I Relocated And Bought Back My1940s Hawthorne Comet

[Squiggle Dog]

When I was a kid, I was very much into antiques. With help from my mother, I purchased a 1941 Hawthorne Comet bicycle for $300 at a garage sale. When I got it home, I gave it a quick cleaning, and opened up the tank. I took out some batteries that looked as old as the bike, and put in 4 new D-cell batteries. The headlight was ruined, so I put one on that I had laying around. I had to replace the original war surplus tubes because the valves were ripped off, and they were full of beetles. The wheels wouldn't turn, nor would the pedals or chain, so I sprayed them with WD40. It was really rusty, but I still rode it a lot.

I painted this picture for art class. I loved my bike!

After a year of riding, the New Departure coaster brake started slipping. The rear wheel wouldn't move when pedaling, and the brakes became ineffective. I used to lay in bed at night imagining someday restoring it piece by piece. But, in reality, I knew I wasn't able to restore it, so I sold it to Dave Stromberger of Nostalgic.net in 1997. Here it is at his place:

I sure did miss that bike, and for the next three years, I had no idea of its whereabouts. I assumed that I would never see it again.

 

[Squiggle Dog]

One day I went to Nostalgic.net because I hadn't been there for some time, and I noticed there was a new thing called "Bike of the Month." I was excited to see a 1941 Hawthorne Comet that looked just like the one I used to have--only this one was restored. I thought, "Could it be...?" I clicked on it, saw the before pictures, and instantly recognized that it was indeed my old Hawthorne! I was so happy. I thought I would never see it again, and there it was; restored to better-than-new condition.

Here are pictures of it during the restoration process:

It was restored exactly the way that I wanted to do it; just the way I imagined it in my mind. At some point the Hawthorne was in the possession of Craig Morrow of Bicycle Heaven.

 

[Squiggle Dog]

I liked that Hawthorne so much what when I saw another one for sale (only a few months after selling the last one), I had to have it. This one had original maroon paint, and even the original Wards Riverside Mate tires that still held air. I worked the summer at the airport and saved up $600 to buy it. My friends thought I was crazy to spend so much money on an old bicycle. I got it from Zack Sudderth (dlxjaguar) at Musclebike.com/Second Time Around Bicycles in 1998. As pictured, it did not have a seat, and the handlebars were from a different bicycle. The tank was not in the box when the bicycle arrived, but Zack got it to me a week or two later.

Here are pictures of it from the website from which I bought it:

I installed a larger set of handlebars and bought a seat from Jerry Peters of Chestnut Hollow, through the mail-order catalog. I also installed a vintage license plate, which was an antique store purchase. I cherished the bicycle and put many miles on it every day. I didn't let anyone ride it, but once I made an exception. I let my friend ride it, and he immediately rode it through a puddle. I yelled at him to get off! I installed a working horn, and my father helped me get the headlight to work. It was VERY bright! I remember riding it in the Swiss Days bicycle parade in Midway, Utah. I had so much pride in it. I would also ride it to church and park it next to a 1950s Murray Strato Line that the original owner still had from his childhood (he showed me a picture of it when it was new, and he had his baseball uniform on, in front of a barn where he still worked).

The maroon one was by far the most favorite bicycle I've owned, but when I was 14, I spotted a 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 limousine in someone's back yard, and wanted to drive it when I turned 16 (I already had a 1923 Model T Ford that the farmer next door gave me, but it was far from being drivable). So, I asked about buying it, and the old lady at the door said I could take it and all of the other cars on the property for free. Then an old gentleman came to the door and said, "No, no, she is just joking. I think I would take $2,000 for it." I told him that I had an old bicycle that was probably worth about $1,200, so I would sell it to try to come up with the money, but the man accepted the Hawthorne Comet as a trade. The man owned a gas station, a Buick Dealership that had been in the family since 1909, a towing company, and a motel. He wanted the bicycle for the front window of the Buick dealership, which was now full of vintage cars and memorabilia from the 1930s and 1940s. So, I got the Cadillac, and he got the Hawthorne. (I still have the jacket that I'm wearing in the pictures.)

