PRESERVATION
Take a moment to enjoy our current featured
collection of articles and photos from the past.
CURRENT FEATURE - St. Helens Ride, 1950s
 Photographer:
Bob Chaney
Provided to the Pacific Northwest Museum
of Motorcycling through the collection of Jon Martin
A ride to Mt. St. Helens in the 1950s. Imagine that.
No I-5, plenty of Highway 99 and then a ride east to the
mountain. There's a lot we know from looking at the
photo.
It was most likely taken at the Timberline Viewpoint,
south of Spirit Lake several miles. Located right at the
north base of the mountain, the viewpoint does not exist
today since it blew out with the entire north base of
the mountain and was washed down the north fork of the
Toutle river in the lahars. The ridge on the left side
survived the blast in 1980 and is visible today. But now
it is the rim of the crater, which it may have been
several times throughout history.
The photograph was most likely taken in June when the
mountain still has a lot of snow, but the days are
longest. We can see there's plenty of light illuminating
the riders and the mountain, so a picture like this can
only occur during early morning or evening hours. A mid
day shot is unlikely since the riders would become
shadows with the sun at their backs. Judging by the
glint of light coming off the headlight of the bike on
the right and the reflection on the fender of the bike
next to it, it's probable this was an early evening
photo with the sun dangling in the west to the right of
the bikes. This is confirmed by the shadow position of
the tree half way up the hill on the right and the light
illuminating the woman at the left's, left cheek.
Looks like a good group ride. In the picture we see
six riders and might assume the person taking the photo,
Bob Chaney was also along for the ride. The trail in the
back on the right leads one to wonder if there wasn't
some hill climbing tomfoolery going on.
We see three Harley Davidson's and one bike we're
unable to identify by brand name on the right. But that
bike also sports a more aggressive front tire, so it may
have seen its fair share of gravel roads and possibly
even trails during its time. That bike may have been
Chaney's as he was active in the dirt bike and hill
climb communities.
Have you got
historical photographs, documents or other items you'd
like to donate to the Pacific Northwest Museum of
Motorcycling. Contact us through our website today.
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