Peter Bridge wrote:
Nice to see Hartley's name on the list. I knew him and his wife Jean very well. A good humoured and kind person, who loved bicycles, who loved to ride, who loved to hang out with the bike kids, and who enjoyed sharing a beer with everyone else in my bike shop Friday evening. He'd come in at about five, lay a five dollar bill on the counter, and announce to the shop in general, "Who's goin' fuh bee-ah? You fly, I'll buy!"
He rode CO --> IN for his fiftieth highschool reunion, updating the world via short-wave radio the entire way. He made a decent enough living from his Touring Cyclist business to have a small crop of high-end bikes hanging in his garage. I think I recall correctly two Hetchins, one straight, and one curley, a chrome Paramount, and more. He steadily made modest improvements and innovations to touring equipment, and claimed that Kirtland had, ah, borrowed ideas from him.
Last I knew, Jean was still living in Boulder. I should look her up. Hartley's "key went silent", as they say in the shortwave world, a few years back. You're remembered fondly, Hartley.
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I "knew" Hartley Alley in a different way, because of our mutual interest in excellent bicycle touring bags. It must have been about 1970 that Beloved Spouse and I designed and built our own panniers and handlebar bags, combining the best features of European and others we had seen to make something we would enjoy and could afford. Next thing: our club, Narragansett Bay Wheelmen, started offering the plans and patterns for 50c, as a modest fund-raiser. One day, got a strong letter from a lawyer representing Mr. Alley, claiming patent infringement. As a starving grad student, it got my attention. We'd both incorporated some prior art, so his pending patent didn't bother us, and we all went on our merry ways. Later, when I saw his products, they were very high quality, and I'm glad they supported him. The plans didn't bring much income to the club.
harvey sachs