A Harley Kind of Birthday

For over 20 years, we have been good friends with Lloyd and Elaine. We were Sunday school classmates with them at Columbia Baptist Church in Northern VA. We encouraged them to become Airstreamers and helped them find their first travel railer. Both of them soon became officers in the Northern VA Unit, Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI); Elaine rose to the ranks of Unit President and Region 3 (seven eastern states) Secretary. They still reside in Northern VA, and we miss them now that we are Texans. Now, however, we are fellow “gypsies” sharing a three months road trip. Our journey together began on July 5 immediately following the WBCCI Rally with 900 other Airstreams in Madison, WI. Our first event was a tour of Honey Acres; a museum dedicated to all one wants to know about honeybees. We took a brief nature hike there but abandoned it quickly due to attacks by mosquitoes—not honey bees. We sampled and purchased some of the tasty premier museum products and headed on to Milwaukee, where we camped at the State Fairgrounds.

The next day was Jerry’s birthday, and we toured the Harley Davidson factory in the morning and the Harley Museum in the afternoon. Jerry finally got to see what a 1915 Harley looks like; his parents had eloped in 1915 to Monroe, MI on a new borrowed bike. On a chilly November day, his Dad lost control on a gravel road curve, and they took a spill. Back on the bike they jumped, and the marriage did take place. There were no discernable injuries to the young bride and groom, but it should be noted that it took another 20 years for Jerry, their one and only, to arrive.

One of the more poignant displays at the museum was the bike given to a young man from Alabama for his high school graduation prior to World War II. He and his bike were inseparable, and he road several thousand miles of Alabama highways until he joined the Army Air Corp and entered combat as a tail gunner. Regrettably, he died on a mission, and his parents donated his beloved red bike and military belongings to Harley Davidson.

Motorcycles were used extensively WW I and during WWII, the Army trained 100,000 motorcycle riders for various missions. Harley Davidson profited greatly by selling the Army 88,000 bikes.

The oldest Harley at the museum is a shiny black, belt driven 1903 model with white sidewall tires. Many other notable bikes were on display. One of them was a redesigned configuration by a man known for his welding skills; it consisted of two bikes welded together and named King Kong. Another was decked out so much décor that it looked like a circus bike.

In late afternoon, after our two Harley tours, we drove to downtown Milwaukee and strolled the Riverwalk. We learned that Milwaukee has a lovely skyline with many uniquely beautiful buildings and an exquisite museum of art on the waterfront.