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Savage Badged......mystery bike......and a cool story....

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IngoMike

I live for the CABE
Happy Holidaze! This is my gift to all Cabers……a cool old story about an old bike……

This bike popped up on my local Craigslist, Monterey, Ca., I was immediately drawn to the double bar frame, and it was only a mile from my house. I did not know that it would be a rare bike/badge with a cool old Monterey story. I have a collection of historical items from Monterey and this bike fits right in.

When Howard Hodges was 14 years old he had saved up enough money, from working at his father's gas station, to buy three bicycles, one new and two used. He set the bikes against the side of the gas station with a "For Rent" sign. During WWII, many people didn't have bikes of their own, but for $0.25 an hour, Howard was able to share the joy of the wind in your hair, to anyone able to pay. Neighborhood children, and GI's with their gals, would rent a bike for a trip around town or even down 17-Mile Drive. To accommodate the growing demand, Howard gradually built up a fleet of 32 bicycles and consistently had a line of customers. In 1944, when Howard was drafted, his father maintained the business. When his service ended two years later, Howard was discharged and returned home to discover his business had been bowled over by someone renting newer, and faster, motor scooters. Rather than feel discouraged, Howard learned that if you had the right item, the customers would come. He began building up his inventory and included everything from building equipment to party gear. By 1957, he was able to build his first store, located two blocks from Cannery Row. The bikes took a back seat to the growing rental business and were put in storage down on the Row. Cannery Row was the scene of many questionable fires in the 60’s-70’s and the bikes were ultimately destroyed by one of them. Most likely the ’77 fire across the street from Portola Packing Co. which is now the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I purchased the Savage badged bike from Howard’s son, Hal, and it is the last of his father’s bikes and one of a few survivors that were not in the warehouse fire. From the condition, we guessed that it had never been used in the rental fleet, but did make it to the paint dept. where they would paint tools, equipment, etc. The bikes were painted for identification and as a theft deterrent, this bike retains its original paint underneath the blue overspray. I can see the original front fork darts, and pinstripes under the overspray and will keep the bike as is because it tells the story. The chainguard was dipped in OA by Hal but he did not want to strip the whole bike, thank goodness. I was shown a couple of private family photos of Howard with some of his bikes in the original rental fleet, and it was Iver Johnson Motorbikes and DBR’s, he had even ordered some custom-built tandems, and all were lost in the Cannery Row fires. I have a few steam valves and an original wooden conveyor roller from the Hovden Cannery which is also part of the Aquarium property.

This Savaged badged bicycle has some features I have not seen before. To start, it is a bigger frame than most. I have been parking the bike next to my KSHD and noticed they were both sitting at the same height, so I measured it out and the Savage is the same sized seat tube, 20”, and ½” shorter on the headtube. I have been riding the Savage for a few weeks now and it rides as nice as the KSHD. Besides the larger frame, here are the other observations…..the serial number is stamped about 6” down from the top tube on the seat tube, #C073215….the seat post has a funky tapered top….the rear dropouts are forward facing for an early bike….nice undermount bolt on kickstand. I know there is some Rollfast, aka Snyder/D.P. Harris associated with this bike, and maybe a west coast connection to the Baker, Hamilton & Pacific Co.

If you have any info related to the Savage, please post up….there is very little info out there…..
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Here is the bike hanging in the middle of the rental shop....I used to look in the window on weekends but never went in when they were open. If I could have seen that shiny straightbar above the front door, I might have made an effort. I remember seeing the bikes in the middle of the room and was not impressed enough to make the effort, I thought the Savage looked like a 24" bike. Lesson learned...
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Here is Howard, on the left, and his father...
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The Savage....
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Wow! What a fantastic story and cool piece of local history! Somewhere there are old family photo albums with pics of people posing with his rental bikes at all the scenic spots along the bay, Lovers Point, The Wharf, etc.

Your could be right about the bike's being ordered through the Merry Company/Baker Hamilton, it would be interesting to see one of thier catlogs from the time and see what is listed. I know from reearching my teens Pierce that was found in San Francisco they were distributing a number of brands by the early teens. I worked for years with John Porter, grandson of Paul Porter, an old friend works with the older grandson Jeff at Lucas Film. And the comapny is still cranking out there SOMA bikes. https://www.somafab.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/history_100anniv_rev.pdf.

Thanks for sharing this story!
 
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1941 Snyder framed bike, I had one of these 20" seat tubed tall frames that was also a '41. I also had one that was a '46. Both of mine were Hawthorne badged. A friend here in Santa Cruz Ca. has both of them now. Nice survivor, and great story.
 
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