Ghosts, witches and goblins—oh my! Dwaine “Paper Boy” Johnson had a birthday on Halloween. That Old Coot from Livermore was 62. Happy belated birthday, Dwaine. Here is a great big shout out and thank you for the kind words about this column… Happy birthday to all Harley riders who celebrate in November. Happy birthday to IHR members Jay Cuccarese in Salem, Oregon, and Bob Moore in Boulder Creek. Happy birthday to Sam Martinez in San Jose, Rusty Barter of Stockton H.O.G., Kathy Lukachinsky, Chuck Matheson and Sam Fernandez of Iron Steed H.O.G. In Santa Cruz, happy birthday to Pete Gallager, Dennis Grazian, Bud Gussman, Lisa Racine Heekin and Terry Swinggi; to Charles Atwater in La Selva Beach, Kenny Mann and to good friend Joelene Downey in her new home in Oregon. Happy birthday to that terrific old coot Gene “Taz” Thompson in Hidden Valley Lake, and last but never, ever least, happy birthday to Lompico Lyle, chairman of the Monterey Bay Confederation of Clubs and founder of Ghost Mountain Riders MC… I cannot count the times I have ridden across and within the state of Utah and, yet, this summer I discovered that I had missed a treasure. You see, I have always entered Utah one of two ways: I have either ridden by way of the Salt Flats, which I love, and then stayed on or north of Interstate 80; or I have entered on Interstates 50/70 and stayed on or south of there. This summer is the first time I have ridden from I-80 south to I-50/70. On I-15 south of Salt Lake City, but north of Provo, is the small town of Lindon; the population is about 10,000, and there is the most fascinating and unique Harley-Davidson dealership I have ever seen—Timpanogos Harley-Davidson. You must go see this. Willie G. has been there twice. On his first visit, he said, “We are going to have to build cooler motorcycles.” The second time he was there he said, “This is the most significant Harley-Davidson dealership in the world. There is nothing to compare it by.” I could not agree more. The building is 60,000 square feet of American history. It was constructed by David Tuomisto from 2007 to 2008, and it is an all-American building. Now I have to refer to their pamphlet to adequately describe the materials used in the construction. In 1942, the Geneva Steel Mill cost more than $200 million to build. It operated from 1944 to 2002 and was demolished between 2005 and 2007. In 2007 David claimed salvage from the mill, and began construction of the dealership. All the timbers and fixtures in the ceiling came from the roofs and trusses of Geneva. Geneva Steel firehouse bricks were used to build the main center wall. The vertical columns in the main wall are from the 1880 Salt Lake City railroad roundhouse. All of the trusses in the parts department, showroom and lobby are from one of the original railroad buildings in Ogden. The railroad trusses were built in the late 1870s, and David found them in the bushes in the back of an old salvage yard. The main body of the building was fabricated from trusses taken from the Salt Lake City Coca-Cola plant, built in 1903. The giant acorn-shaped lights along the center wall came from the railroad tracks behind Geneva. The double-shade lights on the main sales floor are from a Milwaukee bicycle factory. The glass door ad wall between the main dealership and Marley’s restaurant are from the Ogden Army Depot. (A word about Marley’s: Marley’s specializes in sliders, and they are delicious. Unless you haven’t eaten in days, start with just one. It is a tremendous little burger.) Then there are the vintage signs and the stories behind them. “Joe’s Spic and Span” neon sign has been restored and is near the kiosk. Joe’s Spic and Span was a Provo landmark restaurant owned and operated by brothers Joe and Ron. Ironically, these two brothers disliked one another, and hours could go by without them saying a word to each other. Above the elevator on the second floor there is a Stinker Gas Station sign. Farris Lind founded Stinker Stations in Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1936. “Fearless Farris” built his corporate empire from inside an iron lung where he was condemned to live following a bad dose of polio vaccine. And over the main sales floor, they have rare vintage Harley-Davidson Bar-and-Shield signs, most of which were destroyed when the company changed logos. An accumulation of vintage Harleys is scattered throughout the dealership. It starts with a 1927 JD, includes a 1963 H-D Trike and ends with a 2003 Springer Softail. And they all run! There is so much more to tell. Stay tuned and I will continue on next month… Earlier this year, that Old Coot, Forest “Trees” Linderman from Watsonville, retired from riding. He had been riding all his life, and his bike of choice for as long as I have known him has always been a Heritage. After all of those years, Trees just thought it was time to hang up his leathers, and it came as a shock to all who know him. Well, good news! Trees is back in the saddle. Yes, indeedie, he has ordered a new Heritage in his trademark color: black. Congratulations, Trees. I love it!
