Thursday, August 6, 2009

When Old was New


In every subculture there are divisions or groups that we, as individuals naturally gravitate to. The scooter community is no different. We have the vintage scooter enthusiasts and there are the modern-styled scooter fans. There was a time, however, when vintage scooters were the new kids on the block.

In the latest issue of Bumpstart, I feature a scooterist from that time, Vern Lee. Vern is a walking, talking piece of scooter history and a helluva of a nice guy.

Above photo: Vern with his Vespa GS, San Francisco (1960's)

He's also an excellent professional photographer, who documented that time. Vern generously supplied me with photos of the original Vespa Portland dealership, where he bought his first scooter. I don't know anyone else who has any photo documentation of this. Luckily, Vern kept all his photos and Vespa artifacts in such pristine condition. Today we have the privilige of viewing them. Thanks Vern.

Photos: Vespa Portland (circa 1960's) was located on Sandy Blvd. across from Colonial Mortuary.



It was owned by the Meyer Brothers, Gordon and Bob. I was told that Gordon also owned a Vespa 400.

Pick up a copy of Bumpstart # 3 to read the rest of the story....