Stunning Historical Photos of Scooter Enthusiasts in Nebraska, 1945

Everett and Clinton Cushman founded the Cushman scooter company in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1903. The company was incorporated as Cushman Motor Works in 1913. In 1922, Cushman began producing their four-stroke Husky engine. The company-built engines for farm equipment, pumps, lawnmowers, and boats. During the Great Depression, Cushman made Auto-Glide scooters to increase sales of Husky engines. In World War II, the United States Armed Forces used many Cruzman scooters as an alternative to automobiles.

The popularity of scooters during the postwar years was tied to societal shifts of its day, just like that of e-scooters. After World War II, a new kind of scooter emerged. During the end of the second world war, LIFE photographer Wallace Kirkland documented the Cushman Motor Works in Nebraska, showing both the plant where scooters were made and the locals enjoying them.

#1 A scooter rider in Nebraska, 1945.

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#2 Outside the Cushman Motor Works scooter plant in Nebraska, 1945.

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#3 Outside the Cushman Motor Works scooter plant in Nebraska, 1945.

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#4 Scooter enthusiasts in Nebraska, 1945.

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#5 Scooter enthusiasts in Nebraska, 1945.

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#6 Nebraska was a center of scooter production in America, 1945.

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#7 A scooter enthusiast in Nebraska, 1945.

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#8 Scooter riders in Nebraska, 1945.

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#9 Inside the Cushman Motor Works scooter plant, 1945.

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