Chambersburg's John R. Grove was 'King of the Hill' on his Harley-Davidson

The motorcycle has been around since the early 1900s, and since those early days to the present, there have been many makes and models for the rider to choose from.

One gentleman I knew from Chambersburg, John R. Grove, was known to be one of the first hill-climbing champions in the United States. His choice of motorcycle during his many years as the hill-climbing champion was a Harley-Davidson.

As we take a look at the early days of motorcycles, we see the Indian motorcycle was first made in 1901 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The company was founded by George M. Hendee in 1897 to manufacture bicycles. These bicycles were labeled “Silver King” and “Silver Queen.” Oscar Hedstrom, who was a noted bicycle racer and manufacturer, joined Hendee in 1900 to design and manufacture a motorcycle with a 1.75 horsepower single cylinder engine.

The race was on as in 1901, a prototype and two production models were designed, built and tested for production. The new Indian motorcycle was a streamlined design with a chain drive, and the finished product became available to the public in 1902.

In 1903, the Indian Co. had bragging rights as their motorcycle set a world speed record of 56 miles per hour. It was in 1904 that the Indian trademark color became a deep red.

But there was another major American made motorcycle, the Harley-Davidson. In 1901, William S. Harley, just 20 years old, drew up the design for a small gasoline engine that would fit on a pedal bicycle frame. During the next two years, William and his childhood friend Arthur Davidson worked on building their motorcycle at a North Side Milwaukee machine shop owned by their friend Henry Melk.

These gentlemen were able to complete their new bike in 1903 with the help of Arthur's brother, Walter Davidson. When they tested the new bike, Harley and the Davidson brothers were disappointed as it was unable to climb the hill near Milwaukee without using the pedals. The men went back to work and redesigned the bike with a bigger engine. It proved to be successful on Sept. 8, 1904, when it was entered in a Milwaukee race held at State Fair Park where the new machine finished in fourth place.

What about the motorcycle rider from Chambersburg?

But back to Grove, whom I consider to be a very unique individual from Chambersburg. He made a huge impact in the world of motorcycles during the early 1900s with his interest, skills, and of course, his showmanship.

John Raymond Grove was born in Chambersburg on March 2, 1893. As a young man, he worked for a short time for the Cumberland Valley Railroad and even performed in his parents' traveling magic show as “Raymond the Boy Handcuff King and Bridge Jumper.” At an early age, John had an interest in riding bicycles, and in 1909 at the age of 16, he met John D. Schall of Chambersburg and bought his first motorcycle — a “Haverford” made by the Haverford Cycle Co. of Philadelphia.

Schall had a bicycle shop and operated a Ford dealership and garage on North Main Street at the Falling Spring Creek. He encouraged Grove to go into business selling bicycles. By 1912, Grove, at the age of 19, started selling motorcycles on the side. In 1914, he opened Chambersburg's first bicycle and motorcycle shop at 171 S. Main St.

A few years later, Grove moved his business to 359 E. Washington St., next to the high line built by the Cumberland Valley Railroad. During the early years of his business on East Washington Street, the freight trains would stop on the high line and unload the wooden crates with Harley-Davidson motorcycles inside. The crates were carefully slide down the embankment where they were opened up. Grove would reuse the wood for expanding his repair shop.

At this time Grove's business was his source of income, but this also afforded him a lot of enjoyment as he loved riding motorcycles and having fun. In these early days of Grove's motorcycle-riding, he and his friends would go to the west end of Chambersburg in the area of today's Shively Motors car dealership to play Hare and Hounds. When he was the hare, his friends chased him up the steep hill.

This was the start of his hill-climbing, and Grove went on to organize the first area hill-climb. It became so popular that many riders from the area came to Chambersburg to compete. The time was right as Grove displayed his motorcycle skills by competing in regional and national hill-climbing competitions. He often came home with the prize money and trophies.

During this time, Grove and his friends would meet on Sunday morning at his shop and head out on a motorcycle trip to nearby towns, then return back to Chambersburg early in the evening. One must remember that on each trip, one of the riders always faced the possibility of having a minor accident, blown tire, or mechanical issues, but the riders always stuck together and helped each other.

It's well known that Grove liked to race his motorcycle. Whether it was on the streets of Chambersburg or a nearby town he could be seen “movin' on.” Of his numerous spills ,one stood out in Chambersburg in 1919. He and a passenger friend were speeding on his Harley-Davidson down South Main Street when he lost control and struck a parked automobile, hurling both riders onto the ground with minor injuries; the motorcycle had minimal damage.

Grove's performances at many of the hill-climbing events drew record crowds. There were always top competitors ready to challenge him, but most of the time, Grove would prove to be “King of the Hill.” One of these occasions was May 1924, when Grove, who was the champion of the Pennsylvania hill-climbers, went on a six-day tour through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

Each time during these competitions, thousands of spectators would gather to watch history in the making. During one event in New York state, Grove stole the show as he demonstrated his skills with daring riding. He placed first in all the events. Orie Steele, the famous hill-climbing champion of New Jersey, with his Indian motorcycle, finished second.

On another day in 1924 while competing at Paterson, New Jersey, Grove once again turned in another record-breaking performance on a hill climb with his mighty Harley-Davidson that broke all speed records. He rode away once again with the first place prize.

This proved to be very interesting as Paterson was Steele's hometown, and he was considered to be the world champion Indian motorcycle rider. Once again, Steele could only settle for second place.

The Harley-Davidson Co. was quite aware of Grove's accomplishments with his motorcycle. While attending the national motorcycle show in New York City in 1925, he was invited as a guest to the Harley-Davidson banquet at the Monte Carlo Hotel.

Grove was able to attend many hill-climbing competitions and still operate his bicycle and motorcycle business in Chambersburg. In 1926, the Chambersburg town council purchased a new Harley-Davidson for the police department for $514. The department's Indian motorcycle was taken in trade by Grove, with an allowance of $114.

Touring Ohio, taking wins

During the summer of 1926, Grove rode his Harley-Davidson to Columbus, Ohio, for a hill-climbing competition, and a huge crowd had gathered to watch the many riders. But the famous Johnny Grove once again set speed records and won the prizes.

From there he rode to Cleveland where his competition was tough, plus the large hill was rough and had quite a few ruts that would prove to be challenging. Again, a large crowd had gathered for to watch Grove demonstrate his skills and win the prize money and trophy.

In early July 1927, Grove entered the hill-climbing competition held at Uniontown, Pennsylvania. A large audience gathered to watch Grove fly up and over the big hill in record time to win the prize money. This race was like all the others, with some riders crashing and suffering slight injuries and others experiencing mechanical problems.

At this time, Grove was considered to be the best motorcycle rider in the United States. The Pathe News movie cameras had captured the entire contest in Uniontown and did many close-ups of Grove during the hill-climb. The film concluded with Grove and his motorcycle standing still. The movie was shown later at the theaters in Chambersburg.

Also in 1927, Grove established a new record as he rode his Harley-Davidson 20.3 miles on a pint of gasoline.

Throughout the late 1920s and into the early 1930s, Grove was still the rider to beat at the hill-climbs. But eventually, with his age and the tumbles he had taken over the years, he departed from competitions.

He still sold Harley-Davidsons for a period of time, then moved to just selling and repairing bicycles at his East Washington Street shop.

Grove died Feb. 12, 1988, at age 94. He was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery on North Franklin Street in Chambersburg.

M.L. “Mike” Marotte III is an author and historian who writes about the history of Franklin County. Read more of him at www.vintagefranklincountypa.com.

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: John R. 'Johnny' Grove took the top spots in hill-climbs in the 1900s