The Indian News, May-June 1936
Indian packed the May-June 1936 issue of The Indian News with the things riders actually talked about: records, races, rallies, clubs, accessories, dealers, and police motorcycles. The cover identifies it as Vol. 3 No. 3, printed by the Indian Motorcycle Co. in Springfield, Massachusetts, under the boast “Voice of 100,000 Riders!”
These eleven scans run from pages 1 through 5, jump to page 8, show page 9 twice, and continue through page 12. The sequence stays exactly as it came, including the switch between “Voice of 90,000 Riders!” and “Voice of 100,000 Riders!” in the page headers.
Cover and opening pages
“Indian Riders Sweeping the Country” is not much of an exaggeration for the opening page. Rody Rodenberg gets the center column for a 71-hour, 20-minute run from New York City to Los Angeles on a Sport Scout. Around him are Ed Kretz at Riverside, Freddy Ludlow’s speed record, an A.M.A. rally, a gypsy tour, a city-to-city promotion, and Cleveland hill-climb results.
“The Hardest Job in the World” follows an A.M.A. field representative through a schedule that sounds more like a long-distance endurance run than office work. Richmond rally results fill the right column, with more winners from Schenectady and other meets crowded around them.
“On to Keene!” takes over the next page with the Gypsy Tour and Rally, backed by rider photographs and regional competition news. Don Westergard’s Pacific Northwest results, Stuart Hall’s Michigan record, and the “Odd Moments of the Stars” photos make the magazine feel less like a factory bulletin and more like a conversation among riders.
Rodenberg’s transcontinental account finishes on page 4, while the city tour reaches Springfield, Philadelphia, and Texas. Down below, Indian reports a Pacific Coast championship endurance run and makes sure the reader knows its motorcycles filled the top places.
Accessories and rider photographs
Indian did not stop at motorcycles. Page 5 lays out shirts, sweaters, jewelry, goggles, belts, and riding glasses with stock numbers and prices—the complete branded wardrobe for the rider who wanted everyone to know what he rode.
Page 8 gets more practical: spotlights, mirrors, horns, switches, tools, a first-aid kit, riding clothes, and a combination stop-and-tail light. Indian was happy to sell every small piece that made the motorcycle more useful—or simply looked good bolted to it.
“With Indian Riders” fills page 9 with club groups, touring stops, costumes, and owner photographs. The page appears twice in the scan sequence, so both views stay in place.
Clubs, dealers, and police motorcycles
“With the Clubs” jumps from Denver to McPherson, Oshkosh, Peoria, Yorkville, Philadelphia, and plenty of stops in between. A Richmond report also puts a low-priced twin and an Indian “4” into the action, mixing model promotion into the club news without slowing down for a formal sales pitch.
“Indian Increases Dealer Organization” is exactly what page 11 delivers: a long roll of new dealers across the United States, Canada, and overseas, followed by short dispatches from Austria, Spain, Nebraska, and the Pacific Northwest.
“Indian Police Sales Increase” closes the sequence with uniforms and fleet machines. Cuban Army units, Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol officers, Canadian police, Illinois patrolmen, and other departments give Indian a full page of institutional customers to point at.
The November-December issue turns toward the 1937 motorcycles, but this spring issue belongs to riders already out using the 1936 machines. It ends with police fleets, after starting with a Sport Scout racing across the country in 71 hours and 20 minutes. Indian knew how to cover some ground.