Bicycles became a phenomenal "craze" c.a. 1895, after prices became affordable for the middle class and women took up the sport. Bike stores sprouted in Marion like mushrooms and every shop that could advertised bicycle clothing, shoes and accessories.

In Aug. 1895 Charley Drew and Cheney White opened a bike shop on 11th St. near 4th Ave. It was Marion's premier bike shop while it lasted. Drew was athletic, carefree, talkative and much admired among the town's wheel fraternity. Credit him with stimulating local interest in bike racing, "centuries" (100-mile, 1-day rides) and the Good Roads movement through the store's sponsorships and his own personal efforts. The Drew & White Cycle Co. was also responsible for bringing the famous Fowler Sextet to Marion. The partnership dissolved in Sept. 1896 when White left for college. Drew organized a machine shop and foundry in Tama, the Twin City Machine & Bicycle Works, and announced plans to manufacture 500 bicycles/year, but it's not clear the venture ever got off the ground. Gold was discovered in the Yukon in NW Canada in 1896 and Drew moved to Seattle, a jumping off-point for the Klondike. In the Spring of 1898 he joined the stampede North, along with several other Marionites, including Frank and Jackson Starbuck. They returned a lot poorer but wiser at the end of the season.

Charles E. Drew (1873-1940) was born in NY, the youngest of four sons of George and Harriet (Spitzer) Drew. George Drew was a farmer with a wanderlust who moved his family back and forth across the country many times, with stops in this area long enough for Charles' older brother, Albert, to be born in Lisbon and Frank to graduate from Marion High School. In between there were stops in NY, VA and IL. Charles attended MHS too, but the family moved to Elgin, IL before he graduated. Marion must have left a good impression though because George and Hattie bought property here, including several lots on Central Ave. and a family plot in Oak Shade Cemetery. Drew stayed on the NW Coast when the gold fever diminished. The 1920 census records him single and working as a carpenter in a Seattle shipyard; he was still a carpenter and single in 1930. We haven't located his grave but see Frank Drew (MHS, 1898) with links to his parents and other brothers at Find a Grave memorial #137298964.

Cheney L. White (1877-1902) was an 1895 alum of Marion H.S. He attended Coe College for two years after leaving the bike business before deciding on a career in medicine. He transferred to the UI and then the prestigious Chicago Homeopathic Medical College. He suffered a bout of pneumonia in 1900 and never completely recovered, dying just a month before graduation. He's in Oak Shade too. See him at Find a Grave memorial # 19924049.

The Fowler Sextet was 6-man bicycle built by the Fowler Cycle Company of Chicago in 1896. The Co. sent the machine all over the US to fairs, parades and bicycle dealers to promote their "truss frame" design. The sextet created a sensation when it challenged the Empire State Express, the fastest train in the world, to a race in 1896. The bicycle's inventor claimed 100 mph was achievable but it was never clocked over 38 mph. The $3,000 machine came to Marion May 15-18, 1896 and attracted hundreds of gawkers. There was talk of taking it for a spin but unfortunately rainy weather made the roads unsafe. ... See MoreSee Less

12 hours ago  ·  

Marion organized its first bicycle club, the "Marion Wheelmen," in Apr. 1892, but riding remained almost exclusively an activity for Marion's male elite until safety bicycles were introduced (bikes with equal-sized wheels) and prices declined c.a. 1895. Then women joined and bicycles became a craze like no one had ever seen! Enthusiasts demanded better roads and dedicated bike paths that took them around the county to other cities and popular recreation sites.

The first local bicycle trail was constructed in the Spring of 1895. It paralleled Marion Boulevard and followed First Avenue into Cedar Rapids. It was constructed with a drag scraper pulled by a team of horses and took about one week to complete. The path ranged from 18 to 24 in. wide and cost under $20. The effort was funded by an unidentified "well-known Cedar Rapids RR man" and member of the CR cycling club. He had grown tired of talking about trails and funded the job himself. If he sought permission from township road authorities it's not evident from news accounts. Following the public right-of-way avoided the issue of infringing on private property.

No sooner was the Marion-CR bike trail finished than racing began between the cities. A couple of "scorchers" had the record down to just 17 minutes by the end of the summer. Completion of the trail along Old Marion Road made a complete circuit and added another racing venue.

Twilight bicycle trips between Marion and CR became the rage among the young people of both communities. Plans were quickly implemented to extend the trails up and down the Cedar River to the Palisades and other popular resorts, and in every direction across the county. In some places, to reduce costs, they were limited to the sandy sections of roads where travel was difficult, in which case a narrow "side path" was constructed, its surface amended with clay or cinders to make pedaling easier.

Rural residents hated the bike trails. The silent flashing wheels frightened horses and upset livestock. Frolicking bikers were met with hostility, and farmers sabotaged the paths by driving wagons on it, especially after rains, leaving deep ruts and hoof-prints. "Pure, unadulterated devilry" is how the Marion Sentinel editor described the acts of boys caught burying tack-studded pieces of cardboard on the bike path in Kenwood. Riders were stopped with multiple tire punctures. (Marion Sentinel; May 2, 1895)

Ulysses Grant Byerly (1866-1915), Marion's long-time barber and partner in the new Byerly & Brain bicycle store organized the Marion Bicycle Club in the Spring of 1895. Members contributed $1.50 each to hire a man to help maintain the trails. Contributors received a tag to display on their bikes, giving them free access, but "moochers" were discouragingly common and whatever maintenance was conducted, it only lasted until the next thunderstorm or act of vandalism. Byerly helped maintain the trails through his own personal efforts.

Byerly's partner in the bike store, Henry James Brain (1855-1920), an immigrant from England via Miles, IA, didn't stay in town long--competition and rapidly declining bike prices drove him to open a new store in Des Moines in 1896, but he did introduce us to his youngest daughter, three year-old Anna Ward Brain (1892-1977), who was said to be the youngest rider in the U.S.

See U. G. Byerly at Find a Grave memorial #74962815. H. J. Brain can be found at #94650049. We'll continue the trails story next time. ... See MoreSee Less

4 days ago  ·  

"Wanted--One thousand mice on or before June 30th. I will pay one cent apiece for them. George H. Cardell." (June 16, 1897; Marion Register) You stumble across the craziest things sometimes reading old newspapers. . . that's one of the bigger mysteries we've seen in a while. The ad ran all month; no word on if Cardell got them. What would the owner of an uptown hardware store do with 1,000 mice? I assume he wanted them alive; I suspect a 4th of July activity we may not want to know about. Any ideas?

George Cardell (1867-1924) was born in Syracuse, NY and came here to Iowa with his family when he was just a toddler. His father found work in the Des Moines real estate business. George entered into a partnership with Marion's G. W. Toms, Jr. in the Toms & Cardell hardware store in July, 1895. Family connections helped. His older sister, Clara, was married to Toms. George took over management in Dec. 1895 when Toms became president of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, and operated until June 1899 when he sold out to Harry Toms & Ben Strobel. He tried real estate briefly before moving to Chicago. The 1910 census records him in Reno, NV in the sheet metal business, and in Mobile, Alabama in 1920, still in sheet metal. He died there. He was married to Ella Godden of Tipton. They had no children. See him at Find a Grave memorial # 9904349. He's in Oak Shade. ... See MoreSee Less

6 days ago  ·