This picture was taken in Coderre, Saskatchewan about 60 miles southwest of Moose Jaw in 1946. This is my Uncle Prof. (short for Professor), he got his nickname because of the suit and glasses he’s wearing. Real name is Lionel Lepine. He’s sitting on his 1936 Army issue Harley-Davidson 45. Later Dad got a Harley-Davidson 74, afterwhich, Dad and Uncle Prof would ride together around Coderre and area.
Most roads were dirt and there were very few gravel roads, let alone pavement. When it was dry, it was very dusty and when it was wet, it was very muddy. When it was muddy, the mud would build up between the tire and the fender, and as a result they would get stuck. They fixed this problem by rapping barbed wire around the wheel and the tire. This would clean the Mud out enough to keep em’ going.
One summer, Uncle Prof made a trip to Fort William, which was amalgamated to Thunder Bay in 1970. The saddle bags he had were made out of canvas and got too close to the exhaust and caught on fire during the trip.
Uncle Prof had the bike for 6 or 7 years, Dad had his for about the same. I’ve been hearing plenty of stories from Dad about vehicles they had back then, but they had the most fun on the old Harleys. Uncle Prof passed away in the mid-seventies but left us with some good memories.
