8A | SATURDAY, MAY 29, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS
Community Voices
Military Chronicles — Pedaling through history
By Cal Applebee
Special to Siuslaw News
When viewing old war
movies, particularly of
WWII, you often see sol-
diers and airmen riding
around the base on a bi-
cycle.
The military vehicle
hobby is full of vehi-
cles with military heri-
tage and, every once in
a while, an authentic re-
stored or barn-find mili-
tary bicycle appears and
generates a lot of interest.
Bicycles
themselves
have been around since
the early 1800s in some
pretty unusual configu-
rations. By the late 1800s
the “safety bike” version
became fairly standard
and, soon after, militaries
around the globe began
experimenting with them
as a tool of war.
France was the first to
explore the bicycle’s mil-
itary capabilities in 1887
and the U.S. began in
1891 for messengers and
relay riders in the First
Signal Corps of the Con-
necticut National Guard.
WWI saw bicycles used
by the militaries on both
sides of the conflict, in-
cluding the U.S. when it
entered the war in 1917,
playing a vital role of
transporting
soldiers
and supplies to and from
front lines.
While they didn’t ap-
pear to be readily adapt-
able to combat roles, the
U.S. military did realize
they could make a differ-
ence in certain circum-
stances.
WWII again saw use
of bicycles, both in the
military and on the home
front in partial response
to rationing and war-time
shortages. But as seen in
the movies and partic-
ularly archival military
photos, the use appears
more specific to military
camps and airfields.
Not a lot of evidence
could be found regard-
ing the use of bicycles by
American forces during
the Korean War and the
Vietnam War. They were,
however, used extensive-
ly in Vietnam by the Viet
Cong and the North Viet-
namese Army, particu-
larly to re-supply forces
along the rough terrain,
often further degraded
by American bombing
activity.
In the modern military
of the U.S., bicycles are
still in use by the Marine
Corps and Army Special
Forces, who employ the
“Paratrooper”
folding
bike developed by Mon-
tague. It is designed to
allow airborne soldiers
to drop out of an airplane
into combat with a bike,
ready to roll.
Bicycles both evolved,
as well as are produced
in multiple countries, as
well as companies. Here
in America, military
bikes were manufactured
by various iconic bicy-
cle companies, partic-
ularly for WWII, such
as Schwinn and their
“Defense” model; Huffy
who produced over 4,000
bikes for the war effort;
Columbia under several
entity names; and Cleve-
land Welding Company
who produced the “Haw-
thorne” and “Roadmas-
ter,” among others.
As with other product
production during the
years, manufacturers of
other goods such as the
Davis Sewing Machine
Company, also switched
to
military
bicycles
during the war effort as
well.
Unfortunately,
few
original, authentic bicy-
cles, particularly from
WWII, survived the war.
Collectors should be ex-
tremely cautious when
purchasing that the spec-
imen they’re seeking is
not a fake or replica.
As with other types of
vintage/historic military
vehicles, a replica can be
created as long as it is
presented appropriately
as what I term a “trib-
ute” vehicle or bicycle. I
recently completed two
such tributes bicycles
— a 1970s-era Schwinn
“Heavy Duti” restored as
a Vietnam-era bicycle,
and a 1980s-era Huffy
restored as a post-war/
Cold War bicycle of the
Ground
Observation
Corps.
Both bicycles were a
lot of fun to restore and
re-create, including the
specific accoutrements to
display with both. Better
head out to the garage
and check your old bicy-
cle; you might have a dia-
mond in the rough ready
to be brought back to life!
For more military her-
itage, visit the Oregon
Coast Military Museum
located on Kingwood
Street adjacent to the
Florence Municipal Air-
port, open from noon
to 4 p.m., Friday thru
Sunday, or by visiting
the museum’s website at
www.oregoncoastmilita
rymuseum.com.
The Moral of the Story — Love is in the eye of the beholder
By Karen D. Nichols
Special to Siuslaw News
I know my husband’s
face like I know Flor-
ence. I can name the
colors of all the houses
on my street, just like
I could sketch Ralph’s
face. When I close my
eyes, I can visualize his
sapphire blue eyes all
the way to his toes. (The
second one is longer
than the big toe.)
In 1980, Ralph and
I ‘d been married six
years. To say I was still
on his pedestal would
be nearly accurate, and
I believed he rode his
white steed. In those
days, I read Mademoi-
selle magazine even
though I was a madam
(married woman in case
you had the wrong no-
tion of madam). Besides
seeing current fashions,
my favorite part of the
magazine was the “quiz.”
You might determine
your best colors to wear,
what kind of man is your
match, or where your
ideal place to live would
be.
