Doodlebug fans still meet

Doodlebugs and the people who collect the scooters filled the Hamilton County Fairgrounds this weekend. The scooters were manufactured in Webster City back in the 1940s. Organizer Vern Ratcliff says the bikes were a precursor to the moped.He says the gas-powered two-wheelers were powered by engines by Briggs and Stratton or Clinton, all painted the same red color and able to do about 25 miles an hour. Some of them are “souped up” to run faster now but many are old and not in very good condition. Ratcliff says in all, they made about 40-thousand of the Doodlebug Scooters during the manufacturing period in the late forties. Collectors came from all over the country for the event at the fairgrounds in Webster City.