Bike safety c. 1930s

Sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s, Walter Scott demonstrated for a newspaper photographer the common (and dangerous) practice of “hitching” a bike on a car for speed and thrills. According to the photo caption, the boy lived at 814 Hawthorne Avenue, a neighborhood on the north edge of downtown that was flattened first by the construction of the Farmer’s Market and then the freeway. Since the lad gave his name and address to a reporter, it’s not likely he was trying to hide his behavior from his mother. The image was probably created as part of a public safety campaign. Now it’s in the collection of historic newspaper photos at the Hennepin County Libraries Special Collections. Thanks to citizen-researcher Rita Yeada for locating and digitizing this and so many other amazing images.