army, under his direction, was the inspiration for Beam’s scooter. As the years went on, production costs increased, and so did prices — rising to $149.95 in 1947 and $169.95 in 1948. The rapidly rising costs may have out-paced the ability of consumers to buy them.
Production ended in 1948 with just 40,000 having been made.
Those very small numbers make Doodlebugs both valuable and collectible. The Doodlebug Club of America and Webster City reunion attendees Bill and Marcene Moore, of Mason City, realized Doodlebug love was real, and there
were legions of fans across the country who shared their interest. Along with the late Vern Ratcliff, of Webster City, they formed the Doodlebug Club of America in the 1980s.
In 1987, they organized the first Doodlebug Reunion in Webster City.
Marcene Moore remembers, “That first reunion was held in the country school at Wilson Brewer Park. About 10 people attended and there were five, maybe six scooters. But we were launched.
“Bill started writing the club’s newsletter and ended up doing it for 35 years,” she said. “The newsletter kept the club together between reunions and spread the word.”
Winter said, “It’s nothing to drive 570 miles to Webster City to see my friends.”
Do you wonder what causes people to interrupt busy lives and drive to Webster City every September for another Doodlebug Reunion? Well, it’s Doodlebug love, but also love for those who’ve become a “reunion family” that’s formed over the years. We talked to three of them for this article.
Matt Smith, of Fremont, Nebraska, came to his first reunion in 1992.
“I’ve been coming ever since and only missed a few. It’s my favorite week of the year. I love Webster City. It’s clean, people are friendly, the food is good. I’ve never had any trouble here.”
Smith is the Doodlebug Club of America’s unofficial technician. He helps other scooter owners troubleshoot problems with restoration and maintenance. He’s a walking compendium of Doodlebug history and mechanical know-how. He and his wife took over the club newsletter.
Jim Winter, of Jackson, Michigan, has come to reunions for 15 years.
He also doesn’t miss the Vintage Motorbike Club’s annual gathering in Portland, Indiana.
It was there he was bluntly told: “If you don’t own a Doodlebug, you’re nobody.”
Apparently, he took the advice to heart, paying $2,000 for one in 2010.
Such prices aren’t uncommon, and a few scooters change hands each year at the Webster City reunion. Many of the beautifully-restored bikes are intentionally sold to remain in the “family” of reunion attendees.
His job at the annual get-together is security. With bikes and parts worth thousands of dollars, it’s a big responsibility. He camps just outside the entrance to the Ed Prince Building, where many events take place so he can be there when the building opens and there when it closes.
He echoed Smith’s comments about Webster City, adding, “We always have a nice banquet at the end.”
Kevin Rosen might get the prize for traveling the longest distance to the reunion. He lives in Riverside, California. It takes his family three long days of driving to get here.
“That first year, I wondered why I was going to Iowa, but the draw is the wonderful people — almost like family — you see here. One trip and I was hooked. I won’t miss this.”
Three generations of Rosens have been regulars at the Doodlebug Reunion: Kevin’s father, Bryan; Kevin, and teenage daughter, Regan.
Kevin Rosen is clear in what keeps them coming back for more: “It’s Webster City. The town appreciates us. We get a police escort to safely ride our scooters around town; the town folk smile and welcome you. We don’t have that in Southern California.”
Reunion stories are legion.
Marcene Moore remembers: “One member put a bike in his plane, flew to Webster City airport, and drove his scooter into town.”
Gerald Huisman, president of today’s Doodlebug Club of America, knew “a guy who came to a reunion
with just a frame. He bought parts from almost everybody at the show. At the banquet at the end of the reunion, he had a working Doodlebug he could ride.”
Like the Bug, this is a story of many parts.
A factory that needed a new product to sell.
A little scooter with an almost unbelievably loyal following. And the small town in Iowa where it all happened.
Long after the Beam Industries production lines fell silent, though, it continues to happen every September in Webster City.
It’s about the scooter, sure. But it’s more than that. It’s Doodlebug Love.
Big Bug
For a small state — Iowa ranks 23rd in land area — it’s home to lots of things claiming to be the “world’s largest.”
Many readers have visited the world’s largest truck stop in Walcott, or the world’s largest man-made grotto in West Bend. Strawberry Point says its 15-foot-high strawberry is the world champion, and Sac City says the same about its 10,000-pound popcorn ball.
The world’s largest garden trowel, at Meredith Corporation headquarters in Des Moines, is highly visible; more obscure, is the world’s largest concrete garden gnome, at Reiman Gardens, Ames.
