This is a Stratostreak from the Mongomery Wards on Michigan Ave at Schaffer in Dearborn, MI. My parents bought this bike for me for my birthday. It was either this or a Free Spirit from Sears. In those days few of us had Schwinns. Looking back the Free Spirit might have been the better option but since my brother had one I decided I would go with something a little different. Once I cracked the frame, and in those days and in my neighborhood that meant rolling it over to the frame and axle a tractor trailer repair business on 24th St... putting on a sad face was enough to get the welders to take pity on you and weld the frame. We owe a lot of happiness to these guys. Another story about this business is that we used to play strike out in their lot and sometimes a game of baseball. In our version it was not worth hitting a home run since that meant having to jump and eight foot fence to find the ball underneath some rusty and greasy tractor while trying to avoid the big German Shepherd just waiting for you. So what we would do is distract the dog until you jumped in then ignore him so he would decide to go after a sure thing. Hopefully by then you found the ball and made a b-line for the fence. I am sure many of my old friends would agree. Growing up in SW Detroit in the 70's was a great time.
Note: Here is a link in case you want a little more info on the bike. http://tinyurl.com/c9982rj
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