Fearless Balke

The picture below is of Charles "Fearless" Balke, one of the stars of American motorcycle racing in the pioneer era. Like many, his life was cut short by a tragic accident in 1914. In a touching story his young wife Edith - they were both in the early twenties- chronicled his career in a scrapbook. Amazingly, that scrapbook survived an extended stay in the attic of Edith's nephew, who passed away in 2004.