Howard C. Hawkins

Last updated April 07, 2019

Howard Carl Hawkins, known as Howard Hawkins (1932 – 26 January 2015) was an American businessman and bicycle tools maker, the co-founder of Park Tool in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is considered one of the pioneers in the bicycle industry. He died January 26, 2015 of a heart attack in Arizona.

Various bicycle tools have evolved over the years into specialized tools for working on a bicycle. Modern bicycle shops will stock a large number of tools for working on different bicycle parts. This work can be performed by a trained bicycle mechanic, or for simple tasks, by the bicycle owner.

Park Tool Company is an American designer, manufacturer and marketer of bicycle tools and equipment for both professional and home bicycle mechanics. It manufactures over 300 products that range from wheel truing stands to hex wrenches.

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2017, the city's estimated population was 309,180. Saint Paul is the county seat of Ramsey County, the smallest and most densely populated county in Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city. Known as the "Twin Cities", the two form the core of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.6 million residents.

Early life and education

Hawkins was born to second generation Swedish immigrant parents in the Twin Cities. His father Carl died in 1940, and his mother Elsie raised him alongside his two sisters Hazel and Helen. In 1950, he graduated from Minnehaha Academy and joined the US Navy, followed by technical school at Dunwoody Institute, learning welding and blacksmithing.^[1]

Minnehaha Academy is a Christian private school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, for students in preschool through 12th grade, and established in 1913. There are two campuses, the South Campus for preschool through 8th graders, and the North Campus, for 9th through 12th graders. It is a ministry of the Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church, and is located in the Cooper and Hiawatha neighborhoods on West River Parkway. The student body is drawn from Minneapolis, St. Paul, and throughout the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, as well as several international students.

Career

In 1956, Hawkins purchased 'Hazel Park Radio and Bicycle' on White Bear Avenue and East 7th Street in Saint Paul, Minnesota's Hazel Park neighborhood along with his boyhood friend and business partner Art Engstrom.^[1] They opened a small bicycle repair shop, repairing and selling Schwinn bicycles. For their convenience, they invented a bike stand that lifted a bike off the ground and could swivel it around. In 1963, after introducing the stand to the Schwinn Bicycle Company and building them for Schwinn dealerships, they started a bicycle tools business they named Park Tool.^[2] They expanded to wheel truing stands, a variety of other tools and eventually tools for average cyclists.^[3] In 1967, they moved their store to White Bear Avenue and Highway 36, which grew to become 'Park Schwinn', a national top-10 Schwinn Bicycle Company dealership, eventually with three locations. In 1981, they sold all stores to concentrate on the bicycle tool business they had been running alongside the retail stores. The small tool company grew and became the world's largest supplier of bicycle tools, Park Tool Company, now in Oakdale, Minnesota.^[1]

The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1945) in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manufacturer of American bicycles through most of the 20th century. After declaring bankruptcy in 1992, Schwinn has since been a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Dorel Industries.

A wheel truing stand is a specialized tool for "truing" (straightening) bicycle wheels. Individual models differ slightly, but all consist of an axle stand on which the wheel can rotate and calipers, to measure slight deviations of the wheel's rim from ideal alignment. The stand is used in conjunction with an appropriately sized spoke wrench to loosen or tighten the spokes that connect the wheel's hub to the rim.

Oakdale is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. It is a suburb of Saint Paul and is on the eastern side of the Twin Cities Metropolitan area. The population was 27,378 at the 2010 census. Oakdale is the 32nd largest city in Minnesota by population.

In 2000, Hawkins turned the business over to his son Eric, and one of Eric's three sisters also works for the company. In 2003, Hawkins retired.^[2]

Legacy

Bicycling Magazine wrote "The co-founder of Park Tool has never been a widely recognized figure, even in cycling circles. But his death last week reminded us of the impact his life had on the lives of cyclists and mechanics the world over".^[4]As of February 2015^[update] Park Tool sold nearly 300 different tools to bike repair shops in America, Europe and Asia,^[3] "identifiable by their [handle in a] trademarked shade of blue: Pantone 2935".^[2]

Pantone LLC is a U.S. corporation headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, primarily printing, though sometimes in the manufacture of colored paint, fabric, and plastics.

Private life

In 1958, Hawkins married his wife Donna, with whom he had 4 children, Suanne Banfield, Eric Hawkins, Carole Lehn and Sara Carlson, and to whom he was married to for 57 years. In 2003, Hawkins retired to his home in Mahtomedi, Minnesota "to ride his bike, work in his woodshop and to watch his 13 grandchildren grow up".^[1] He took up auto repair as a hobby and "never stopped riding his bike, a 1960 Schwinn Paramount".^[2] His son said, he "had been slowing down a bit, but still enjoyed building the company’s booths for Eurobike and Interbike".^[3] In the winters the couple would live in Scottsdale, Arizona. On January 26, 2015 he died of complications related to a heart attack a few days after coronary stent surgery in Scottsdale, Arizona.^[2] He is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.^[3]

Mahtomedi is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 7,676 at the 2010 census. Mahtomedi is considered to be a suburb of St. Paul, and is located between St. Paul and Stillwater.

The Schwinn Paramount was a high-end racing bicycle produced under the Schwinn Bicycle Company brand from 1938 through 2009.

Eurobike is an international bicycle trade fair held annually since 1991 in the first week of September, on the grounds of Messe Friedrichshafen, one of the largest and most modern exhibition centres in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. The bike show is open to trade visitors from Wednesday to Friday, and to trade and the general public on Saturday.

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References

1 2 3 4 "Howard Hawkins Obituary". Bradshaw Funeral & Cremation Services. 27 January 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 Nick Woltman (27 January 2015). "Twin Cities bike repair pioneer Howard Hawkins dies at 82". Pioneer Press. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
1 2 3 4 Marc Sani (27 January 2015). "Park Tool founder Howard Hawkins passes away". Bicycle Retailer. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
↑ Mike Yozell (n.d.). "Thank You, Howard Hawkins. The recent death of the founder of Park Tool inspires reflection on his legacy". Bicycling Magazine. Retrieved 6 February 2015.

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[obit-1] 1 2 3 4 "Howard Hawkins Obituary". Bradshaw Funeral & Cremation Services. 27 January 2015.

[PP-2] 1 2 3 4 5 Nick Woltman (27 January 2015). "Twin Cities bike repair pioneer Howard Hawkins dies at 82". Pioneer Press. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 6 February 2015.

[BR-3] 1 2 3 4 Marc Sani (27 January 2015). "Park Tool founder Howard Hawkins passes away". Bicycle Retailer. Retrieved 6 February 2015.

[bicycling-4] Mike Yozell (n.d.). "Thank You, Howard Hawkins. The recent death of the founder of Park Tool inspires reflection on his legacy". Bicycling Magazine. Retrieved 6 February 2015.