Advocates of Smog-Free Transportation
They may not have a bicycle built for two, but James H. Young Jr. '40 and his wife Marjorie are two built for bicycles. Young, a suburban commuter for many years, took up bicycling in 1965 when—40-odd and overweight—he decided to slim down and get more exercise than the New Jersey-New York City daily train run afforded. .
Cycling has since been a way of life rather than a way to reduce for Young. Two years ago he sold his car and recently he moved his mail-order business to Montclair, where he can pedal to the office. His bride of one year bikes from their Bloomfield home to her job as a social worker at the East Orange Head Start Center—a four-mile trip which takes her 25 minutes, about half the duration of the bus trip at rush hour.
They cycle on holidays, weekend picnics, and on the everyday errands of living. Only deep snow "can keep them from their appointed rounds," forcing them briefly to depend on public transportation. When a bus strike inconvenienced New Jersey commuters last spring, the Youngs added hand-lettered "Beat the Strike, Ride a Bike! Join Us!" invitations to the "This Vehicle Is Smog Free" signs which are standard equipment on their bicycles.
Their one-couple crusade against automobile pollution is only one aspect of Jim and Marjorie Young's teamwork. Together they cycle to area colleges where they co-teach courses on non-violence, in keeping with their Quaker beliefs. They are co-authors of several magazine articles, including "The Great Nuclear Debate: Are Our Newborn Babies' Lives in Danger?" which appeared in the January Redbook; "These Teenagers Keep the Peace," in the March issue of Parents'; and "X-Ray Hazards . . . and how to avoid them," in last month's Woman's Day.
The summer of 1971 the Youngs honeymooned in France, cycling around the countryside. Last summer they returned to France and Italy, where they interviewed leaders in local non-violence move- ments and refugee Vietnamese living in Paris.
Yet another common denominator is shared by Jim and Marjorie: their fathers, the late J. Herbert Young '10 and Carl A. Hope '11, were at Dartmouth together.
Marge and Jim Young '40 on their way to do the family shopping.
