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The Road from Rensselaer

by Amber Cleveland

Dressed in a cotton helmet, worn leather boots, and an oversized pair of goggles, John B. “Jack” Newkirk ’41 departed from the Rensselaer campus one hot summer day, headed on a trip across the country to see both the New York and the San Francisco World’s Fairs. He rode a worn and temperamental Harley-Davidson and carried no more than a few army blankets, a State Farm road atlas, and $45 in cash. Little did he know they were all the tools he’d need to start a family — and a Rensselaer-related — legacy.