1960 Boy Scout Handbook ADVERTISEMENTS: Part 6

Give a Boy Scout a fishing pole and he can feed himself for life.

Give him a Harley and you can kiss that Eagle Scout goodbye.

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Now just imagine you could go 100 miles on a gallon of gas on one of these little beauties. Let's say gas cost 15 to 20 cents a gallon when this ad was run. Do you want to even imagine how far you could go on what you currently pay to fill your tank each week?

As to this Cushman scooter ad..."road-ability" is a word? What dictionary were they using?

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And I'm not quite sure they've explained how a scout would make extra money if they bought one of these, but from what I read at Wikipedia I'm guessing parking meter attendant or ice cream sales might be possible.

The Cushman company started in 1903 in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Everett and Clinton Cushman. The company incorporated as Cushman Motor Works in 1913.[1] Until 1936 it produced engines for farm equipment, pumps, lawn mowers and boats. From 1936 until 1965 Cushman produced motor scooters, widely used by the US military in World War II and as alternative to automobiles before and after the war. One famous Cushman was the model 53, a military model from the WWII era. Designed to be dropped by parachute with Army Airborne troops, it became known as the Cushman Airborne. Other models were used on military bases for messenger service. The most successful model of Cushman scooter, the Eagle, was in production approximately 16 years. It resembled a motorcycle with its exposed engine and top tank. Other Cushman models used a step-through design common for scooters. The step-through design and ease of operation made it popular with men and women alike. Some late 50s Cushmans, designated Road King and Pacemaker, had jet-age body styling. Sears sold a version of these models under the Allstate brand. Cushman scooters featured an automatic centrifugal clutch, which allowed the rider to twist the right grip to accelerate. Oddly, the throttle twisted forward during acceleration, opposite the usual pattern in most other motorcycles and scooters. Cushman claimed 75 miles per gallon, and advertised penny-a-mile operating cost. Cushman scooters usually weighed about 250 to 335 pounds and had as much as 9 horsepower (6.7 kW). Scooter production ended in 1965, but some remaining Eagles were sold as 1966 models. After scooter production ceased, Cushman manufactured golf carts, industrial vehicles and turf maintenance equipment.

Cushman Trucksters were produced from 1958 to 2002. Small and light duty, they have been used for ice cream sales, mall and stadium maintenance, and by police for parking patrol. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

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