Turner’s Cyclery
Turner’s Cyclery
Formerly a traveling salesman for Guarantee Cycle, a Schwinn bicycle distributor, Charles “Charley” Puhr was looking to spend less time on the road and more time with his growing family. So, in 1960, he and wife Eileen purchased an existing Schwinn bicycle dealership, Turner’s Bicycles and Lawnmowers, from its retiring owner at 6011B Johnson Drive, Mission, Kansas.
As the Puhr family grew, so too did their business. By the late 1960’s, Turner’s moved its shop, sans lawnmowers, to 6118 Johnson Drive. Then, to follow their growing customer base, they opened a second location in 1974 at 8909 Santa Fe in Overland Park, Kansas.
A total concept cyclery providing sales, service, accessories and parts, Turner’s Schwinn Cyclery displayed 200 Bicycles in its showroom, with shiny new kids’ bikes easily seen in the front window while top-of-the-line ten-speeds sat atop polished steel displays in the center of the store. Exercycles and accessories added lucrative opportunities for Turner’s success.
Said Charley, “The customer must have confidence in your cyclery.” Thus, a service manager oversaw each repair, supervising a fully staffed service department with four repair stands adjacent to a comprehensive parts department. Out of the way, but within reach, wheels and tires were efficiently displayed overhead.
Turner’s loyal and dedicated staff matched the excellence of the physical dealership with attentive customer assistance; five were Puhr children. Charley believed family members provided an extension of his personal attention to customer service. One popular employee and friend to LUMI’s Nick Vedros was Jeffery White, affectionately titled Big Time Dwarf by The Pitch Magazine. So valued at the shop, Charley personally built him a custom 16-inch bike tailored to his 4-foot-7-inch frame.
Turner’s partnership with Schwinn, with its widespread popularity across the U.S., also elevated its reputation. Turner’s became the largest Schwinn dealership in the Kansas City area—Charley and Eileen became proud members of the prestigious Schwinn 1000 Club for selling 1000 Schwinn bicycles annually (by the early 70s, Turner’s sold up to 3000 Schwinns yearly). Charley put it simply, “I have one wife, one family and one bicycle line—Schwinn!”
Charley Puhr and Turner’s Cyclery actively promoted cycling in the community through cycling safety demonstrations at schools and community centers, and through bike rodeos, BMX demonstrations and team sponsorship. Charley was also a cycling merit badge counselor for the Boy Scouts. He even petitioned Johnson County to dedicate public land for cycling trails. Charley was himself passionate about sports; he coached and sponsored 3&2 Baseball, starting in the late 1960’s.
Ultimately, Turner’s expanded to four locations covering Mission, Overland Park, and Olathe before consolidating back to one location on Santa Fe. The bicycled industry had changed—more brands, more styles, more diverse uses, more gears, lighter frames—and Turner’s carried a few different makes after Schwinn filed for bankruptcy in 1992, even some early electric models, without the same success.
In 2019, after an incredible almost-60-year run, the Puhr family retired their business, auctioned its inventory and sold the building. Fortunately for LUMI, and thanks to the generosity of the Charley and Eileen Puhr family, two of its neon signs will keep shining. While their legacy is forever etched in the hearts and memories of past customers, it will also remain outlined in brilliant neon for generations to come
Formerly a traveling salesman for Guarantee Cycle, a Schwinn bicycle distributor, Charles “Charley” Puhr was looking to spend less time on the road and more time with his growing family. So, in 1960, he and wife Eileen purchased an existing Schwinn bicycle dealership, Turner’s Bicycles and Lawnmowers, from its retiring owner at 6011B Johnson Drive, Mission, Kansas.
As the Puhr family grew, so too did their business. By the late 1960’s, Turner’s moved its shop, sans lawnmowers, to 6118 Johnson Drive. Then, to follow their growing customer base, they opened a second location in 1974 at 8909 Santa Fe in Overland Park, Kansas.
A total concept cyclery providing sales, service, accessories and parts, Turner’s Schwinn Cyclery displayed 200 Bicycles in its showroom, with shiny new kids’ bikes easily seen in the front window while top-of-the-line ten-speeds sat atop polished steel displays in the center of the store. Exercycles and accessories added lucrative opportunities for Turner’s success.
Said Charley, “The customer must have confidence in your cyclery.” Thus, a service manager oversaw each repair, supervising a fully staffed service department with four repair stands adjacent to a comprehensive parts department. Out of the way, but within reach, wheels and tires were efficiently displayed overhead.
Turner’s loyal and dedicated staff matched the excellence of the physical dealership with attentive customer assistance; five were Puhr children. Charley believed family members provided an extension of his personal attention to customer service. One popular employee and friend to LUMI’s Nick Vedros was Jeffery White, affectionately titled Big Time Dwarf by The Pitch Magazine. So valued at the shop, Charley personally built him a custom 16-inch bike tailored to his 4-foot-7-inch frame.
Turner’s partnership with Schwinn, with its widespread popularity across the U.S., also elevated its reputation. Turner’s became the largest Schwinn dealership in the Kansas City area—Charley and Eileen became proud members of the prestigious Schwinn 1000 Club for selling 1000 Schwinn bicycles annually (by the early 70s, Turner’s sold up to 3000 Schwinns yearly). Charley put it simply, “I have one wife, one family and one bicycle line—Schwinn!”
Charley Puhr and Turner’s Cyclery actively promoted cycling in the community through cycling safety demonstrations at schools and community centers, and through bike rodeos, BMX demonstrations and team sponsorship. Charley was also a cycling merit badge counselor for the Boy Scouts. He even petitioned Johnson County to dedicate public land for cycling trails. Charley was himself passionate about sports; he coached and sponsored 3&2 Baseball, starting in the late 1960’s.
Ultimately, Turner’s expanded to four locations covering Mission, Overland Park, and Olathe before consolidating back to one location on Santa Fe. The bicycled industry had changed—more brands, more styles, more diverse uses, more gears, lighter frames—and Turner’s carried a few different makes after Schwinn filed for bankruptcy in 1992, even some early electric models, without the same success.
In 2019, after an incredible almost-60-year run, the Puhr family retired their business, auctioned its inventory and sold the building. Fortunately for LUMI, and thanks to the generosity of the Charley and Eileen Puhr family, two of its neon signs will keep shining. While their legacy is forever etched in the hearts and memories of past customers, it will also remain outlined in brilliant neon for generations to come