After years of planning and hard work, about 100 people, many riding restored Doodlebug scooters themselves, watched as a bigger-than-life Doodlebug made its debut at City Hall Plaza in 2024 in Webster City. Mo Seamonds told how it came to be.
“It was sometime in 2019 when Claude Christian, a welder, started talking about it. From the start, it was conceived as a community symbol, a photo opportunity, something to bring notoriety to Webster City. For a time, work was done in the high school shop. Daven Gilespie worked many evenings on it.”
But like many things, work on the sculpture came to a halt in early 2020 as the Covid 19 pandemic descended on Webster City.
It wasn’t until this spring when things really got going again, as fabrication, welding and sanding of the metal frame was completed.
Next was painting.
Mertz Engineering, of Webster City, offered to powder-paint the sculpture, but it was too large for its spray booth.
Premium Fabrication and Powder Coating, of Boone, was hired to do the painting, and Dean Bowden, of Webster City, offered a trailer to move the frame to Boone, and back to Webster City.
“It was a tricky business, scaling up the scooter to three times life size,” Seamonds admitted. “Scooter experts Don Nokes, (the late) Vern Ratcliff and a few others helped us verify the accuracy of our dimensions.”
The issue of where to put the finished sculpture is a story in itself.
“When we first had the idea of a giant Doodle Bug, I approached Kent Harfst,” Seamonds said. “He immediately liked it, and suggested the best spot might be in East Twin
By ROBERT E. OLIVER
Park. That was in 2019. Well, five years later, East Twin Park has been completely transformed, and there really wasn’t room for the sculpture any more.
We needed a new home.”
Seamons never considered putting the piece in West Twin Park.
She explained: “Those sculptures are there to start a conversation, to get you to think about things — size, shape, color — in a different way. It’s fundamentally about an artist sharing his or her point of view.”
She continued, “But the Doodlebug is pure fun. It makes you smile. The size calls attention to the sculpture in a symbolic, playful way. We approached City Manager John Harrenstein and he suggested we put it at City Hall Plaza, at least for now. Just about everybody thinks it’s a great, high-visibility place for it.”
High visibility and highly appropriate too.
Although gone without a trace, the Beam factory where 40,000 much smaller Doodlebug scooters were manufactured stood only about 200 yards to the north.
Who knew in 1946, when the scooter was the latest product of the Beam factory, Webster City would still be celebrating it more than 70 years later?
Who would have thought it possible loyal bug fans would descend on Webster City each September to celebrate their favorite motorbike, and the strong bonds that have developed around it?
Now, when people visit Webster City, it’s a good bet they’ll want their photo taken with the Big Bug downtown.
And for now at least, it’s a safe bet it’s the world’s largest.
Books We Love
Review and photo by Lori Berglund
Move over, Clark and MacKinlay, I have another local author among my favorites I would like to happily feature in this forum today. Her name is Mary Kay and I grew up reading her often sassy, and always amusing columns in The Des Moines Register every Sunday.
Sunday morning started with seven people sharing one bathroom (however did we do it?), followed by Mass at St. Thomas, and then a quick stop at Dunn’s SuperValu to pick up rolls and whatever else Mom needed for the day. An eight-pack of Pepsi in glass bottles was probably a given.
By the time dinner was done —sometimes fried chicken, but more often roast beef and mashed potatoes — I was ready to spread out on the floor with the newspaper and was always delighted to find the name of Mary Kay Shanley on the front page of the Home and Family or Lifestyles, or whatever that section was calling itself at the time. My brothers could have the Big Peach for their sports, and Dad was ready for a nap… in the car… where it was quiet, away from all of us. (Even with just me around, my husband seems to understand why Dad napped in the car.)
Mary Kay Shanley, who sometimes wrote under her married name, Mary Kay Rhodes, always had a lively pace to her writing. She was relatable to me and the person I wanted to become. I thought it would be fun to have a job like that some day. Nicole Schwieger finds
Hmmm. I wonder if that’s true?
When my parents informed me that they knew her parents, that this ‘famous’ writer was from our own hometown, I could scarcely believe it. Odds are, I had just seen her mother at church that morning. Her dad was George Shanley, a bit of a celebrity in town in those days. He was the postmaster for more than three decades, appointed to the job by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1936. In the 1960s and ‘70s, when I was growing up, everyone knew who the postmaster was in town. It was a respected position and of great importance.
Mary Kay would sometimes mention her hometown and some of its people in her columns. I seem to recall a column about Lillian Seuper, a gifted gardener, along with her husband. From the time I was 5 years old, Lillian always seemed like she must have been 100 years old, and yet, there she was every weekday morning at our church, along with her equally ancient husband (at least to my young eyes) bending over, tending bushes, turning the soil, and producing just beautiful blooms. Gardening must have kept them young and spry.
