Our close family friend Verdie Volden had seen a pedicab in the slides I sent home to Farmington, Minnesota from Viet-Nam during my Mar 1964 - Feb 1965 tour. Verdie expressed a desire to own one. During a special assignment at MACV Headquarters in Saigon (from Danang), I went to a local garage and ordered one made. Fortunately, I was able to get back to Saigon (again from Danang) and take delivery at a later date.

After obtaining an export license from the Viet-Nam national authorities, and making arrangements with American President Lines for the shipment by sea, I returned to the small cyclo garage and accepted delivery. I asked the owner/manufacturer, how I was going to get the vehicle to the docks. He said "hop in", and off we went in my cyclo!

Verdie duplicated the cyclo (pedicab) with his own hands and made the new one with Bendix brakes. He and Buela took the new model to the Grand Cayman Islands and left it with a resort there. The original is in their grandaughter's garage in Farmington. It has been used several times in local parades.

The photo of Verdie and my maternal grandmother, Mary B. Feipel, was taken on the sidewalk in front of "our" house looking southwesterly toward the neighbor's house. You can catch the corner of "our" porch at 716 3rd Street just above the foot rest of vehicle.