June 2011 Asylum Mobilitarium

June 2011 Asylum Mobilitarium

I finally received author Rin Tanaka’s book, “Harley-Davidson Fashions, 1910-1950,” from the Harley-Davidson museum in Milwaukee.  As with Tanaka’s other books on vintage motorcycle clothing, this book features excellent photography and descriptions of items such as leather helmets and puttees, that most motorcyclists today have never seen, but at one time everyone who rode a motorcycle wore.

It’s interesting to see motorcyclists clothing evolve over the years. In the teens, bike riders wore coats that were bulky and mostly made of fabric. Zippers at one time were an expensive item apparently. Zippers on jackets and pants did not see wide spread use until the late 1930’s.

The photos of riders dressed in outfits that looked like military uniforms in the 1930’s are especially interesting. Jodhpur riding pants, cavalry boots, and leather and cloth flying caps were all the rage. There were rallies, some were put on by the AMA and called “Gypsy Tours,” where the trophy for “best dressed club,” was a coveted prize. What’s ironic is that some of the men and women wearing these club uniforms would be wearing a real military uniform in just a few years after WWII began.

After WWII, some veterans, especially air crew members, brought home their leather jackets and began riding motorcycles. Clothing manufacturers took note of this popular trend, and realized the safety aspect in wearing leather. After the film “The Wild One,” came out in 1953, there were few throttle –twisters that didn’t have a Marlon Brando type “Schott” or “Langlitz” black leather jacket hanging in their closet.

The traditional motorcycle jacket worn today hasn’t changed much since the fifties. What has changed is that the belt that you see on most jackets nowadays did not come about until riders complained that cold air would rush under the backs of their jackets when at speed. The built in belt that you see on most jackets is the result of manufacturers trying to solve this problem.  

Harley-Davidson has been making motorcycle jackets and clothing since their first catalog came out in 1910. They still sell traditional leather jackets, but also have taken a nod from other manufacturers in offering modern fabrics that shed water, have built in armor, reflective capability and other advances in biker clothing.

Tanaka’s next book I hear will be the history of Harley-Davidson clothing from 1950- to the present. Once again he will be given access to the more than 100,000 photos that are available to researchers in the museum. I’ll be especially interested in seeing the products that were offered during the AMF era. Apparently the jackets, gloves, pants, and helmets that were offered during the 1970’s are really collectable.

During the days of AMF ownership, many if not most riders of Harley-Davidson’s grudgingly bought bikes from a company that most thought was ruining the brand. Some riders, when they brought their new purchase home from the dealership would scrape the letters “AMF” off the tanks of their bikes to show their disgust with the massive conglomerate that also made pool tables and bowling balls.

Traditional buyers of Harley bikes in the 70’s may have figured that if they wanted a new Harley they would have to buy one from AMF, but if they wanted a jacket, they could protest and go somewhere else. And they did. So for this reason, if you find a piece of vintage motorcycle wear that has “AMF” anywhere on it, buy it.   

You’re kids can sell it on E-Bay for big bucks 30-40 years from now.

June 2011 Dallas Police Shield

June 2011 Dallas Police Shield

I recently finished Captain Eddie Walt’s book, “The Hall Street Shootout,” that I mentioned last month. If this audience, young and old, wants a taste of what it was to be a Dallas Police Officer at the end of the so-called “golden age” of the DPD, you should pick it up.

Initially what struck me was that the officers at that time were ill-prepared to deal with a situation that we now would call a “barricaded person.” This was no fault of their own. There were no real SWAT teams then. There was a Tactical unit, but it was used more for “shotgun squads” and “saturation patrol,” than making entry into a house where a crazy person lived.

Saying this, the DPD officers that surrounded the suspect’s house, and eventually made entry that day, did heroic deeds with what they had.

It’s interesting to note that the new “wonder oil/cleaner,” what we now call WD-40, had been used by many officers on their service weapons to clean them. What they didn’t know at the time was that the cleaner also did a number on the ammo. Several officers that day tried to shoot back with their service weapons, and many hammers fell on primers that had been destroyed by the cleaner. Who knew?

Most of the officers then made good use of their shotguns however.  But there was the rule that you could not load the shotgun at the station. The rounds were usually rubber banded, and kept in the car. With calls holding, many squads would have to race out of the station at shift time, and well ah, you wouldn’t stop on a street somewhere and load up. This ridiculous rule was on the books because some officers would jack one in and “Boom,” there goes the station’s sally port roof.

Back in 1969, and as late as 1977 when I hired on, an officer had the option to carry several different types of weapons, including long guns, since there were not enough shotguns to go around. Some officers brought their own from home. One officer had an M-1 carbine and let loose with a few rounds! And he didn’t get days off! Amazing but true.

When I was in SWAT, we used a lot of tear gas rounds! I mean the City spent a lot of money on these expensive items. Helicopter fuel was Tactical’s biggest expense, tear gas was second! The reason is that we would pump round after round into a suspect’s house, mostly because the rounds were not accurate and most would hit the side of a house, and land near a perimeter SWAT member, who would let the gas man know later what he thought about his shooting skills! But those rounds usually did the trick and the suspect would come out coughing and spitting up a lung. And of course the occasional DPD officer who was late putting on his gas mask!

In 1969, shooting tear gas was a bigger deal than today. Dallas had escaped for the most part the civil unrest hitting other major cities in this country in the 1960’s. There were riots in the streets about the war in Vietnam, racial issues, women’s rights, etc. Dallas still is a conservative city, but in 1969 it was much more so. The city leaders were scared out of their wits that it would happen here, and we would quit making money! We did have the downtown riot in 1972 after the shooting of a child, but for the most part, Dallas was all about making money, and we kept the so-called lid on things. And the students that went to SMU were not the radical types like at Berkley, Columbia, etc. That was the major educational institution in Dallas at the time (and still is I guess,) and thankfully it didn’t happen here.

Anyway, to shoot tear gas in 1969, you would have to get a chief or someone like that to sign off to unload on a house. The images of other cities using tear gas on its citizens to quell disturbances during civil unrest didn’t sit well with the behind the scenes guys on the powerful “Dallas Citizens Committee” that really ran things back then. I’m sure that there were closed door meetings with the DPD telling the Chief not to use gas unless you have to. Initially, the officers had a hard time finding a chief to give the word, but one was found and the word was given.

The description of Hall and Thomas in the 1960’s brought back a lot of memories to this writer, who remembers that intersection as a rookie in 1977. Wow, the area now is all Biffs’, Buffy’s, BMW’s and trendy bars! Amazing. Better? I’m not so sure. The area in 1969 had its own character, good or bad, it was genuine. Now, I’m not so sure.

Check out Captain Walt’s book. This like I said is a real slice of the DPD life in the sixties. Well worth a read.

W.H.Croom,II #3973 retired

dmntia1995@aol.com,www.asylummobilitarium.blogspot.com