My dad picked up this 1937 Hawthorne from the original owner.
The story is the original owner bought the bike from the local Montgomery Ward with money he earned by collecting and selling leftover scrap tobacco after the premium tobacco had been graded and bought by the buyers.
The original owner is about 89 years old so that would put him at 14 years old in 1937. If this is a Cleveland Welding Co. bike the serial number info I can find seems to match up with 1937.
The bike apparently didn't come with a chainguard as the original owner said the salesman told him to "get one of those clips to hold your pants leg".
Battery operated tailight.
The dropstand was not attached when my Dad bought the bike but was nearby, lucky to find that. Overall it seems to be in OK shape, no major damage and mostly surface rust. The skiptooth chain is probably not salvagable
The story is the original owner bought the bike from the local Montgomery Ward with money he earned by collecting and selling leftover scrap tobacco after the premium tobacco had been graded and bought by the buyers.
The original owner is about 89 years old so that would put him at 14 years old in 1937. If this is a Cleveland Welding Co. bike the serial number info I can find seems to match up with 1937.
The bike apparently didn't come with a chainguard as the original owner said the salesman told him to "get one of those clips to hold your pants leg".
Battery operated tailight.
The dropstand was not attached when my Dad bought the bike but was nearby, lucky to find that. Overall it seems to be in OK shape, no major damage and mostly surface rust. The skiptooth chain is probably not salvagable