One afternoon, Ralph
and I lounged by our
backyard pool. Besides
being an avid swimmer,
I’d sit, basking and read-
ing. Thumbing through
my Mademoiselle, I no-
ticed the quiz. Pen in
hand, I finished my part
to answer questions to
decide — Was my man
right for me? My an-
swers proved he was my
match made in heaven.
Then I came to the
“Ask Him” part of the
quiz. So, I ask him about
his favorite kind of
woman.
“Which do you prefer?
Petite, average, or tall?”
to which he answered,
“Tall.”
So much better for
him, since I was even
taller than before I
shrunk back to my cur-
rent stature of five-foot-
eight.
Number 2: “Slender,
muscular or pleasingly
plump?” I asked. If to-
day, I suppose he’d an-
swer the latter and I’d
have to slug him, but he
chose “slender,” which
matched my build in
1980.
“Blonde, brunette or
redhead?”
As I expected, he chose
brunette. I guess, were
it now, as I have white
hair, he’d better say none
of the above, but I was a
brunette then.
“Hazel, blue, green,
gray or brown eyes?”
“Brown,” came his re-
ply.
Casting my eyes down-
ward, I asked, “Ralph,
what color are my eyes?”
“Brown,” he said, grin-
ning.
Well, now, should I be
mad? You see, my eyes
are technically no color.
For years, I’d put hazel
on my driver’s license
until I just happened
to look hazel up in the
dictionary. When I wear
dark green, my eyes will
look dark green, oth-
er colors and different
light can make my eyes
appear blue, blue-green,
or gray, but the one color
they never are is brown.
The moral of the sto-
ry: Beauty is in the eye
of the beholder — but
you should see rather
than just look.
We Are Better Together
As we look to a new year, we’re celebrating what connects us as a community,
and what we can do to bridge our divides. From virtual events and
local perspectives to cultural insights and conversation starters,
we invite you to join us in making our community better, together.
Help rebuild our economy by supporting these and other local businesses!
ART ALLIANCE
Florence Regional Arts Alliance
120 Maple Street
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-999-0859
AUTOMOTIVE
Hoberg’s Complete Auto Repair
345 Hwy. 101
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-2413
Petersen Auto Detailing
Florence, Oregon, 97439
541-999-6078
CHAMBER
Florence Area Chamber of Commerce
290 Hwy 101
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-3128
www.florencechamber.com
CHURCH
Cross Road Assembly of God
1380 10th St
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-3533
Florence Church of Christ
1833 Tamarack St.
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-3133
DENTURIST
Denture Services
524 Laurel Street
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-6054
ESTATE SALES
Cindy Wobbe Estate Sales
498 Hwy. 101
Florence OR 97439
541-999-0126
www.CindyWobbeEstates.com
EVENT CENTER
Florence Events Center
715 Quince Street
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-1994
FINANCIAL SERVICES
NEWSPAPERS
Siuslaw News
148 Maple Street
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-3441
www.thesiuslawnews.com
PEST CONTROL
Swanson’s Pest Management
1550 15th St #14
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-4027
Coldwell Banker Coast Real Estate
Lynnette Wikstrom, Broker
100 Hwy 101
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-999-0786
Oregon Pacific Bank
1355 Highway 101
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-7121
www.opbc.com
West Coast Real Estate Services, Inc.
1870 Hwy. 126, Suite A
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-SOLD (7653)
Oregon Coast Humane Society
541-997-4277
Shelter
2840 Rhododendron Dr.
Thrift Store
1193 Bay St.
INSURANCE
Abel Insurance Agency
875 Hwy 101
Florence, OR 97439
541-997-3466
www.abelinsuranceagency.com
The Shorewood
1451 Spruce St.
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-8202
shorewoodsl.com
SEPTIC SERVICE
Wally’s Septic Tank Pumping Inc.
541-997-8885
TIRES
REAL ESTATE
Edward Jones-Andy Baber, AAMS
Financial Advisor
1010 Highway 101
541-997-8755
HUMANE SOCIETY
RETIREMENT LIVING
REC. VEHICLES SERV. & REPAIR
Florence RV & Automotive Specialists
4390 Hwy 101
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-8287
www.FlorenceRV.com
RESTAURANT
1285 Restobar
1285 Bay St, Florence, Oregon 97439
(541) 902-8338
Rosa’s Mexican Restaurant
2825 Hwy. 101
Florence, Oregon 97439
541-997-1144
Les Schwab Tire Center
4325 Highway 101
Florence, Oregon, 97439
541-997-7178
UPHOLSTERY
Buds Upholstery
4981 Highway 101
Florence,Oregon 97439
541-997-4856