What was 1st. Thursday? and What is 3rd Thursday!

   Since about 1976, the Twin Cities Norton Owners Club (TCNOC) has been holding meetings the 1st. Thursday of each month. At first, it was in the driveways of various homes in Minneapolis and St. Paul. We graduated to Jack Schally's shop on west 7th in St. Paul, then Hamel's (Sterling Cycle), D.S. Specialties and by the late 80's at Culla's bar on Riverside. Typically, we had 10-20 people at meetings, many without Nortons, but all "gear heads" with a keen interest in fixing up old bikes. It wasn't unusual to see a Vincent or even a Douglas Dragonfly on occasion. We had tech sessions and learned about repairing magnetos, evaluating cranks and valve design. Demonstrations on wire-feed welders and overhead cam Nortons by our members spiced things up.

 

    On and off since about 1980, we kept a tally of who was coming to the meetings and what they were interested in. This helped us pool our talent and get the right people to meet for info exchange etc. One fateful evening in 1988 we were trying to listen to the Loc-Tite guy tell us about products (and give a bunch away also), when the bartender decided he couldn't hear the hockey game well enough and cranked up the TV to drown us out. One of our elder statesmen requested the volume be decreased and had the audacity to request that a small check be cashed. Both requests were summarily denied. Now, usually, Culla's was populated by the same 3 guys. Rarely more and never less. Though there were 30 of us, the "management" persisted in its behavior, and a "dialogue" ensued between them and our requestor. It ended with a heated discussion over each discussant's maternal vocation and the Oedipus concept.

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Typical meeting at "Sterling Cycle" about 1983.

    My friend Raul and I decided at this juncture that an alternative, less hostile venue was in order. The "Oil Gods" were calling us to duty. We sent minions (mostly Raul) to the North, the South, the East and the West in search of a spot conducive to our group. Qualities we were seeking included a British link, a big parking lot, a central or historic locale, a receptive management, and NO competition (other customers to piss and moan about us). It might have wound up being at the POODLE CLUB on East Lake, but for the parking and no particular way of relating poodles to English bikes unless we changed P-O-O-D-L-E to P-U-D-D-L-E, which, as you all know is the secret sign of our club.....

    Raul checked out Dulono's (a good British sounding name) and found it ideal. A stage, parking, central, funky and empty on "Our" night. To move the group would require some type of mass communication. We started the first of many irregularly published issues of the shameless TCNOC Newsletter. This was sent free to anyone who wanted one. We financed it out of our own pockets and then through raffles and donations. At one point recently, 588 homes (or garages) were receiving our free newsletter. The list included a well known late night TV personality and readers as far away as Sydney, Australia. Our only request in return was to take the money not spent on dues to us and consider joining the International Norton Owners Association and participating in events (and contributing to the newsletter). We have sponsored a home page (presently under redesign) and hold both a separate winter and summer event..

    The club meeting has become a sort of clearing-house for activities of other clubs in Minnesota. Representatives from the CRA, MSF, BMW club, Antique Motorcycle Club of America, British Road-riders and Four-StrokeSingles Club attend and interact.

    Our doings caught the attention of a national cycle magazine last summer. By this time, we were 1500 strong and rising at each monthly meeting! The entire city block was now lined with bikes, and most riders didn't have a clue what was really going on. The cool bikes that came after 7 PM had to park a block away and guys who would ordinarily show off their newly completed restoration simply didn't bring them. Dweebs on crotch rockets were revving engines and flipping bikes on their "dramatic lift-offs". The ownership changed, and the new owners were unsure whether they were comfortable with the situation. About then, the waitresses were ripped off twice. We paid them out of club funds to smooth things. The few long time dedicated members spent the whole evening moving bikes, placating neighbors, talking to police and to crown off the new day, picking up broken glass and trash lefl by our bunch all over the neighborhood, so that NEXT meeting, they would have the opportunity to do it AGAIN!

    Well, the few doing all the work got a bit tired of this and tried to get reorganized on 7- Corners, with the help of Up North bar and grill. Unfortunately, some of our old timers have their steering dampers on a little tight, and have a problem turning corners (after all, there are 7...). The group now got confused, and many felt they needed to go two places to network. We decided to try to make it work again at Dulono's, after all, we did start this thing! Some kind of order needed to occur if we expect to continue without "external intervention". We were told the management was much less likely to shut us down with TCNOC helping out. But, the time has come when it has grown into too much of a zoo.  Three "BOSS HOGGS" is three too many for our "winter group" of stalwarts.

As of June 15th, we will be meeting the Third Thursday of the month.  Our First Thursday time at Dulono's is no longer tenable.  There are just too many bikes (of assorted types......)for us to bring our early iron in where it is safe.   Because of various media reporting on the gathering, it has taken on a life of its own.  The Gang of Four has decided in its infinate wisdom to change to our new time slot.  We will start out meeting at Dulono's, but may decide to move around to allow some of our members living somewhere BESIDES South Minneapolis a shorter ride.  Optimally, it would be good for some of our long term members who have not contributed in any meaningful way to the club activities , to volunteer venues for meetings, perhaps arrange doorprizes, come up with themes (like four stroke singles night), or perhaps in the winter (when we will headquarter at Dulono's) come up with a speaker or "show and tell".  We will post times and locations on this site as available.

Our July meeting will be at Dulono's on 7/20.  August meeting will be at Lendways on Dale and University in St. Paul (near Hamel's old shop and new shop) on 8/17. September meeting will be at the Motor Oil  Cafe'  next to TrackStar.

    Let's see what happens. As always, if you have something CONSTRUCTIVE to say, things to broadcast, stuff to find or sell, news or door-prizes, look around for the big bearded guy who stands on the Dumpster, runs the raffle and reads announcements. Anyone standing near an old bike will point him out.

First Thursday will continue without guidance from us, and may, in fact wind up moving itself, to another South Minneapolis venue.  Lisa MacDonald, our former Concours queen, now City Counselperson is working on a plan to keep something going in a safe, easy way.  Click on this recent announcement.

The Bodger etal.