FLETCHER’S
PAGE 3
As I remember things, it was May 2008 in Nova Scotia
Canada that I first found Fletchers Harley Davidson on the internet, “I Googled
them”.
I was doing searches for mid west coast Florida Harley
dealers, once I found Fletcher’s website and I started to read about this
dealership I knew that if I got the chance I would visit Fletcher’s.
I phoned Fletcher’s from Nova Scotia Canada; I talked
to some of the staff at Fletcher’s who eventually put me in touch with Tom
Deegan who is a sales associate at Fletcher’s.
Tom is a really friendly, straight shooting kind of a
guy who gave me prices on the 2009 Harley’s and talked to me about the
different models available to members of the Shrine.
I was also automatically put on Fletcher’s HD mailing
list and the following week I started to receive e-mail newsletters from
Fletcher’s, in December 2008 one of those newsletters was an invitation for
everyone to attend Bob Fletcher’s 87th birthday party.
I didn’t know anything about Bob or Bob’s wife Louise
Fletcher before this but I assumed that they must have been the original owners
of the shop and since I was in Florida for the winter staying within an hours
drive of Clearwater I e-mailed Tom Deegan and he confirmed that it was OK for
me to attend the party, “come on down, we’ll be glad to meet you and Bob
Fletcher has just published a book on his life”.
Just as they advertise I thought, friendly and “the biggest
little Harley dealer in
Bob has just written a book I thought to myself, he
must have lived some real motorcycle adventures to write a book. What a
surprise for me.
I arrived at Fletcher’s, took some pictures of the
shop, took some pictures of the employees and bought a copy of Bob’s new book.
I quickly read a few pages to familiarize myself with
Bob before meeting him, then I found Tom to introduce myself, Tom Deegan
welcomed Diane and I, he then took us over to Bob and Louise to introduce us.
Bob smiled but he looked like he was in a bit of pain,
he forgot to take his pain killers Louise said.
I read that you were in the army Bob, is it an old war
injury that’s hurting you?
No, Bob replied with a small smile, “I injured myself
pushing my airplane back into its hangar”.
You still fly an airplane?
Yes I do, Bob said.
Friends of Bob’s and Louise started coming over
towards us forming a line to congratulate Bob on his birthday, approaching us
with the aid of a cane walked one of Bob’s friends “I am older than dirt but
Bob is older than me”, I heard him say to someone in the line.
Every so often the crowd would thin out for a few
seconds so I would take the opportunity to talk to Bob or Louise , “Evel Knievel was a customer of mine
Bob said, he came into the store quite often”.
I never did get
a chance to tell Bob that Diane and I had visited the
General Patton
was granted permission to be buried with his fallen comrades in this cemetery.
General George Patton was buried
with his men on December 24, 1945.
When I wrote
the article about the war time Harley’s UNSUNG HEROES
–Motorcycle Restorers, I never dreamed that I would get to meet and talk with a
man who experienced that period of Harley history and had driven the old Army
Harleys in the war.
Bob and Louise
drove down many unpaved roads; life wasn’t always easy or always fun.
They lived a
life most of us can only dream of living, I will always remember them smiling.
|
Louise riding shotgun, Richard
on the buddy seat and Bob is driving as usual. What a ride, “I want to get
off now” was one of the last things they heard come out of me. Once
you go to Fletcher’s Harley Davidson you feel like you have to go back, it’s
like returning home. Sometimes
on Saturdays Bob and Louise are down at Fletcher’s, Bob likes to tell
stories, chew the fat with old and new friends alike. Buy
his book when he’s there, he’ll most likely be happy to autograph it for you,
just ask him. That
is unless he forgot to take his pain killers again. Louise watches out for Bob like she always
did, when she smiles, which is most of the time, she radiates happiness. In
Bob’s book I seen a great picture taken in the 1940’s, all three of them,
Bob, Peggy and Louise were sitting on a 1947 Harley Davidson Knucklehead. Two
timeless beauties, Louise and that 1947 Harley Davidson Knucklehead. Oh
yeh, Bob. Well
he’s another story. Here is a picture of a 1929 JD
Harley. That was the first motorcycle Bob ever owned but his had a
sidecar. His
first passenger in the sidecar was a high school friend that Bob had invited
to go for a ride. Bob took his first right turn with the motorcycle, he
misjudged the turn, the sidecar with his friend inside went up into the air
and then it went into the bushes. “I
want to get out now” his friend told him. Bob
gave Lucille her first ride on a motorcycle soon after meeting her, her dad
pulled them over while they were driving down a street on the 1929 JD, “get
off that thing, right now” her Dad said. She walked home. |
Mainly
because everyone was having such a good time at Bob’s Birthday Party a few
questions have gone unanswered, I never had enough time to ask everything I
wanted to know about Bob and Louise.
What I’d like to know.
Bob
and Louise were kind enough to answer 7 of the 8 questions below.
Question
#8 Did Bob have a nickname, remains unanswered.
Until
Question #8 is answered I’m calling him True Blue.
Q. What year did
Bob buy the Harley dealership from Dallas Hanger?
A. The year
Bob bought the Harley dealership from Dallas Hanger was 1964.
Q. What was
Bob’s favourite Harley Davidson? Model and year.
A. Bob's
favourite Harley was his 2003 Road King.
Q. What was
Louise’s favourite Harley Davidson? Model and year?
A. Lucille's
favourite Harley was a red 1989 FLH.
Q. Did Louise ever take over the driving of the
motorcycle when her and Bob were touring?
A. Yes, Lucille would take over the driving
on the motorcycle. In fact, in our younger days we used to swap places
going down the road with out stopping !!!
Q. What was Louise’s favourite place she ever
visited on a motorcycle?
A. I would have to say Lucille's favourite
place she ever visited on a motorcycle would be Yellowstone National Park.
Q. What was
Bob’s favourite place he ever visited on a motorcycle?
A. My
favorite place would have to be Mexico City.
Q. Did Bob
ever have a nickname?
A. I dunno.
Maybe. A few come to my mind, most of them either start with Wildman or
Crazy. My personal favourite nickname
for Bob would be True Blue.
TRUE
BLUE - Loyal and unwavering in one's opinions or support for a cause.
Origin
of the term True Blue.
“True
Blue” is supposed to derive from the blue cloth that was made in
The
phrase “as true as
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/true-blue.html