My father wasn't too happy about the Cadillac, and ultimately talked me into selling it, saying it would never run without a full engine rebuild. The person who bought the Cadillac put a battery in it and drove it away. The power divider window still worked, and the rear seat still had the plastic over it. As for the Hawthorne, the last I knew it was still in the window of that dealership, but the owner passed away in 2004 and it looked like the place was boarded up for a while and then renovated (with tinted windows, so I couldn't see inside on Google Maps). I'd been wanting to see the bicycle again and hopefully someday buy it back because it has great sentimental value.

The bicycle was in Utah, and I moved to Washington, and then to Arizona. But, I didn't know if it was still around or if I could afford to buy it back. That's the one bicycle I wish I still had. That and an MTD Hi-Lo collapsible bicycle with 16" wheels that I never should have sold. I had many, many bicycles in my younger years. They have come and gone, but the maroon Hawthorne tugged at my heart strings.

 

[Evans200]

That's a great story. We should all be so lucky. Congrats!

 

[Squiggle Dog]

When I grew up and had to live on my own, I struggled and ended up having to sell every bicycle and part I had. The only exception was the bicycle my mother had as a child; an early 1960s lightweight Western Flyer that oddly enough had a tank and rack as a balloon-tired bicycle would. I saved up some money once I had stable work, and was able to buy a new Schwinn Cruiser 3. It got stolen. So then I bought another one and still have it. I got a CDL and now have a job as a Truck Driver. So now I at least earn a living wage.

I was still thinking about that maroon Hawthorne, and how much I regretted letting it go. I had seen very few that were anything like it. Recently, there was one similar, but without the springer fork for sale on eBay:

I was ready to bid on it, but decided to look up the phone number for the family of the deceased owner of the maroon Hawthorne. The bicycle was now in possession of the son. He said that he still had it. I asked him if he would sell it back to me, and he said, "Probably not." I told him that the bicycle had a lot of sentimental value, and it would mean a lot to me to have it back. I offered him $600, which was what I paid for it, and said that I was willing to drive to Coalville, Utah from Phoenix, Arizona to pick it up. He said that he would think about it over the weekend, and would call me back on Monday (which was right before the auction for the one on eBay would end).

I had butterflies in my stomach all weekend. He didn't call back on Monday, so I called him. He said that right after he talked to me on Friday, he forgot all about it, but needed another couple days to think about it. I sat down that evening, watching the auction for the one on eBay. I sat there depressed as I saw the minutes counting down. Then, out of the blue, the guy with my old bicycle called me back and said he talked it over with his wife, and she said that if I was willing to drive all the way out there from Phoenix, that I must really want it. He said I could have it back for the $600. I was SO excited! I told him that I would be there on Thursday.

On Thursday morning at 3 AM, I drove my biodiesel-powered Mercedes-Benz up to Utah, getting there in the early afternoon (11 hour drive).

I met the man who had my old Hawthorne. He told me that it was in the front window of the Buick Dealership for a couple years, and he was constantly turning down offers to buy it. Then his father passed away, and the entire contents of the dealership (containing many new old stock parts back as far as the teens) were sold to some guys in Tennessee for $2,000. The buyers asked the man how much he wanted for the Hawthorne. He said it wasn't for sale. Then they argued that it was included in the sale, and they said they were taking it. So, at midnight the man snuck in through the back door and took the bicycle and hid it away. Later, he got a call from a lady who worked for the company that bought the dealership, asking where the bicycle was. He told her that her guys must have taken it. So, he saved the bicycle for me! He said that I am the only person to whom he would ever sell it, but if I had called a year earlier, he would have told me no. I told him that I was very grateful.

I paid him the $600 and gave him an extra $20, saying dinner was on me. Then I took off the handlebars and fork and put it in the trunk of my car. I slept for a few hours and then left at 3 AM Friday morning so I could be at work Saturday at 1 AM.

I am extremely happy to have my favorite bicycle back after 17 years. I feel very fortunate that it worked out.

 

[Squiggle Dog]

Here are pictures of it, just like I remember it. Somehow the pedals got stripped out. I plan to detail and preserve the original paint and use it as a rider. Some incorrect parts will be replaced, and I would like to install a New Departure WD front brake and DD 2-speed.

 

[Squiggle Dog]

It still even has my wing-nut that I used to install the tank.

 

[vincev]

Great story.

 

[Squiggle Dog]

Isn't it beautiful?

I am going to love and cherish the Hawthorne for the rest of my life and will never sell it. Once I refurbish it, I am going to ride it a lot and enjoy it.

 

[silvertonguedevil]

Cool bike. Wanna sell it?