Commun ty Matters Fort Scott Presbyterian Village
COMING UP IN COMMUNITY MATTERS:
What are your new beginnings traditions?
We will focus on new beginnings in an upcoming issue of Community Matters. As we approach the new year, what resolutions are you making? Have you ever made a resolution that changed your life? What are your hopes for 2017? If you’ve got a story to share, contact David Sorrick and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.
A Boy and His Bike
November 2016
Pete Allen, cousin to tenant Russell Johnson, shares a story about a beloved bike and the many miles it’s seen. (Reprinted with permission from Fort Scott Tribune) This picture was taken Oct. 2, 1938, in Fulton at the Johnson home and “the boy” is Russell, who is nearly 11 years old at the time. That’s him just inside the gate sitting on his bike. Standing behind him is “Grampa Gump.” One of Russell’s friends and a neighbor is on his bike by the front porch. There was a saying at the time that “A boy is only half a boy without a bicycle.” That was from an advertisement by Schwinn Bicycles. Russell has his bicycle. It is a teen’s era model and although there is no name tag on it, through our research we have determined it to have been made by the Elgin Bicycle Co. Russell’s father owned a gasoline station across the street from where this picture was taken. He had a tank truck and delivered gas to farmers in the Fort Scott area. One day in 1937, he bought this used bike for “$3 or $4” and brought it home to Russell in the gas truck. It was red and had wood wheels with solid rubber tires. The manufacturer’s name tag was missing from it. He was always embarrassed by the fact all the other kids knew what kind of bicycle they rode and he didn’t. Russell rode the bike with the wood wheels
Bicycle continued on page 2
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Russell Johnson sits on the Elgin bicycle he has owned since he was a youth.