I marveled at the way Mary Kay could write so engagingly about the ordinary things in life, like turning the soil and growing flowers — about this simple old couple who loved the earth as much as they loved God and each other. I cared about flowers, and women who labored in the home, and Mary Kay had a way of lifting this side of life to the light and giving it an honor it didn’t often receive.
That this writer I admired so much was from Webster City seemed unlikely to me. I was also devoted to the late, great, Max Maxon and his daily column, Amblin, here in my beloved Daily Freeman-Journal, so I was well aware of our famous sons; authors MacKinlay Kantor and Clark Mollenhoff. ‘Maxi,’ as the whole town called him, wrote of Kantor and Mollenhoff often and it was wonderful to learn that Webster City had produced two Pulitzer Prize winners in Mollenhoff and Kantor.
Now, to be certain, Mary Kay would probably give me a bit of an eye for putting her in their ranks. But I have read a lot more of her work than either Kantor or Mollenhoff. Although, I have been making an effort in recent years to read more from these two local authors. I could read Kantor’s God and My Country every summer. In fact, we should have an outdoor showing of the Walt Disney film based on this book, Follow Me Boys every summer. Now that would be fun!
But back to Mary Kay — I tend to digress, it’s an Irish thing. She’s a 1961 graduate of Lincoln High School in Webster City and kept in touch with many of her high
school friends over the years. Currently, Mary Kay is living in California near her children. I met her a few years ago with my cousin, one of her classmates, and wish we had had time to really talk more, but it was not an occasion for that kind of conversation.
In addition to her newspaper work, Mary Kay served as an instructor at Iowa State University and even the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop. She’s led numerous writing retreats and seminars. And she’s authored and/or edited numerous books.
Let me just talk about two of her books, She Taught Me to Eat Artichokes and The Memory Box. Each of these coffee table books was beautifully illustrated by Paul Micich. I really cannot say enough about Micich’s work in these books. Combined with Shanley’s words, the typography and art just sing in harmony to bring these stories to life.
She Taught Me to Eat Artichokes talks about how friendship evolves in life. In a world where we now compete to count the number of “followers” we think of as “friends,” this book reminds us that true friendship takes time. And it’s not just the passage of time. We have to actively give one another time for friendship.
The Memory Box is my favorite. I have thought of this book often since my Mom’s passing a few years ago but I have not been able to bring myself to read it again. I finally did the other day, and touched again by the wonderful insights of this tale. It made me cry, as I knew it would. But it was a good cry.
The story of The Memory Box is something we all face in life, unless your parents outlive you, and I certainly hope, for their sakes, that doesn’t happen. We all process the tasks of The Memory Box differently. I thought of my family and what they would say: “Lori, there’s isn’t a box big enough anywhere in the world.”
Yes, I know. But don’t be surprised if a little garden fence goes up around my Mother’s rose bush when it pops through the ground next spring. My attempts to transplant a portion of it at my home have thus far failed, but The Memory Box has inspired me to try anew.
Thanks, Mary Kay, for getting me, for validating my own thoughts and feelings with your words. Writing about the ordinary things in life is far from ordinary. In fact, it’s the ordinary things we will one day miss most of all.
Note: Many of Shanley’s books can be found available at online booksellers. There are also volumes available for checkout at Kendall Young Library. The books mentioned here are rather short, so just find a comfy chair at the library and read it right there. Be sure to leave the book where library staff can re-shelve it properly. Especially with local books, which can be difficult to replace, each volume is precious — so read and handle with care.
CITY SCENE CITY SCENE
Webster City Invests in Reliable Power with New Substation
Adam Dickinson, Line Department Supervisor
CITY SCENE
Power
Substation
High Voltage Transmission Lines
Transmission Substation
Power plant
Transformer
Transformer Drum
Power Poles
LET’S EAT Grilled tacos to die for
Hispanic cuisine is among the most beloved across the globe. Whether you trace your ancestry to Mexico or Spain or have no familial connection to Hispanic culture, chances are you enjoy some foods that do trace their origins to one of the world’s many Spanish-speaking countries.
Though simple, tacos are a favorite food for many people regardless of their heritage. Those who enjoy this much loved Mexican dish can try their hand at the following recipe for “Grilled Carne Asada Tacos” courtesy of Kelley Cleary Coffeen’s “200 Easy Mexican Recipes” (Robert Rose).
