Evening Star Newspaper, June 21, 1931, Page 77

— v o THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. .C, JUNE 21, 1931 State Adee, the late Rudolph Kauffmann and an indefinite number of others equally as im- portant. HEN the l:ague met here, in 1884, it was the Caplial Bicyele Club and the Wash- inglon Bicycle Club that met the visitors at the station and e:corted them to their re- spective quariers, entertaining them throughout their stay in the city. Of this The Star says! “The Capital Club arranged a series of runs for the visitors yesterday, which were greatly enjoyed. At 8 o'clock in the morning Messrs. Crossman and Church escorted a party of 25 through the Soldiers’ Home grounds. At 10:30 Capt. Hensmann started a long procession from the club house bound for Cabin John Bridge. There were 140 men in line. About 20 were Capital boys and the remainder were delegations from the Philadelphia Club, Seaside Club of Norfolk, Alpha Club of Bethlehem, Pa.; Key- stone Club of Pitisburgh; East Bridgewater, Mass.; New York Ciub and Marietta, Pa., Club; Trojan Wheelmsn from Troy, N. Y., and Kings County, N. Y., wheelmen. In the afternoon a party of 75 was escorted on & 10-mile run through the ci'y, and another of about 25 to Arlington. Th= visitors are loud in praise of ,our beautiful and s:mncoth streets. A feature of the league meet will be a parade of wheelmen tonight through the streets, each rider carry- ing a Chinese lantern. “Bicycles were stacked all around Ford's Opera House this morning, and natty-looking young gentlemen in knee breeches and short jackets were in such numbers as to make a man in full-lenzth trousers and coat-tails feel as though he were out of style. The stage and interior of the opera house were decorated with —~flags and shields. A private meeting of the board of government was held in the gallery of the theater b:forc the public sessions opened.” The parade as announced was held, and the torchlight procession which followed at night was a glorious success, as were the races at Athletic Park, Ninth and S streets northwest, and the visitors enjoyed themselves so much that they were back here again in 1892. Y this time the women had become a consid- erable factor in bicycle riding, were admitted to membership in the L. A. W. and made a good turnout wherever it met. An official in speak- ing of the fair sex in attendance at Washington that year said: “I never saw 50 many charm- distance, and yesterday was spent in short runs in and about the city and the adjacent country.” Mrs. William F. Smith, who claimed to be the first woman to ride a bicycle in the United States, was much in evidence at this meet, what The Star said of her at the historic and interesting, since the writer the question of the first woman rider in th District is one that has never been satisfactorily settled. Mrs. Smith certainly makes a good case and The Star gave her good publicity. It said: “Mrs. William F. Smith, wife of the Wash- hands sex to muster up courage and appear road on a ‘bike’ she is the pioneer cyel were on pretty strips of green silkk and the lettering on the badge gave a history of her wheeling. The badges were in greater demand than most of the club emblems, and many wheelmen were willing to sacrifice half a dozen other badges for one of them. 3 “‘I am an old rider,’ sald Mrs. Smith, ‘from the fact that I was among the first ladies in the Capiial who indulged in this sport, for in 1881 I puichased a full-nickeled tricycle for the purpose of improving my health. I con- tinued to ride this for several years, when I began to grow dissatisfied with it. I constantly heard my associates talking of the coming lady’s safety I should have in the near future and - this caused me almost to give up my cumber- some tricycle. Time flew rapidly, and it was - mnot long before I got my promised bicycle, but it - was some time before I made active use of the - wheel—in fact, I did not take to riding through . the day until the wheel became quite familiar %o the public. In 1889 I did considerable riding, ignoring all criticism.’ “Mrs. Smith has been all over the United Btates with her wheel and has been present at more bicycle meets than any other of the fair . 8ex. She considers that there is no other sport 80 enjoyable, so fascinating and so essential to health. Every lady in our age should have the good judgment to invest in a wheel and judge for herself of the real pleasure she is missing. It lightens the trials and cares of life, sustains health and bezuty and saves timg and money.” woman riders were well taken care of at this time and there was nothing left undone mittece ove doing everything to make the meet a ple- - one for their guests. Mrs. J. C. Chmic ' has charge of this committee. She is the wife of Mr. Churchill, the vice consul of - the affair was an enjoyable one. eenth — The flood of 1889, showing tricycle in water on Fourteenth s-'treet, between Ohio avenue and D street. " visited, and from there the visitors got a good view of Pennsylvania and Maryland avenues by gas and electric light. About 9 o'clock the party arrived at headquarters, and the ladies Teceived their friends in the r2d parlor. “The ladies’ run to Soldiers’ Takoma Park was largely participated in, and Over the street hill through Mount Pleasant run, the Museum and Smithsonian Institute being the favorite attractions among the public In the parade incident to the occasion the lady bicyclists, and sincerely hope that much good may result therefrom. Now the discussioh fEstgy gES?E;E B-ESRTs gg;; e g i i §Er g 3 g ft ¥ 4 A Hl ; % John Swinborne, Capital Bicycle Club, 1881, “but they are allowed by this generous govern- ment, in: which thesy have no representation, to bear the burden, the expense attached to the presence of large bodies of people who may come here at any time to celebrate an event.” He also spoke of the presence of so many lady cyclists, “whose graceful movements,” he said; “were to be admired.” He referred to the first Mrs. Lockwood, it will be recalled, rofe a tricycle, at least from the first—and quite Hkely was the first woman in Washington to ride this kind of a machine. Speaking of riding the tricycle—that is, the “sociable” or two-seat kind—the writer has always thought it possible women were induced by their hus- g ? [ o558k 58 } é ¥ 5 # e g § £ of 4 a s Eg ; fy g? 3 191" b | il JH g i £l : g ey 5 Q el °§§§§g g;?é-g EgEEEE HI R E : 1 : ik g 33 g 0% : it i gt 4 g g g § § 3 g fil i g 58 : b £ ik : RIS, ik s