Marquette legend's career on display

Stan Engdahl died last year. He was a great tour guide when I went to Marquette for a one-tank trip in July 2007. His legacy, however, lives on through the Kansas Motorcycle Museum, and it still is very interesting if you enjoy racing sports and motorcycles. The museum added an addition this year to display more items. Stan's wife still is a curator.

What I enjoyed the most was the Indian motorcycle and seeing the old pictures on the wall. I also was amazed that Stan won a race at Sturgis. Most of his trophies are on display.

If you go, be sure to stop by the cafe, which is run by a British woman. I have a passion for soda fountains. City Sundries on Main Street probably doesn't rank up as one of the top fountains I've stopped at, but it's worth walking in the door.

About 10 miles to the west is Kanopolis Lake, and 10 miles to the east is Lindsborg.

July 22, 2007

Marquette legend's career on display

By Amy Bickel
The Hutchinson News
abickel@hutchnews.com

MARQUETTE - In a storefront on Main Street in this tiny town of 600, a white-haired man sits behind a desk, waiting.

He waits for the next person to open the door, the next person to tell the story of Stan the Man and the story of why the townspeople of Marquette turned a dilapidated old building into a motorcycle museum in honor of the local celebrity.

A fearless racer, they called him. A guy whose trophies number more than 600 and who five times won enough titles in a year to reign as national racing champion. He also has 16 state championships.

That's why they dubbed him Stan the Man.

"That's what they called me," the white-haired man named Stan Engdahl said of his motorcycle-racing career that spans a half-century.

A Kansas racing legend, Engdahl retired from racing in 1997. It didn't take long for townspeople in his McPherson County hometown to decided to renovate his former television repair shop and turn it into the Kansas Motorcycle Museum. It opened in 2003.

Evidence of Engdahl's career spans the building, everything from photos and trophies to his custom-built racing Harley. More than 100 donated motorcycles fill the museum. That includes a 1916 Harley Davidson, a 1958 Cushman Scooter, a 1922 Indian, a 1928 Cleveland and a 1994 Russian Ural. But Engdahl might be the biggest draw.

Engdahl and his wife, LaVona, are the curators, manning their posts seven days a week. Just pick a trophy, and he'll tell you the story. For instance, he won his first race in 1948 on a track near Salina. He became hooked. "My mother didn't like it," he admits. He won Sturgis' Jackpine Gypsies in 1968.

In 1962, he won the state championship with a broken leg. Engdahl broke two bones in his lower leg six weeks before the race. Organizers made him sign a release to participate. His doctor told him to be careful.

"I was," Engdahl said. "I never fell off."

Good day trip

Even Engdahl didn't know the effect his racing would eventually have on Marquette. While the neighboring town of Lindsborg capitalizes on its Swedish heritage, Marquette cashes in on motorcycle tourism, said Steve Piper, who owns the town grocery store and served as mayor 14 years.

Stephen McGee opened Steve's British Bike Museum - a hybrid museum and motorcycle shop - in 2005. In addition, a motorcycle rally in May brings 3,000 to 5,000 people to town and enough bikes to line both sides of Main Street.

"We built the museum for one reason, to help the town, to bring visitors to town," Piper said. "We've had thousands come through it."

It also makes a good day trip. Folks can go to downtown gift shops, have a soda at the sundries, visit the British bike museum and eat lunch at a local establishment.

"It's been a great boost for Marquette," Piper said. "It's helped some businesses in town. It's one of the best things we've done for Marquette, anyway."