Elizabeth Hall
A Walk Through History
William J. Normile, also called W. J. Normile, was born in Canada West (also known as Upper Canada, it was a region of Canada now known as Ontario), in October of 1862. He worked as a carriage maker in Napanee for almost 20 years and worked for Webster & Boyes in Napanee for part of that time. When the Webster firm went out of business he took over the building, starting his bicycle business that became one of the largest bicycle businesses in eastern Ontario. Shipments were delivered to the business even in the winter months, receiving their bike shipments on large sleds.
Normile was a merchant and Napanee town councillor from 1905 to 1907, and influenced the popularity of the bicycle in Napanee during the early twentieth century. He was an agent for the Cleveland Bicycle and also Massey Harris bicycles.
To advertise his business as it grew, he ordered bikes with a Normile name badge attached to the frame that said “Manufacturer, W. J. Normile, Napanee”, and to influence citizens of Napanee to buy a “local” bicycle. As well during this time, bicycling became a very popular sport, and in Napanee, bike races were held every Friday night during the summer months. They raced from the Normile Bicycle Works all the way to the finish line on Belleville Road.
When automobiles emerged, and technology updated and advanced, as did the Napanee Bicycle Works; by this time the Bicycle Works sold bicycles, motor vehicles, carriages, gasoline engines and also repair services and electrical work for house wiring. By 1914, the Napanee Bicycle Works was renamed “Napanee Bicycle and Automotive Works.” W. J. Normile was the first ford Dealer in Napanee, and Henry Ford offered Normile two shares of the Ford Motor Company many times, but Normile always refused.
In early 1920, W. J. Normile sold his bicycle and automotive business to a man named Ross Paul and built a new garage on East Street. William J. Normile was still working at his garage up until his death on Oct. 5th, 1926.
Random History Fact: Men performed naked in the Ancient Olympics, because it was believed that by doing so they would achieve closeness to the gods, and so their skin could detox through sweating.