At 25 mph in Bluffton during the winter of '14

109 winters ago Clair Weaver and

Albert Benroth invented the aero-cycle

On Feb. 14, 1914, Clair Weaver posed for this photograph with his aero-cycle car in Bluffton.

It was reported to have moved through village streets at the amazing clip of 25 miles per hour.

Weaver’s father is reported to have been a music teacher at Bluffton College at the time.

Clair was assisted in building his aero-cycle by Albert Benroth, who operated Benroth’s garage, a Ford dealership at 204 N. Main St., directly north of the town hall.

Imagine if Benroth and Weaver would have gone into production with this aero-cycle. Today, Bluffton would be the home of the North American BMW headquarters. (M would stand for "music," obviously.)