NOW AND THEN : Derby served as many resident’s introduction to bicycles
Posted on Sunday, October 5, 2008
COURTESY J. Fay Reed is pictured here with one of Fayetteville’s first bicycles. The photo is courtesy of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History / Washington County Historical Society.
We know from antique photographs that bicycles have been part of the recreation and transportation mix in Northwest Arkansas since the 19 th century.
In 1930 there were enough bicycle riders about that Fayetteville merchants decided to build an event around them. Trade was dull at the time and the retailers thought they might liven things up with a well-publicized bicycle derby.
Organizers collected $ 100 for prizes, marked out a 52-mile racecourse and set a date. Billed as Arkansas' longest bike race ever, the derby became page-one news across the region.
A University of Arkansas journalism professor who wrote a column for the Fayetteville Daily Leader contributed to the buzz. Walter Lemke asked his readers what they remembered about the first cycling in Fayetteville.
Mack McRoy told the columnist that he figured the town's first foot-propelled locomotion came from the tricycle he got for Christmas in 1878. "Mack was the envy of all Fayetteville children as he pedaled his new velocipede on the board sidewalks of College avenue," Lemke wrote.
As for the first two-wheelers, the columnist declared a tie. J. Fay Reed and Jo Harrison each bought identical high-wheeler bikes in the late 19 th century.
"Fayetteville people not having seen a bicycle before were keenly interested in the new wheels," Lemke wrote. "Reed and Harrison staged an exhibition bicycle race on College avenue one day that ended with both riders taking inglorious head dives over the handlebars."
The 1930 derby attracted 20 competitors from eight communities.
It was a timed competition. One racer departed the Fayetteville Square every five minutes, beginning at 9: 00 a. m., Wednesday August 6. Most of the race took place on the hard-topped Highway 71.
Each rider checked in at Penrod's Confectionary in Springdale, rested 15 minutes and then raced to check points in Rogers and Bentonville. The competitors had a long rest in Bentonville before beginning the return trip at 3: 00 p.m.
The derby attracted considerable attention. "People from here to Bentonville thronged the highways and stopping places until the judges were nearly driven frantic trying to make room for the riders," the Fayetteville Democrat said. "If there is anyone who lives on Highway 71 who didn't see the race, he was either blind or nursing a bad case of mumps."
The one racer that all the spectators seemed to be watching for was Ethel Toney of Elkins, the only female. She didn't disappoint.
The Fayetteville Democrat said she surprised everyone toward the end by "pumping up both of the steep hills just out of Fayetteville on the way back when the rest of the entries were walking and pushing their bicycles."
Toney finished fifth with a time of 209 minutes. "Why, I'm not tired," she said when it was all over," I just feel splendid."
One reporter, trying to figure out how she could beat so many men, asked about her training and diet. She trained by riding long distances and she ate wholesome foods. She said the day of the race," I had a glass of orange juice at Springdale, an egg and toast at Bentonville with orange juice and a glass of orange juice at Rogers. That's all."
Dewey Williams of Rogers won the derby in 198 minutes. A disabled war veteran who carried mail for the Rogers post office, Williams had a compelling story and was another favorite of spectators. It was widely reported that Williams needed to win for his crippled son. The six-year boy needed an operation that cost $ 100.
Arlen Cate, a sixth grader from Greenland, finished second in 201 minutes. "Riding along with his arms on the handle bars and his new bike performing serenely, Arlen Cate … seemed to be having a big time all day," said the Fayetteville Democrat. Cate was too young to use his prize, a scholarship to the Fayetteville Business College.
The race was not without mishaps. One competitor had to be revived after collapsing on a steep hill and another was injured by a fall. Yet another damaged his bike when he ran into a parked automobile.
Stories in newspapers along with old archived pictures are evidence of generations of bicycle riders on the streets and highways of Northwest Arkansas.
Few of those riders could have dreamed that someday there would be a network of dedicated bike and pedestrian paths free of motor vehicles. But such a network is on the drawing board and on October 18 we celebrate the completion of a major piece of that network, the Skull Creek Trail in the heart of Fayetteville.
Patty Besom, a former English teacher and secretary, teaches piano. Bob Besom is director emeritus of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
