Re: Packard Bikes
Posted by Leeedy On 2022/6/27 21:28:37
Let's move to 1944 and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. WWII was a big time for bicycle thefts. Bicycles were scarce because only two American companies were allowed by the war board to manufacture bicycles for most of the war. The rest were kept busy making armaments, war items, etc. AND... a buyer had to have a special federal government ration ticket. These ration tickets or cards affirmed the holder was either in the military or working in making defense materials, etc. So bicycles were difficult to obtain.
Federal wartime regulations on bicycles were so strict that pages of regulations were issued to bicycle dealers in early 1942. Among these was a rule that bicycles sold had to leave the dealership only via the front door of the building– so help me. And if you don't think this rule was seriously enforced, believe me, it was. In the 1980s I bought out an ancient bicycle shop in Missouri. This shop had been shut down during World War II for selling bicycles out of the back door! Yes. Even more amazing was the fact that most of the bicycles and parts in that store were still there! As if in one huge time capsule left over from the 1940s. nearly 1,000 vintage prewar bicycles and amazing piles of parts and literature. Items like new, unsold bicycles and wartime license plates made out of thick paper! And yes, there were several Packard bicycles, but no Packard automobiles!
Anyway, during the war a huge number of people relied on bicycles for daily transportation. Gas and cars were also rationed and car production halted in 1942. So you can see that bicycles were like gold at the time. This was nationwide. The Lancaster, PA police blotter said that bicycle thieves were busy stealing two-wheelers. And remember, this was in a time where thefts were nothing at all as common as today.
But there was one remarkable thing. Out of eight bicycles stolen (and still missing) in Lancaster, it seems the thieves had a preference for guess what? Three of eight bicycles stolen were all Packard brand. So the folks stealing bicycles apparently had a fondness for Packard bicycles!
Here's the proof from a Lancaster newspaper. And, as I've said so many, many times– no matter what you've been told elsewhere– NO Packard automobiles were involved. Nobody was giving these bicycles away to sell Packard automobiles.
(original 1944 newspaper clipping courtesy of NBHAA.com)
Attach file:
PoliceSeekStolenPackardBicyclesLancaster1944WM.jpg (27.54 KB)
KCbicycleLicenses1942&OilersWM.jpeg (270.61 KB)
Federal wartime regulations on bicycles were so strict that pages of regulations were issued to bicycle dealers in early 1942. Among these was a rule that bicycles sold had to leave the dealership only via the front door of the building– so help me. And if you don't think this rule was seriously enforced, believe me, it was. In the 1980s I bought out an ancient bicycle shop in Missouri. This shop had been shut down during World War II for selling bicycles out of the back door! Yes. Even more amazing was the fact that most of the bicycles and parts in that store were still there! As if in one huge time capsule left over from the 1940s. nearly 1,000 vintage prewar bicycles and amazing piles of parts and literature. Items like new, unsold bicycles and wartime license plates made out of thick paper! And yes, there were several Packard bicycles, but no Packard automobiles!
Anyway, during the war a huge number of people relied on bicycles for daily transportation. Gas and cars were also rationed and car production halted in 1942. So you can see that bicycles were like gold at the time. This was nationwide. The Lancaster, PA police blotter said that bicycle thieves were busy stealing two-wheelers. And remember, this was in a time where thefts were nothing at all as common as today.
But there was one remarkable thing. Out of eight bicycles stolen (and still missing) in Lancaster, it seems the thieves had a preference for guess what? Three of eight bicycles stolen were all Packard brand. So the folks stealing bicycles apparently had a fondness for Packard bicycles!
Here's the proof from a Lancaster newspaper. And, as I've said so many, many times– no matter what you've been told elsewhere– NO Packard automobiles were involved. Nobody was giving these bicycles away to sell Packard automobiles.
(original 1944 newspaper clipping courtesy of NBHAA.com)
Attach file:
PoliceSeekStolenPackardBicyclesLancaster1944WM.jpg (27.54 KB) KCbicycleLicenses1942&OilersWM.jpeg (270.61 KB)
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