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VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

Bike Raffle: 1954

Carefree postwar boys, complete with a Beaver Cleaver look-alike, participating in a bicycle registration day in Lafayette, Indiana.  The event began in the iconic city park, where the kids' bicycles were inspected and registered, and this raffle was held for a free bicycle. Later, they rode through town in a bicycle parade led by two local police officers on three-wheel motorcycles. View full size.

Carefree postwar boys, complete with a Beaver Cleaver look-alike, participating in a bicycle registration day in Lafayette, Indiana. The event began in the iconic city park, where the kids' bicycles were inspected and registered, and this raffle was held for a free bicycle. Later, they rode through town in a bicycle parade led by two local police officers on three-wheel motorcycles. View full size.

On Shorpy:
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A Girl?

We said "Gurll" in those days. They had Gurll Cooties.

Thank you!

This and a few others I have that are from the same event were discarded by the local newspaper when they cleaned out their archives. I founded and manage a Facebook page called Lafayette/West Lafayette Nostalgia that has 11,000+ members and thousands of photos; a friend of mine found these large-format negatives and sent them to me; photographer is unknown. Your site is one of the great joys of my life, Dave. Thank you so much for all you do and for publishing my photo!

Look who snuck in the back.

A girl!

Bucky

The kid with the striped shirt could, as my Mother used to say, eat corn on the cob through a picket fence!

Kids and Bikes

Our small town required the bicycles to have small metal license plates on them. We kids would line up early that Saturday morning when the new plates were issued in order to get a single digit number. (Plate # 1 was on display in city hall, with the reminder to register your bike.) I think the plate cost 25 cents, which was a substantial amount for a child. The plate typically hung from the back of the seat with 2 metal S hooks (provided with the plate), and rattled when you rode.

Shirt Tucking

Some are more skilled than others.

Looks like they all went to the same barber.

Wow

A great photo. Who took it? How did it come into your possession?

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