Found on Ebay: Louis Pierron and Marcelle Ahern at League of American Wheelmen convention
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO FROM CHICAGO
PLEASE USE CREDIT
WHEELMEN REVIVE CONVENTION
In Chicago for the first national convention of the League of American Wheelmen since 1901, Louis Pierron, 72, of Milwaukee (Left) and Marcelle Aherm of Chicago, pedaled down Michigan Avenue, April 19 in the parade from Soldier's Field to Garfield park where business sessions of the association were held. Pierron pedaled from Milwaukee to Chicago for the convention, making the 87-mile trip in seven hours.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
Check the cowhorns. I'm fairly sure there's a typo, the correct name should be "Marcelle Ahern". I was unabe to find much about her on the internet, but here's some more about Louis Pierron:
Louis Pierron
- "In the Saddle Since '79" from Douglas Siple's flickr page (click to read more):
- Some words about, and from Louis
- Louis and bicycle advocacy in Wisconsin, from Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State, By Jesse J. Gant, Nicholas J. Hoffman
- "65 years on a bike" from http://wisconsinbikefed.org/
- "Smokes for Bikes" -
Smokes for Bikes Wed, Sep 7, 1949 – Page 10 · Waukesha Daily Freeman (Waukesha, Wisconsin) · Newspapers.com
70 YEARS YOUNG
cycles 70 + MILES
A MILE for good luck plus seventy miles was the achievement of Louis Pierron of the Muni Bike Club in Milwaukee. Celebrating the active gentlemen's seventieth birthday anniversary on September 23, the Milwaukee club rode with Pierron on Sunday for his 71 mile cycle jaunt and presented him with 70 new dimes!
He broadcast over Milwaukee station WTMJ on the "History of Cycling in Milwaukee." His initiation into the cycling world was in 1879 when his grandfather presented him with a bicycle and since then he has ridden a total of 265,000 miles which includes tours of the northern states and the Pacific Coast states and Canada.
in 1892 Pierron joined the L.A.W. and organized the North Side Cycling Ciub of Milwaukee. He became the state representative of Wisconsin for the L.A.W. in 1895 and staged the Good Roads banquet which was attended by the national officers of the League and resulted in road improvement for Wisconsin. His idea of a road leading through the lake shore towns from Chicago to Milwaukee, became the 85 mile Sheridan Road where cyclists ride today.
Pierron claims that Wisconsin is a progressive state and "what Wisconsin has done before, they will do again."
League of American Wheelmen
I found other news articles about that event, but all were behind a greater pay wall than I cared to afford.
- But here's this, from Wikipedia, League of American Bicyclists, 1939 - 1955
- The League of American Wheelmen/Bicyclists in the 20th Century: A capsule history
- League of American Wheelmen Bulletin, May 1942, "We Cycled to the Convention" (page 19 of the PDF) (and below)
We Cycled to the Convention
From Menasha, Wisconsin 228 Miles
BY BILL DRESSER
Road Captain, Appleton Saddle-Lites
Louis Pierron, 72, and Tom Bronen, 70, in the Parade |
On Friday, April 17th, Harry Beachkofski (Road Captain, Neenah Doty Wheelmen) and I began the first leg of our journey. We determined to start out for Milwaukee at 5:00 a.m. Well, at 6:30 we finally began, due to oversleeping and similar weak excuses. When I found I could not have my lightweight bicycle for the trip. I hastily threw together my old high pressure wheel.
We faced a head wind to Oshkosh for 15 miles, and then both we and the wind changed direction and speed. We had a gale behind us, making the day a cyclist's dream. We covered 102 miles of hilly territory in 5 1/2 hours, then stopped to rest and check the weak points in my wheel. Then we rode a short distance to Louis Pierron's Island in the Milwaukee River. where he put us up for the night in one of his summer cottages. We had neglected adequate covering and every time one of us moved that night a gust of cold wind chilled us.
The next morning at 7:30 we started out with Louis Pierron for the office of the Milwaukee Journal. We met Bob Kaeppel there and the four of us posed for a picture that appeared in the Journal on Sunday. We got started for Chicago at 9:00 a.m. with a N.W. gale pushing us. We were only troubled by minor details, such as Louis' saddle shifting position and having to be adjusted, my luggage slipping off, etc.
We planned to meet Noble Tarbell (Nobel Wheelmen), at Kenosha, but as we were late, we missed him and Noble made the trip alone. We stopped at Kenosha at noon for a light repast before moving on. Bob and Harry then decided to speed up a little and sprinted ahead. Bob reported Harry had to stop for a drink and rest every little while, and Harry says the same about Bob. Louis and I kept on at a steady gait, stopping a while in Highland Park, Illinois, to purchase post cards, friction tape and hot chocolates. We arrived at the Edgewater Beach Hotel about 5:45 p.m.
In all. we covered 117 miles on Friday and 111 miles on Saturday. Harry and I were in dusty riding clothes, while everyone at the Edgewater seemed to be either in Tux's or their Sunday best. About quarter of seven, Burt Spafford of the Doty Wheelmen arrived in his car, carrying, of all things, a clean suit for each of us. Boy, did We make a quick change, to feel at home. Including the Sunday morning parade we rode about 250 miles over the week-end, taking the C. & N.W. home after the Convention Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed the company of Noble Tarbell, Louis Pierron and Bob Kaeppel as far as their respective stations.
I spent Saturday night with Merrill Ormes, President of the Sprocket Wheel Cycle Club and he sure is able to turn out a good breakfast, to which I did justice. Merrill had seven guests, and we had a great time, which is another story.
Beachkofski and Dresser |
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