I'm not sure this is a 'fresh' find or not, but it's new-to-me.
On my dad's 10th birthday in 1935 his parents asked what bicycle he wanted for his special day. He poured over the Montgomery Wards catalog and picked out a Hawthorne, specifically with the longhorn bars as he recalls. He rode the bike for years in the dirt of Oklahoma, then passed the bike to his younger brother who rode it some more. At some point it was relegated to the barn where it's been all these years.
He certain his brother replaced the seat at some point and he thinks the pedals were changed. He said it's also missing the headlight and battery box. Paint was bright red with black and white highlights and the wheels were shiny as he called it. He also said there was no chainguard when new and it's missing the swing kickstand.
I think I'll set up a thread in "Projects" on the refurbish. Dad's now 87 so I need to get cracking on this. It will be my first bicycle project so I'm quite sure I'll be leaning heavily on the group for help. I suppose it's a 1-owner bike from 1935?
Here she is, my dad's 1935 Wards Hawthorne as it sits now.
.
On my dad's 10th birthday in 1935 his parents asked what bicycle he wanted for his special day. He poured over the Montgomery Wards catalog and picked out a Hawthorne, specifically with the longhorn bars as he recalls. He rode the bike for years in the dirt of Oklahoma, then passed the bike to his younger brother who rode it some more. At some point it was relegated to the barn where it's been all these years.
He certain his brother replaced the seat at some point and he thinks the pedals were changed. He said it's also missing the headlight and battery box. Paint was bright red with black and white highlights and the wheels were shiny as he called it. He also said there was no chainguard when new and it's missing the swing kickstand.
I think I'll set up a thread in "Projects" on the refurbish. Dad's now 87 so I need to get cracking on this. It will be my first bicycle project so I'm quite sure I'll be leaning heavily on the group for help. I suppose it's a 1-owner bike from 1935?
Here she is, my dad's 1935 Wards Hawthorne as it sits now.
.
