John Paul Gerber
John Gerber (February 12, 1945-June 12, 2010) was an author, historian, librarian, author, and avid scooterist.
Personal life
John Gerber was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the oldest of 4 children born to John and Millie Gerber. As a youth his family moved to in Stillwater, Oklahoma then during his teens in Menomonie, Wisconsin. John earned a B.A. in history from the University of Minnesota, a PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin, and an MLS from Simmons College. He spent much of his professional career as an archivist at Harvard Law School and a medical librarian for the Boston Healthcare System.[1]
Scootering
John Gerber had a passion for European motorscooters, such as Vespas, Lambretta, and Heinkels, owning dozens of various scooters, putting over 412,000 miles riding his bikes on 5 continents,[2] and according to the Boston Globe was "the world's foremost historian on the development, manufacture and spread of motor scooters as a practical means of everyday and leisure transportation."[3] John rode his first bike at age 14 and by 21 he had ridden almost 40,000 miles traveling around the USA and Canada. In 1966 he embarked on the first of his epic rides going 11,000 mi (18,000 km) from Minnesota to Panama and back on a Vespa GS 160.[4] In 1971, he completed a 25,000 mi (40,000 km) solo trip on his Vespa motor scooter from Wisconsin down the east coast of South America to the Tierra del Fuego. He returned up the west coast and was on his way to Alaska when the trip was cut short by a car totaling his scooter in Hayward, California.[1] In the late 1970s John shipped a Vespa Rally from London to Singapore so he could ride the bike back the 20,000 mi (32,000 km) to London.[5][6][7][8]
Death
Gerber passed away on June 10, 2010 after losing a fight with pancreatic cancer.[1][9]
Books
Articles
- An American Story by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Winter 2004/5
- Weird and Wonderful No. 1: The AMI by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Autumn 2006
- Weird and Wonderful No. 2: The Harley Davidson Brezza by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Winter 2006/7
- Weird and Wonderful: The NSU Maxima by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Spring 2007
- Weird and Wonderful: The Csepel Tunde by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Summer 2007
- Larry Hagman: Greenwich Village Bohemian and Vespa enthusiast by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Summer 2009
- Weird and Wonderful: The Swiss Army Vespa by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Autumn 2009
- The sorry tale of the demise of the Hoffmann Vespa by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Winter 2010/11
- Hans Stuck and Vespa by John Gerber, Veteran Vespa Club Journal, Spring 2011
References
- ^ a b c "John Gerber (obituary)", Boston Globe, 8 July 2010, http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=john-gerber&pid=143970625&fhid=4541, retrieved 2011-05-29
- ^ April Whitney (2010-06-17). "Farewell, John Gerber". http://justscoot.blogspot.com/2010/06/farewell-john-gerber.html.
- ^ Doten, Patti (11 September 1999), "The Gentle Cycle; With their quirkey charm, scooters prove that bigger isn't always better [sic]", Boston Globe: F.1
- ^ John Gerber (2010-08-10). "John Gerber's adventures in scootering". http://scootouring.blogspot.com/.
- ^ John Gerber (Winter 2004/5). "An American Story". p. 209.
- ^ Norrie Kerr (2008-10). 318 bend in just 11 miles. Scooter Trade & Industry. p. 6.
- ^ Elizabeth Ryan. "'Meep-meep': Scooter lovers embrace the goofiness". Chattanooga Times Free-Press. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jul/26/chattanooga-meep-meep-scooter-lovers-embrace-goofi/?local.
- ^ Sloan, Karen (18 July 2005), "Vintage Italian motor scooters are hot items", The Day (New London) (New London, Connecticut: Columbia News Service): E5, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HREiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5XIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1562,3577963&hl=en, retrieved 2011-05-29
- ^ Norrie Kerr (2010-06-29). "John Gerber RIP". http://www.scootering.com/news/john-gerber-rip.