Above: An old photo of Gene Townsend’ s Indian Sales & Service agency in New Salem, Pennsylvania, where“ the last of the Mohicans” lived for 45 years. Above right: Gene poses with the Chief in front of his shop in the mid-1970s. The author( his grandson Eric) took this photo with his brand-new Polaroid SX-70 camera. Right: Gene’ s prized Chief always brought a smile to his face.
Motocycle( no“ r”) Company survived The Great War and the Great Depression when dozens of other motorcycle brands did not, but the years after WWII proved to be more daunting. A perfect storm of misfortune, miscalculations, and missteps put the legendary company on the rocks. Consumer confidence waned, and dealers began to jump ship in droves. Production of Indian motorcycles in America came to a halt in 1953, ending more than a half century of continuous motorcycle manufacture. Only the most loyal dealers held on to the bitter end – guys like Gene Townsend( my grandfather) and his Indian Sales & Service agency in rural southwestern Pennsylvania.
Gene had been associated with the Indian brand as far back as the 1920s. As a motorcycle flat- track racer and devoted Indian dealer for the ensuing decades, he had developed strong bonds with“ the factory boys,” as he called them. He would regularly drive his shop truck to the Springfield factory, known as the Wigwam, to pick up new bikes and parts, attend events, and participate in dealer service schools. He even provided input when asked, and his engineering ideas were listened to and often applied.
He knew the factory folks, dealers, and racers on a first- name basis. Names like Pop, Jimmy, Fritzie, Sammy, and Ed( Kretz, the legendary Indian factory racer) popped up regularly in his stories. He had a special reverence for Pop Armstrong, a man several years his
senior who had been with the Indian factory for many years. Like Gene, he had been a racer, was a diehard Indian man and a critical thinker, and even had red hair like his( before he matured to“ Pop” status, Armstrong was known as“ Red”). Despite their age difference, the respect was mutual. I have little doubt that Pop helped make the end- of- the- line Chief available to Gene.
I was fortunate enough to spend much of my youth in the shop under Gene Townsend’ s tutelage. He fueled my passion for motorcycles and for the Indian brand.
AMERICANRIDER. COM | OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2025 | 21