On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
Tremendous gratitude to those who have served, thank you.
A United States Army Signal Corp dispatch rider transporting homing pigeons with his Indian sidecar rig to the front in Northwestern France, Spring 1918.
Born on Christmas Day, 1889 in Akron, Ohio William John Teubner became one of the country’s most beloved racing pioneers during his brief career. One of the more fetching champions of the early dirt and clay speedways, the tall, brown-eyed Teubner was described as one of the “cleanest, gamest, and most popular riders that ever plowed a dirt track.” He was one of the first generation of racers, the class of gentlemen riders that found their own way into racing motorcycles, aligning himself in 1908 with the Yellow Jacket swarm at Flying Merkel.
This week’s post covers yet another photograph that has made its way around the internet several times over, yet the story which accompanies it remains untold. At this point 100 years ago today soldiers from the United States military had only just begun pouring into France, and nearly 3 years after the first trenches were dug America had finally joined the gruesome chorus of the first World War.
At 6 a.m. on August 10th, 1909, from in front of Cleveland’s Hollenden Hotel, 96 enthusiasts from America’s heartland set off on a grueling endurance run. The 362-mile adventure was to terminate in Indianapolis on August 12th in conjunction with the grand opening of the newly constructed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and as such made for a staggering level of interest and fanfare. It was reported that the citizens along the route retired from their daily duties, making an unofficial two day, midweek holiday. Every city along the way set up a grand reception with bands, parties, and performances, while the farmers and their families lined the dusty country roads, watermelon patches, and front porches along the way.
