By Jessica Kenley

The rumble of motorcycles echoed through downtown Coudersport on May 8th, as members of the Wyoming Valley Motorcycle Club, located in the Wilkes-Barre/Plains area of Pennsylvania, rolled into town for a special visit to the Eliot Ness Museum — a place where American history, organized crime lore, and small-town Pennsylvania unexpectedly intersect.

Leading the charge with humor, charisma, and a deep love of the open road was Johnny “Road King” Washington, affectionately referred to by fellow riders as the club’s “Road Captain” and “Storyteller Extraordinaire.”

The group had departed early that morning around 8am, thanks to fellow biker Rick–who organized the event–while braving frigid temperatures, as they made the scenic ride into Potter County, and then arrived around noontime.

Receiving and welcoming them on the sidewalk was Stephen Green, the founder of the Eliot Ness Museum, with a big smile and open arms, as he greeted the tough-looking, black-leather-clad-crowd. While getting pictures before the tour, Washington remarked that his father was a photographer, Polish in descent, and started off the interaction by asking Stephen if he’d heard of a Polaroid picture.

Green had.

Washington then joked, “Well my Dad had a camera called a ‘Hemorroid,’ he smirked, and it took shi–y pictures!” He laughed, along with the crowd of nine bikers.

Green rolled his eyes.

After the ribbing, Washington went on, “We have a wonderful bunch of guys here. We had to stop a couple of times to loosen up and warm up a little bit,” said Washington, stretching his long arms, noting that the temperature in town was 42 degrees.

After coming indoors, the men, relieved of the cold finally, signed the guest book and looked around, taking off what must have been well over 100 pounds of leather and gear, altogether. 

Green remarked, “Aren’t these guys a hoot?” and then, addressing the crowd, “Don’t take too much off, or we’re leaving!” while getting ready for an in-depth overview of Ness’s remarkable career — from the streets of Chicago during Prohibition to his final years in Coudersport.

Green explained how Ness rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s–during Prohibition–while battling notorious gangster Al Capone, the man many historians credit with building the foundation of organized crime in the United States.

Green encouraged the men to sit down in one of the chairs by the entrance in the small Eliot Ness Auditorium, known as “The Gauntlet,” while fielding jokes like, “Is this really an undercover AA meeting?” from Washington who was gesturing toward the chairs.

The chairs are arranged in a circle, with a path through the middle, where Green stands to speak to his guests at the Museum.

Green then regaled the biker club with the story of how Eliot Ness, a lawman, was unable to convict Al Capone, a mobster, for the countless murders linked to his criminal empire in the 1920s. Federal authorities ultimately imprisoned him for tax evasion in 1931 after years of pursuit by Ness and his team of agents known as “The Untouchables.”

Green then covered what he calls the “Three Chapters of Ness’s Life,” starting with Chicago, moving on to Cleveland, and finally ending in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, where Ness met with journalist Oscar Fraley, who wrote a book out of Ness’s life story, called, The Untouchables in the 1950s. 

Without Fraley’s work, Green explained, there would never have been the blockbuster film The Untouchables starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, and Patricia Clarkson.

“Coudersport is where Eliot Ness’s story and fame were born,” said Green.

For the bikers, however, the trip was about more than history. It was about camaraderie, adventure, and keeping traditions alive. Washington talked about how his father and grandmother–his father’s mother–came from Poland, as Meiczkowski’s, and then her name changed to Helen Krantz, and, “then she married a guy named Tom Washington, which is my original grandfather,” he said.

Washington continued, “Then, they had a kid, name was Tom–that was my father–you know, my grandfather’s Irish. It was Irish and Polish, but if somebody asks me who I am, I say Polish.”

Washington proudly shared the story of the Wyoming Valley Motorcycle Club, which began roughly 25 to 30 years ago thanks to founders including Stan Daniels and several other local riders.

“For many years, there was a ride we have called the Four Corner Ride,” Washington explained. “North, west, east, and south — this is our western ride. We’re making history today.”

Green quickly agreed.

“You’re making history for us!” he replied.

Throughout the afternoon, while the men walked around the museum, looking at all of the objects, pictures, and artifacts in the collection, Washington’s larger-than-life personality kept the museum buzzing with laughter. Between jokes, stories about his Polish and Irish roots, and playful banter with fellow riders, he naturally became the unofficial emcee of the visit.

At one point, Green jokingly told Washington he would make “a good docent” at the museum.

Washington laughed and responded, “I actually interview people.”

The seasoned rider’s talents extend beyond the motorcycle community. Friends described him as a musician, entertainer, interviewer, and a natural public speaker who effortlessly brings people together wherever he goes.

Green  also mentioned to the bikers that the nationally-acclaimed group Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, initiated and conducted by the Federation of Fly Fishers and Trout Unlimited, which serves military personnel who have been wounded, injured or disabled, will be going through Coudersport on May 19th at 2pm.

The Project Healing Waters God’s Country Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Potter County was coordinated by David Saulter, USMC veteran, and Dr. Pete Ryan, who spearheaded the effort many years ago. There were three veterans in the Wyoming Valley group–Randy, a veteran of the Air Force, Gary, an Army veteran, and Johnny Washington himself. 

Then Washington made an off-color joke about the Sears catalog in the bathroom, to the response of groans all around.

Washington even turned the tables during the visit, conducting his own playful “Johnny Road King Report” interview with this reporter inside the museum.

To see the interview, click here:

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced dramatically, “this is Johnny Road King live from the Eliot Ness Museum in Coudersport, Pennsylvania.”

One biker noted that he had been coming from the Wyoming area to Potter County for many years to ride ATVs on the trails here in God’s Country, and that he, back in the day, had an AC/DC type rock band, where he played guitar and sang.

The visit concluded with group photos inside the museum’s replica jail cell, plenty of coffee to warm cold riders, and promises to return again — perhaps with an even larger group next time.

As motorcycles eventually rolled back out onto Route 6, the laughter and energy they brought lingered behind.

For one afternoon in Potter County, history and horsepower came together perfectly.