Once betrayed by a woman, Fred Yager seems to have sworn off the fair sex. But he found a new love: motorcycles. And from those he was willing to take even more abuse.
By 1917 Fred had left his job with the Hobart light and power plant and was working for the Halsted Brothers, construction contractors. On the morning of June 14, he set out on his motorcycle from his Ainsworth farm, heading to his job in Hobart. On the road near the George Lutz farm southeast of town, Fred rounded a blind corner and ran smack into a westbound truck. The impact threw him off the bike. He hit the ground with a sudden shock of pain — a broken bone in his lower leg.
One of Hobart's doctors set his leg, then Fred was carried to his brother George's home to be nursed.
The bike was mangled. I don't know whether it recovered.
Fred's leg may have been broken, but his heart wasn't. He went on to become an enthusiastic motorcycle racer — this comes from someone who knew him — participating in that sport for years, until at last a particularly bad racetrack accident resulted in his motorcycle's handlebar impaling his thigh. That was a bit too much even for Fred. He swore off racing, although I'm not sure he ever completely gave up motorcycles.
Sources:
♦ "Ainsworth Pick-Ups." Hobart Gazette 26 Aug. 1910.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 16 May. 1913; 15 June 1917.
Monday, January 17, 2011
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