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Website Copyright 2008 by Stan’s Harley-Davidson Inc. All rights reserved. Site maintained by Stan’s Harley-Davidson Inc.. |
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Personal privacy and security of information are mutual concerns of Stan's Harley-Davidson, and visitors to it's web site. Stan's Harley-Davidson will not obtain personally identifying information about you when you visit our site unless you choose to provide such information. If you choose to send e-mail, registration, or other personal information over the internet, you do so voluntarily. Stan's Harley-Davidson will not disclose personal information provided to it except to assist in evaluating its programs and to continue to improve the quality of your on-line experience, and when required by law, and to companies that perform services for us in connection with those programs and in connection with Harley-Davidson corporate due diligence and audits. By your use of and connection to our web site, you understand and consent to this privacy statement. If for any reason you are concerned that the personal of member information maintained by Stan's Harley-Davidson is not correct or if for some reason you believe Stan's has not adhered to these privacy principles, please notify us by calling 585-343-9598 |
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CALL US AT 585-343-9598
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IT’S 2008 AND STAN’S IS CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE BUSINESS. 50 YEARS AGO THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYLCE COMPANY SET STANLEY HORZEMPA UP WITH $1500 DOLLARS WORTH OF MERCHANDISE AND DEALERSHIP STATUS, BUT IT DIDN’T ALL START THERE. Stanley was born to in the United States, but his family relocated to Canada where he eventually served as a tank driver in World War II with the famed First Canadian Brigade. Having been told he needed to return to the USA or thus forfeit his American citizenship he opted to leave his hometown of Wawbewawa, Ontario and set out for Elba, NY where one of his uncles resided.
He showed up in Genesee county driving a peculiar three-wheeled car made in 1930 by the James company of England. This strange vehicle landed him on the front page of the Batavia Daily news (picture to the left). If you look closely at the photo, the car has a motorcycle girder front end. There were only two of these cars ever shipped to North America at the time and Stanley had one of them.
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After working on the muck for a time, Stanley was hired on as a truck driver for Granger’s & Co.
Sometime in the late 1940’s or early 50’s Stanley got involved in the local car racing circuit. Shortly thereafter he met his wife, Thera Sanders, through his race car pilot, D.C. They were married in 1951 and in 1952 Thera gave birth to their daughter Debra. Three years later in 1955 Darryl was born.
The Horzempa’s built a house on State St. Rd. in Batavia out of wood they scavenged from an old railroad house when the train system was re-routed outside of Batavia. |
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The same friend, D.C., who introduced Stanley and Thera had a small motorcycle repair business. When D.C. wanted to venture into the used car business he handed the motorcycle end over to Stanley. Stanley began using the shed behind his house as a repair shop (pictured to the right under the yellow arrow).
In 1958 the Harley-Davidson Motor Company set Stan up with $1500 in parts and he had himself a dealership. |
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Originally called “Stan’s Cycle Shop,” the business grew quickly enough that by 1959 Stan was able to build the garage pictured above. Stanley operated the dealership part time while he maintained his fulltime job with Granger’s.
That’s little Darryl in the pictures on the right. |
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In 1966 Stanley was hired on as a deputy by the Genesee County Sheriff’s office. That’s him pictured in the center picture above with his dress uniform on riding in a Batavia parade.
In 1970 the Horzempa’s began building a new shop right next to their old one. This building would be the home of Stan’s Cycle Shop / Harley-Davidson for the next 30 years. That’s Stanley and Thera working on the roof in the picture below. |
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