VOL. 55 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 14, 2018 P131
passed away in 1996. A profes-
sional metallurgist and ardent
Indian Motocycle collector,
Charlie had an entrepreneurial
vision of bringing a new, locally
manufactured Indian Motocycle
back into production. Working
with two former Indian employees,
Earl "Pop" Armstrong and design
engineer Jimmie Hill, he created
a prototype based on the 1953 In-
dian Chief, the last of the original
Indian production line. He hoped
to take it to market in 1975 but his
dream was never realized.
Charlie became a lifelong en-
thusiast for the Springfield-made
cycles when he rode his first In-
dian as a young man in the 1930s.
After decades of assembling
a personal collection of Indian
motorcycles and memorabilia he
and Esta opened their own Indian
Motocycle Museum in 1974.
Knowing that Charlie wanted the
Indian collection to stay intact and
in Springfield, in 2007 Esta made
a generous gift of the collection to
the Springfield Museums.
"I'm very history- and civic-ori-
ented," Esta told The Springfield
Republican in 2007, after donat-
ing their extensive collection of
Indian motorcycles, artifacts and
memorabilia to the Springfield
Museums.
She noted that the idea of split-
ting up the pricey collection to
live out her life in
riches had no ap-
peal to her. "That
is unimportant,"
she added.
Thanks to Es-
ta's stewardship
of the museum's
collection, we
are able to enjoy
the collection today. Housed in
The Wood Museum of Spring-
field History, part of the larger
Springfield Museums complex,
the museum's Indian Motocycle
Collection is the largest collection
of Indian cycles and memorabilia
in the world.
If you happen to be in the
Springfield area the museum is
well worth a visit. I'm fortunate that
I was able to see the collection in
its rawer form in the old museum
and the spruced-up version today
at its new home.
Indian enthusiasts gather every
year in the middle of the summer
at the museum for "Indian Day."
For 35 years, Indian Day was
held in Springfield at the former
Indian Motocycle Museum on
Hendee Street. First held at
that location in 1970, Indian Day
provided an opportunity for Indian
riders, collectors and motorcycle
enthusiasts to display their bikes,
talk shop, swap parts and com-
pete for various awards. After a
brief hiatus, Indian
Day is once again
an annual tradition
in Springfield, held
since 2010 on the
grounds of the
Springfield Muse-
ums.
It's good to
know that the his-
tory of what once
was America's
largest motorcycle
manufacturer was
preserved by a
caring, and, yes, irascible old
woman and now cherished by
the city of Springfield and avail-
able to us all. CN
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This is just a
small example of
what you'll see
housed in the
Wood Museum
of Springfield
History.
This toolkit on
display was owned
and used by Indian
co-founder Oscar
Hedstrom.
