Marek Skalicky - Farmboy
Marek was born in 1911, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Michal and Anna; Immigrants from Slovakia. Michal worked in the local Baltimore Mine, Anna raised the Chickens, Pigs and Milk Cows. She sold eggs, chickens, piglets, bacon, ham, milk and cream.
In 1919 there was a huge explosion in the Baltimore Mine. Out of 148 Miners, only your father and 6 others walked out. The next day your father quit, took up a homestead claim in Kansas and left Pennsylvania.
In Kansas life was tough. The family lived in a sod house for 5 years until they had sufficient improvements on the land to prove up their claim. After that your father built a small farmhouse to go with the barn he had built in the Fall of 1919. The farming was good, very good, and there was more land to buy, and steel wheeled tractors to plow it. Michal got a loan and bought 600 additional acres, a new tractor, and a Model T truck in the 20s. Marek was a natural at mechanics and engineering. He could remember anything he took apart and easily put it back together, spot problems in parts and fix them. He started really working on mechanical problems when he was 11. The Model A truck was burning oil. Marek took it apart and found that the valve seals were of poor quality and worn out. He replaced them with bacon rinds and it worked perfectly.
Marek became known as, The Kid, in Brown County Kansas for his ability to fix things. He fixed all sorts of things. From Automobiles, to tractors to cream seperators and egg incubators. From the extra money Marek made on these side jobs he was able to save up and buy and old 1926 ACE Motor Corporation, Straight 4, motorcycle. The machine had nearly been burnt up from abuseand a wreck, rumor had it the bike was a bootleggers machine; it needed new piston rings, oil pump, tires, brakes, fenders, lights and handlebars; but he got it for a song. After working some more he was able to get it running good. He managed to scavenge fenders, lights and handle bars from a 1928 Indian. Indian had bought out ACE in 1927 and the parts for their straight 4 model fit nicely.
Then in 1931, Marek went and watched a Flat Track race. During the race many racers wrecked, some of the bikes burning up. One rider that wrecked was Joe Petrali, who raced for Henderson Motorcyles Co. of Detroit, Michigan. The bike was totaled, but after looking closely, Marek found that the engine was in perfect shape other than a cracked head. Marek made a deal and bought the bike for scrap. In a few weeks he had the engine out of the Henderson “Special” KL1 working perfectly; the same engine that Joe Petrali had pushed to 116 miles per hour. This at a time the average automobile would do 45 miles an hour top end.
After adding a Side car from a 1930 Iver-Johnson, Mareks “beast” was finally completed in late 1931. None too soon too. By January 2nd of 1932 the Farmers Bank of Kansas foreclosed on the farm. Michal and Anna managed to get enough money by selling the equipment and livestock to buy 5 acres in town. They could subsist on that. But it was no future for Marek.
The same week Marek saw an advertisement from Mammoth Productions asking for workers in Lake Placid, NY. No transportation provided. Marek loaded up his bike and side care and headed for New York.
Marek got work at the Stables of Lake Placid Lodge, owned by Mr Dewey. His job was to attend the sleigh horses and help break new horses to harness. Marek has become fast friends with a middle aged German Immigrant who everyone in the stables calls, Old Timer.
