September 30, 2022 – The ExhaustNotes Blog

As ExNotes blogs followers know, we visited Indiana this year. The trip combined three missions: We visited with good buddy Jeff and his wife Sally (who moved to Indianapolis shortly after we finished college in New Jersey), we visited and interviewed the key people at Janus Motorcycles in Goshen, Indiana, for a Motorcycle Classics article, and we hit as many points of interest as we could while we were in Indiana. We hit home runs in all three areas, I think. We enjoyed our time with Jeff and Sally, we had a great visit with Janus, and wow, did we ever see a lot in Indiana. One of the coolest places we visited was the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis.

I didn’t really know anything about Benjamin Harrison when we visited the site, but I’ve learned quite a bit during and after our visit. Here a few of his accomplishments:

- - Graduated Miami University at Oxford, Ohio in 1851.
  - Elected Indianapolis City Attorney in 1857.
  - Elected Supreme Court Reporter in 1860.
  - Breveted Brigadier Civil War General in 1865.
  - Appointed by President Grant to defend U.S. Government in Milligan case in 1871.
  - Argued five cases before the U.S. Supreme Court (the most of any lawyer-President).
  - Elected U.S. Senator from 1881-1887.
  - Elected U.S. President from 1889-1893.
  - Set aside 13 million acres of public domain land for national forest reserves.
  - Initiated the Pan American Conference in 1889, later resulting in the Pan American Union.
  - Established the United States Coast Guard Academy.
  - Expanded the Navy from three steel war ships to 22 ships by 1893.
  - Added six states to the Union during his Presidency (this was the most of any President).
  - Firmly enforced the 15th Amendment to secure voting rights.
  - Instituted the practice of displaying the American Flag over public buildings and schools.

The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site is in Benjamin Harrison’s actual home. Harrison built it on the outskirts of Indianapolis, but the city has expanded and it’s now in what I would consider the downtown area. The guided tour made for an interesting visit.

This room is a parlor just to the left of the front door. The tour guide explained to us that it was restored to its original condition, including the creation of custom wallpaper to match that which was originally in the house.

The Reginaphone was an early record player. It uses a disk with protrusions to create the music. This one works and we listened to it.

This is Benjamin Harrison’s home office. The horn chair is cool.

These are items on top of Benjamin Harrison’s desk.

A very cool bookshelf dominated one of the walls in Harrison’s office.

I can’t resist this shot whenever I see a mirror.

The tour continued with a trek through the dining room, the kitchen, some of the upstairs bedrooms, and a workout room.

I was surprised to see this when we left the Harrison Presidential Site. Steve is everywhere, I guess.

The tour takes about an hour and a half, and it costs $14 (there are modest discounts for military personnel and a big discount for children). You need to book your tickets in advance.

If you are in Indianapolis, I’ve got a good lunch suggestion. One of the best kept secrets in that fine city is Shapiro’s Delicatessen. It’s only 4 1/2 miles from the Harrison home and the food is stellar. Both spots are worth a visit.

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You’ve read about good buddy Jerry, his vintage Honda 305 Scrambler, and his Dad’s service as a New Jersey State Trooper motor officer. A photo of Gerry’s father, Ralph Dowgin, graces the cover of The Complete Book of Police and Military Motorcycles.

Not surprisingly, and in keeping with the ExhaustNotes’ theme (i.e., that folks who play with motorcycles are frequently interested in firearms, photography, watches, and other shared interests), Jerry sent a note to me recently about his restoration of a vintage shotgun. It’s the one you see at the top of this blog. Here’s Jerry’s description.

I restored my grandfather’s pre 1900 12 gauge Damascus double-trigger black powder shotgun. I researched how to load black powder shells for it, bought the loading equipment, made some of it myself and made the reproduction shotgun boxes from that period.

Using 70 grains of powder and No. 6 shot I hit 2/3 of the clay birds. Not bad for someone who only shoots clays every couple of years! I have since then loaded a box of buck shot.

Black powder fires at 10,000 fps vs modern powder that fires at 100,000 fps or so I read.

My grandfather fed 8 children on his 50-acre farm and I am sure his shotgun helped do it. The only things he bought in the store were sugar, salt, flour, and tobacco. Everything else he and Grandma made!

I did not find anyone else loading black powder shotgun shells in the literature.

Grandpop’s shotgun has silver inlays and rawhide wrapping on the pistol grip because grandpop’s oldest son John borrowed the gun and accidentally broke the pistol grip. Instead of just bringing it home broken and saying sorry, Pop, he brought it to a jeweler who inlaid the silver inlays to strengthen the pistol grip part of the stock and wrapped it in rawhide. That corrective remedy is how all future Dowgin children should behave when they break items of their parents. Thank you Uncle John for being a great role model.

Jerry, that’s awesome. The shotgun story is interesting; your efforts in recreating black powder shotgun ammo (including the box it came in) is downright fascinating. Good shooting, and I’m looking forward to seeing you next month!

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