FAMILY-DRIVEN; WEST VALLEY CYCLE CELEBRATES ITS 50TH YEAR : BY GREGORY J. WILCOX STAFF WRITER.A half-century ago, Jay Richter moved his family from the Chicago suburbs to the wide open spaces of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and began selling the Cushman Eagle motor scooter motor scooter: see motorcycle. from a small corner of his auto repair shop. He called the place West Valley Cycle. Chicken ranches were his closest neighbors, and for some Valley residents, Winnetka was just a place in the distance, a name along a two-lane highway lined with pepper trees pepper tree: see sumac. . ``Salesmen wouldn't come over from Van Nuys because it was too far,'' Ruth Richter, Jay's wife, said with a chuckle on Friday as she scanned some faded photographs hanging above the shop's window. The shop still looks a lot like it did back then. It's larger, and the chicken ranches have been replaced by strip malls and housing tracts. But the family home is still behind the shop where motor cycles are sold and fixed. Today, the family is throwing a party to celebrate the start of its 50th year in the cycle business and expects several hundred old and new customers to show up. Every one of the Richters rides or has ridden cycles. But Ruth Richter says her riding days are over. ``They are a fun vehicle, but I haven't ridden in a few years. I've kind of outgrown it,'' she said. ``I've got customers older than I am (who are) riding, but I'm not that nervy.'' In the post World War II boom of the early 1950s, Americans began a love affair with cycles, so Richter found plenty of work repairing Doodlebugs, Whizzers, Salisburys, Indians and Harley-Davidsons. Shortly after opening the store, the family was selling BSA 1. BSA - Business Software Alliance. 2. BSA - Bidouilleurs Sans Argent. , Velocette and NSU NSU Nonspecific urethritis, see there models. The BMW BMW in full Bayerische Motoren Werke AG German automaker. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916, the company assumed the name Bayerische Motoren Werke and became known for its high-speed motorcycles in the 1920s. line was added in 1955, and West Valley Cycle has been selling it exclusively since 1968. The store sells eight models ranging in price from $7,500 to $18,900 for the top-of-the line model that features a compact disk player com´pact disk` play´er n. 1. an electronic device containing a laser, used to read or play back the data on a compact disk. The term is usually used for the type of device used to play music recordings. and heated handlebar grips and seat. ``This is the oldest family-owned dealership in the country,'' Ruth Richter said. ``There are some older dealerships, but they have changed hands. We haven't.'' Nor is that likely to change. Jay Carlson, their grandson, began working at the shop two years ago. He was working as an alarm system installer at the time, but you don't say no to family. And he doesn't plan to quit anytime soon. ``It's been around for 50 years, so we'll see if we can do another 50 years,'' he said. ``It's fun work. And it's family, and family comes first.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (color) Richter family members, clockwise from left, Jay Carlson, Jay Richter, Ruth Richter, Laurie Richter Watson and Don Watson Don Watson (born 1949) is an author and public intellectual, who was speechwriter to former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating. He lives and works in Melbourne and lectures widely on writing and language. , run West Valley Cycle, which is celebrating the start of its 50th year. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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