The eloquent Patti Waggin’, a burlesque star from the 1940’s and 50’s ripping her little Indian Scout over the hills of Northern California sometime shortly after the war. A welcome sight on the stage as well as at the finish line, Patti was admired for being just as comfortable in the saddle as she was in a pair of pasties. At the time that this photo was taken she was married to a prominent AMA Class C flat track racer and original Booze Fighter named Bill Brownell. Bill was one of the talented members of the Hap Jones racing team, the bay area’s Indian dealer and later went on to run his own shop based in Chico.
My little red 1941 Indian Scout came from Bill’s garage and is remarkably similar to the one Patti is catching air on in this photo, and thanks to the research of guys like Panhead Jim and Terry Cavender I am fortunate to know a great deal of history behind the machine that I ride. Jim just posted a wonderful article about Patti which can be found at rideapart.com, and Terry put together another great piece on Bill and how his machine came into the hands of a dope like me, you can find that one at thebikersgarage.wordpress.com.