In the late 1800s, bicycles were all the craze in the country and locally, including in Orange. Bicycles at the time were a new invention and a new mode of transportation. They included so-called Penny Farthing bikes, with their large front wheels, as well as more traditional-looking bikes we know today.
In 1883, enthusiastic cyclists of Penny Farthing or High Wheel Bikes joined together to create the Orange Wheel Club, according to an Enterprise and Journal article of Nov. 30, 1933, which detailed the history of the club. “The bikes weighed between 75 and 80 pounds and the diameter of the large wheel was from 48 to 60 inches. Headers were numerous off the bikes as it was common for the rear wheel to rear,” it stated.
The first officers of the club were President B. Shepard, Secretary L. Winchell, Treasurer Oscar Hapgood, Executive Committee W.E,. Osterhaut, George, Pratt, Charles Martin, and A.G. Thayer. Other members were Clarence Parkman, John Parker, Charles Wolcott, Homer Bacon, Ernest Dike, Edward Leonard, Jesse Stratton, Fred Dewey, Myron Simonds, E.B. Miller, and Al Robbins, according to the article. There were three long-distance riders in the group, Messrs. Osterhout, Hapgood and Thayer, who could cover between 75 and 80 miles a day. They met on the third floor of the Quinns Block on North Main Street, it stated.
The club activities included joining together to enjoy Sunday club rides or runs, as the one documented in the Orange Journal of Oct. 24 1884, was referred to. The article documented a 35-mile ride from Orange to Petersham, which included dinner in the latter town. The article stated of the group, “They were mostly inexperienced riders and one or two had not gotten over the “I-wonder-why-I-don’t-fall -off” feeling.” The article continued, “They were novices when they started out but were almost veterans when they got back.” Despite their inexperience, the article states the group enjoyed their run, and “that although riders would now and then get careless and a sudden tumble would result,” that “There were no accidents to riders or machines that amounted to anything and all came back in as good as shape as they went out.”
Repairs on the bicycles were done locally, according to the 1933 article. The wheels were hard rubber so there was no problem with punctures. Any other mechanical issues were dealt with by Oscar Hapgood, who according to the article “was an expert mechanic and for many years experimental man at the New Home Sewing Machine Company’s Plant who seldom charged for his work.”
So you may wonder what these cyclists did for fun in the winter. According to the article, “In the winter when there was skating, some of the more expert riders would take a spin on the Millers River.
“This was a difficult trick, for the High-Wheelers were prone to skid,” the article stated. The group would also often hire out the Old Putnam Club House for riding purposes.
Wheel Club members enjoyed attending tournaments outside of the area, as evidenced by a notice in the June 4, 1895 Orange Enterprise which announced a big tournament in Clinton, which a number of members from the Orange Club would be attending. The Fitchburg railroad was selling excursion tickets for $1.65.
In the April 30, 1895 Enterprise, the Orange Clothing Company announcing the selling of Bicycle Clothing. This clothing included Bicycle Jackets and Pants which the advertisement stated were “made of their most durable fabric woven for bicycle wear.”
Rev. George Judson of the Congregational Church, according to the Orange Enterprise of July 28, 1896, based his sermon on the bicycle, using the biblical verse, “When they went out the wheels went out with them.” He cautioned beginner cyclists not to overdo it, to remember the rights of pedestrians, and to not buy what you cannot afford. As for riding on Sundays, the pastor stated, that “if people could reconcile their conscience to Sunday riding he did not believe it necessary for them to absent themselves from church to do so.” The Orange Town Assessors, in a May 30, 1899 Orange Enterprise article stated there were 500 bicycles in Orange. It is unclear what type of bicycles these were.
In 1899, a new bicycle track was being constructed in time for the Fourth of July festivities which included bike races. The track was described, according an Enterprise and Journal article of June 20 of that year, as “rapidly rounding in shape with six laps heavily banked at the corners assuring speed and safety to the riders.” It continued “the track would be entirely surrounded by electric lights for evening races.”
The July 7 Enterprise and Journal article documented these races and stated the sharply inclined bank “was very satisfactory to the riders, who pronounced it ahead of that of Fitchburg, Gardner and other places where they are supposed to have those things about right.” The races that day included a half mile, mile, two mile and a pursuit race requiring 20 laps around the track to win. Race contestants came from as far away as Boston to compete. It appears the cyclists were racing with more traditional bicycles.
This was evidenced by an Aug. 14, 1947 article regarding Walter Hoyt of Orange, which stated, “Thousands flocked to Brookside Park to see the bikesters in action and Walter Hoyt was one of them. He competed with a large coterie of speedsters who came from all over the state. Henry Walker, an Orange boy, was one of the best and Mr. Hoyt with the others was always gunning for him. Mr Hoyt’s riding was done on a Hudson Wheel but he also had an Orient and a Pierce.” All three of these are the more traditional bicycles we see today.
Another local race was also announced in the Enterprise and Journal in Aug. 25, 1899 of bicycle races by the both Athol and Orange Bicycle Association on Labor Day, adding it is believed “the entries will be the largest the association has ever had.”
In an April 27, 1900 notice in the Enterprise and Journal, selectmen in Athol posted notices forbidding fast bicycle riding between the two towns, which would be strictly enforced. “Fast bicycling has reached serious proportions between here and Orange at least,” it stated. The Orange Historical Society has a photo of the Wheel Club and several photos of high wheel bicycles. The society is located at 451 North Main St. and is open Sundays and Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. from June to September.
The Wheeler Memorial Library has digitized copies of the Orange Enterprise, Enterprise and Journal, Journal and the Millers River news. They can be accessed at https://wheeler.advantage-preservation.com/