Grilled Carne Asada Tacos
Makes 12 tacos
Marinade
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup drained, sliced pickled jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon minced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
11/2 pounds beef skirt or minute steak
12 6- to 8-inch flour or corn tortillas
2 limes, each cut into 6 wedges
Juice of 3 lemons
Pico de Gallo
1. To make the marinade: In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, garlic, jalapenos, teriyaki sauce, bell pepper, sugar, and salt until sugar and salt have dissolved.
2. In a large resealable plastic bag, add marinade and meat and seal. Work marinade through meat and seal. Work marinade through meat with your fingers. Refrigerate meat for at least 2 hours or for up to 6 hours.
Pico de Gallo
Makes 2 cups
4 tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 green onions, green parts only, minced
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
2 serrano chile peppers, seeded and minced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Juice of 2 limes
Kosher salt
3. Preheat greased barbecue grill to medium. Remove meat from marinade, discarding marinade. Grill meat for 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove from grill and let stand for 8 to 10 minutes. Carve meat across the grain into thin slices, then cut into bite-size pieces.
4. To build tacos, warm the tortillas on a skillet, heating each tortilla on each side until soft and pliable. Divide meat equally among tortillas and top with Pico de Gallo. Fold tortillas in half. Serve with a sliced lime.
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, green onions, jalapenos, serrano chiles, onion, and cilantro. Add lime juice and mix well. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or for up to 24 hours. Add salt to taste just before serving.
LANDMARKS
How well DO YOU know Hamilton County?
Look at these photos and see if you can identify these local landmarks.
Photo #1
Photo #2
by Jim Miller
How to Prevent Falls at Home
Dear Savvy Senior , My 80-year-old father, who lives alone, has fallen several times over the past few months. Are there any tips or precautions you recommend that I can implement to help prevent this?
Concerned Son
Dear Concerned,
This is a common concern for millions of elderly seniors and their families. Each year more than 1-in-4 older Americans fall, making it the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for those age 65 and older. But many falls can be prevented. Depending on what’s causing your dad to fall, here are some tips that can help keep him on his feet.
Get him exercising: Weak leg muscles and poor balance are two of the biggest risk factors that cause seniors to fall. Walking, strength training and tai chi are all good for improving balance and strength, as are a number of simple exercises your dad can do anytime like sit-to-stand exercises (sitting down and standing up from a seat without using his hands for assistance), standing on one foot for 30 seconds then switching to the other foot, and walking heel-to-toe across the room.
Check his meds: Does your dad take any medicine, or combination of medicines, that make him dizzy, sleepy or lightheaded? If so, make a list or gather up all the drugs he takes – prescriptions and over the counter – and contact his doctor or pharmacist for a drug review and adjustment.
Many blood pressure medications, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs, antipsychotic drugs, diuretics, sedatives, tranquilizers, some painkillers and over-the-counter drugs that cause drowsiness are common culprits in medicationrelated falls.
Get a vision and hearing test: Even small changes in sight and hearing can increase your dad’s risk of falling, so get his eyes checked every year to be sure his vison and eyeglasses (if used) are to up to par. Hearing loss can also double the risk of falling, so have your dad’s hearing checked too, and if he uses a hearing aid, be sure it fits well, and he wears it.
Fall-proof his home: There are a number of simple household modifications you can do to make your dad’s living area safer. Start by helping him arrange
or move the furniture so there are clear pathways to walk through and pick-up items on the floor that could cause him to trip like newspapers, shoes, clothes, electrical or phone cords.
If he has throw rugs, remove them or use doublesided tape to secure them.
In the bathroom buy some non-skid rugs for the floors and a rubber suction-grip mat or adhesive nonskid tape for the floor of the tub or shower, and have a carpenter install grab bars in and around the tub/ shower for support.
Also, make sure the lighting throughout the house is good. Purchase some inexpensive plug-in nightlights for the bathrooms and hallways, and if he has stairs, put handrails on both sides.
For more tips, see the NIA “Preventing Falls at Home: Room by Room” web page at NIA.NIH.gov/health/fallproofing-your-home.
Choose safe footwear: Going barefoot or wearing slippers or socks at home can also cause falls, as can wearing backless shoes, and shoes with heels or smooth leather soles. The safest option is rubber-sole, low-heel shoes.
Purchase some helpful aids: If your dad needs some help with his balance or walking, get him a cane or walker. Also, to help ensure your dad’s safety, and provide you some peace of mind, consider getting him a medical alert system that comes with a wearable emergency help button (some systems are voice-activated) that would allow him to call for help if he did fall or need assistance.
To help you evaluate your dad’s future risk of falling, use the National Council on Aging’s “Falls Free Checkup” tool at NCOA.org/tools/falls-free-checkup.
Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
Parting Shot
