38 Nebraskaland • April 2022
Overman Wheel Company of Suff olk, Massachusetts,
and used by Ernest Peterson of Osceola, Nebraska, circa
1886-1895. It has solid rubber tires, a leather seat mounted
on springs, wooden grips on the handlebars and even a
little kerosene lantern between the spokes. A lever on the
handlebars operates a spoon-shaped brake on the wheel. But
don't brake too hard — you'll tumble over the handlebars!
Would you ride such a bike? Would you race one on a
crowded indoor track? An Omaha woman named Lillie
Williams did so professionally starting in 1889. She and
other racers switched to Safety bicycles within a few years,
but women's professional sports remained controversial. An
1897 illustration from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch shows one
of their opponents' biggest concerns. (Williams is second
from right.)
Williams excelled as a multi-sport athlete during her long
professional career, competing in bicycle and motorcycle
racing, swimming, fencing, horsemanship, rowing and
shooting. She even raised fi ne show animals. After moving to
Los Angeles, she made headlines when in 1912 she applied —
Lillie Williams in the National Police Gazette, May 18, 1889.
