On Whose Bike did Gov. McCall Sign the Bike Bill?

You've probably seen the famous image of Gov. Tom McCall signing the Bike Bill on the steps of the Capitol in 1971.

Signing the Bike Bill, 1971 (Stathos Family)

One detail that is rarely noted in any historical discussion of the photo and the Bike Bill is the owner of the bike.

Research over the weekend on a wholly separate topic turned up a new answer. It led to some history in Salem that is worth a closer look, and there is almost certainly more to say another time.

September 14th, 1975

A piece from 1975 on a stolen bike contained the claim that "In 1973 former Gov. Tom McCall signed the first bikeway bill into law on the seat of the stolen bike."

The Bike Bill was signed in 1971 not 1973, and in 1971 the bike would have been brand new.

Not every detail checks out, and so there is some uncertainty here. But on the surface it is plausible this is the right bike.

The conventional wisdom has been that the bike was owned by Don Stathos, and was a Schwinn Paramount.

• At the Oregonian, "Tom McCall: Former governor signed a 'bike bill' in 1971; and what about that bike?" (2013)
• And at BikePortland a secondary reference in, "Read the letter to TriMet about naming new bridge after Don Stathos" (2011)
• (Without any speculation on the bike's owner, but interesting as additional background, and also at BikePortland in 2014, "Sam Oakland, leader of the ‘Shift of the 1970s,’ dies at 80")

A contemporary news photo and caption was silent on the bike's owner.

June 11th, 1971

One piece of evidence against that conventional wisdom is that Stathos' own bike may have been stolen on the eve of the signing ceremony.

November 4th, 1971

That suggests a substitute would have been necessary.

The owner of the stolen bike referred to in the 1975 note, Carroll Quimby, was a prominent person who biked here, just the sort of person who might have a nice bike and be able and very willing produce it on short notice. You'll note also in the piece on the theft that Quimby was the "immediate past president of the 24,000 member League of American Wheelmen and founder of the Salem Bicycle Club."

July 7th, 1973

Quimby appears to have had a distinguished presence in bicycle advocacy here for a decade or so.

August 24th, 1971

In 1967 a bicycling trip to British Columbia was novel enough for front page photos and a news story on return.

August 6th, 1967

September 5th, 1967

A couple years later he started recreational rides at the Y.

March 10th, 1969

It was followed by his election as first and temporary president of the Salem Bicycle club.

March 15th, 1969

He called bicycling the "solution for pollution" and referred to the sticker on his bike.

September 18th, 1970

A few years later as Salem was beginning to build out those first bike paths, he contributed to debate over the alignment of a path on south River Road. Apparently the first proposal was for a path from Croisan Creek Road to Brown Island. Quimby and others criticised this as not anything serving meaningful numbers of riders. They advocated instead for a route from downtown, one that looks pretty close to the current one from Miller to the entry to Minto Park.

February 10th, 1972

February 18th, 1972

After stepping down from the LAW Presidency, his bike advocacy appears to have dwindled, perhaps replaced by a renewed focus on his primary career as massage therapist. It's also possible he burned out on it, frustrated by the lack of progress.

August 25th, 2002

He died in 2002 and his obituary repeats the claim about the bike, and is also silent on bike advocacy in the later 1970s and beyond.

Perhaps there will be more to say another time. The early 1970s history of our current bike lane system remains of interest. We haven't completed any whole network, and several debated issues remain live and are not yet fully resolved. The moves Quimby made to institutionalize riding in Salem and his advocacy positions are also of interest. And of course firming up the identity of the actual bike in the photo would be a nice footnote to the photo and story about the Bike Bill.