GALION—On June 20, 1948, newlyweds Dale and Amy June (Steffee) Potter strapped their suitcase on the back of a Harley and went to Niagra Falls on their honeymoon. They returned to live on Riblet St. In Galion.

Dale took a job at the Peabody Company and competed in the Hair Scrambler Races at Galion. He also competed and won in Michigan. In 1948, Don Christian and his partner placed third in the Class A Sidecar Jack Pines Competition.

Dale and June were lifetime members of the popular Sunset Ramblers Club in Galion. As was the custom in 1951, when they gave birth to their first child, a son, the club members named their son Danny Dale. The club went on to name the other four children of the Potter’s.

In 1950, Dale and June opened Potter’s Harley Davidson Shop on South Market St. in Galion, where they operated for over ten years.

Dale Potter had a big heart and a big window in the front of his shop. His friend Chuck Gates wanted to buy a Harley but was drafted to the Army. Dale placed his friend’s desired Harley in his shop window, where told him it would be waiting for him when he returned home from service to his country.

In those days, there weren’t many manuals for Harley repair, but Dale knew the Harley engines inside and out.

In 2000, the Potter’s son took a 1946 Knucklehead with a sidecar to his home in Michigan to restore. His father spent many hours answering questions and guiding repairs over the phone from his home in Galion. After Dale passed in 2003, his son found a manual for the bike. When he looked up an issue, he could almost hear his father’s voice as he read the words.

The family has held onto those precious memories and recently decided they wanted to share them with the folks of Galion and Crawford County.
In memory of their father and Potter’s Harley Davidson Shop, they have donated several items, including trophies, sales memorabilia, and more, that will be nicely displayed at the Galion History Center.