League history uncovered in Sandusky, OH

Dorene Paul, the reference assistant for the Sandusky Library in Sandusky, OH, was browsing through the archives one day recently when she came upon some artifacts from the early days of the League, then known as the League of American Wheelmen. She found a program from the League’s 13th Annual Meeting, which includes classic advertisements for bicycles, and a period photograph of a woman posing with her bike.  “I just really enjoy browsing through all the vintage items we have here in our Archives at Sandusky Library,” she said. The 19th century League meeting program caught her eye. The materials are posted on the Library’s blog.

(Photo from Sandusky Library Archives)

The program from 1893 reminds us of the long history of the League’s advocacy efforts, then focused on the Good Roads Movement to pave America’s streets. Today the work continues with the annual National Bike Summit. A lot has changed in Sandusky and the U.S. since 1893. “Probably the main thing I noticed in the file with the program from the League of American Wheelmen,” Paul said, “was that the prices of hotel were very inexpensive, and automobiles had not become popular yet, so…it was a much simpler time.”