When I was a senior at University High School, I had outgrown my bicycle, and my interest was mostly in a fellow who was studying electrical engineering. W.F. "Chub" Gerard took me to Presbyterian Student Association events and square dances where I played fiddle. He was struggling with school, a Depression job and responsibilities at home.

Chub and I met in 1931, and we married seven years later. Our children, Nancy and Walt, were in New Haven School when we entertained an exchange student from England for a month. Ann Clark wanted us to visit her farm in Sussex. We couldn’t afford such a thing, but Chub and friends said, "Go anyway!"

Remembering about youth hostels and bicycling in Europe, Nancy, Walt and I did "go anyway!" We rented three-speed bikes with hand brakes from Lester Ward Co. in London, by mail, from Columbia. An elderly gentleman from London, probably one of the owners, delivered the bikes to us after dark at the Portsmouth Youth Hostel as planned. He insisted on knowing the inseam pants measurement of each rider, and I didn’t know why until later. The seat height depended on that measurement.

Adult leaders of youngsters were welcome in hostels. We met young and old from many countries of the world: Australia, Iceland, a group of Russians who didn’t smile or speak, three girls from Japan, one from New Zealand, a woman from Poland who had to undergo three interviews. Polish officers accused her of being a spy because she owned a camera.

Walt had no problem communicating with the shop owners. He asked such good questions at bike shops that the proprietors stopped work to talk and show him around. Neither Walt, the proprietors nor I realized this kid would some day own the first complete bike shop in Columbia.

When he was entering grade 11 at University High School, he employed classmates to work part time at Walt’s Bike Shop. One of those English dealers was so excited about meeting American cyclists that he stopped work, went to a storage garage and brought out his antique Pennyfarthing - high-wheeler - in a drizzling rain to show how he rode it in a parade the week before.

What a wonderful 63 days we had. Nancy and Walt had no problem writing papers for school that September about what they did that summer.