Jim Kersting: An American Dream

By David Johnson

Wikipedia defines the American Dream as a "national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, 'life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.'" The story of Jim Kersting encapsulates his rise from the cornfields of northern Indiana in the 1940s to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the motorcycle business and founder of his amazing World of Motorcycles Museum that included the involvement and hard work of his immediate family along the way. Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of his Harley-Davidson dealership in 2012, Jim and his family exuded pride in all they had built and continue to operate in the same rural location where his combination home and mechanic workshop sat just after he returned from the army and was married in the early 1960s. But an American Dream is a rarity, and Jim has certainly earned the moniker through the steady application of his mechanical skills, hard work ethic, Christian morals, risk, and reinvestments through the difficult early years after opening his business. His close friends and family speak about his staunch reputation for honesty and integrity. Jim himself describes how his early education and strong competitive instincts formed the self-confidence and motivation to build a foundation for his business to thrive upon. Customers who spoke to the friends and family about their satisfaction with Jim's style of service and selling his high-quality motorcycles, parts, and products added to his bottom line increasingly for decades. Jim's childhood lessons, Army days, various jobs, marriage, children, business start-ups, challenges, and faith are all examined to find out what he did along the way to become a successful, true American Dream.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635752861

David Johnson

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By David Johnson

Jim Kersting

An American Dream

ISBN 978-1-63575-285-4 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63575-286-1 (Digital)

Copyright © 2017 by David Johnson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Chapter One

Beginnings

The story that follows is about a regular person who grew up in Denham, Indiana. Jim Kersting went on to make a career there and has a simple explanation for his success. If you are honest and treat people well, it will help your business grow and make you a successful and respected person. He never left the area because it was where he was raised, started his family and his business. Now, he enjoys the fruits of his labor, overseeing the museum that was a natural result of success in the motorcycle business. His World of Motorcycles Museum and Kersting’s Cycle Center dealership have touched thousands who continue to visit him and return to do business.

Born April 23, 1936, Jim started life during the Great Depression era. World War II was four years away, and life was quite simple in the small northern Indiana town of North Judson. Soon, Jim’s dad, Burnell Kersting, moved his family to the village of Denham, Indiana, in nearby Pulaski County in a two-room house on sixty acres of farmland. Dr. Fisher delivered Jim at the home of his grandma. According to the US Census Bureau statistics from 1940¹, there were about 1,350 people in North Judson (see appendix 1, US Census 1940)¹. Denham and surrounding Indian Creek Township in Pulaski County had a population of about 735 people when Jim was born to Burnell and Catherine Kersting.²

Jim’s earliest memory occurred around the year 1939 or 1940. Burnell’s dad, Charles Kersting (Jim’s grandfather), was from southern Germany, and Jim’s mom—the former Catherine Bautista, whose family’s name was shortened to Bau in America—had met his dad while in Europe. She originally was from northern Italy, not far from Austria.

Jim’s grandmother, known as Abba,—along with his grandfather, Charles—began the Kerstings family settlement in the Denham area, just south of North Judson in Pulaski County, Indiana. Their son, Burnell, and his wife, Catherine, began to raise Jim and his older sister, Phyllis, in a small house that Burnell built in the 1930s and then sold to make money for the family. The Kerstings then moved into a house rented from Grandpa Bau before moving to a two-room house in the outskirts of Denham.

They sent Jim and Phyllis to a small two-room school in Denham. Two sisters, Mary and Catherine O’Connor, were teachers in that small school along with another teacher, Ms. Emmitt, who taught kindergarten. One of Jim’s earliest memories was his love of reading and writing. Growing up in a rural environment gave this earnest young boy a chance to learn as much as he could in a quieter and simpler time as the country maneuvered through World War II. In 1948, Denham school was closed for good, so Jim and Phyllis transferred to North Judson School as Jim started seventh grade. His other sister, Lorraine, was born when Jim was thirteen.

When asked what his earliest memory of a job in rural Starke County was, Jim responded that he worked for a local mint farmer, Carl Liskey, weeding mint for twenty-five cents an hour. He recalled, as well, when he and Phyllis picked a lot of pickles for the Weinberg farm in Toto. Jim’s dad would load the pickles into the rumble seat of their ’32 Chevy and deliver it to their customers.

It was during his youth that Jim developed an attraction for working with horses. As he advanced in years toward his teens, Jim also seemed to understand and desired to learn all that he could about auto and truck mechanics. His attraction to the internal combustion engine would later form the basis of his decision to open Kersting’s Cycle Center.

Striving to become as literate as he could be at school and working in various hobbies and job activities kept Jim very busy and increased his knowledge in several areas. A teacher, Mr. Groniger, taught Jim how to write and encouraged Jim’s improvements and growth in the skill. Jim recalls that Mr. Groniger probably had the greatest effect on his early development and was responsible for some of Jim’s favorite memories in school.

Another teacher, Ozzie Parker, also was one of Jim’s biggest supporters in school—always encouraging Jim to do his best and to take pride in the writing he enjoyed doing so much. One day before Jim entered high school, Mr. Parker told Jim that he should become his class’s valedictorian as a senior, one day. His generous compliment had an enormous effect on Jim’s self-esteem and self-confidence. Jim realized after hearing Mr. Parker’s very touching compliment that he had much ability and was a special young man with a bright future. That valuable experience showed how much teachers can encourage students to believe in themselves and venture into life with confidence.

Jim did not have any interest in sports because of his desire to have success learning and solving problems that he encountered as the years of school rolled by him. He would develop, however, quite a