In some way I feel a tad bit guilty about having found something that is so old. Obviously there is some history behind the bike such as, "This bike belonged to my great great grandmother." Or something along those lines. But I can't imagine anyone wanting to part with it under the condition I found it. Let me explain.

Like many New England towns we have something know as the "Stump Dump." Along with handling wood and compostables, they salvage scrap metal. Most of it goes into a big ferous pile while a smaller aluminum pile slowly grows, until one day a big crane comes and they haul it all away to be recycled. Here's a picture of the metal pile when I found the late '40s early 50's Hercules last fall:

The current pile as about double the size of the one in the picture. Near the pile is a shed and if the workers believe a bike is usable they place it in the shed hoping someone will give the bike a second chance.. The week before I found a Marin Muirwoods MTB in the shed. Here's the shed.

I found this antique safety bicycle up on the pile. I wonder if the handlebars are in the pile some place and if the owner took them off in order to fit the bike into the car? I looked for the bars but did not spot them.

The reason I tell you all this is that you have to be intentional about taking a bike to the srap pile. We can only do so on Sundays and Tuesdays. The rest of the week the gate is closed. Some one threw it out so they don't want it. I wish I knew why but I know I don't have time to call every residence in town.