Malibu resident turns 100

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    LeGrand Lewis Jordan, who patrolled Pacific Coast Highway as a motorcycle traffic officer in 1930, turned 100 on Wednesday. A birthday party in Malibu is planned for him on Saturday.

    Jordan was born in LaGrande, Ore., the oldest boy in a family of seven. He was something of a mechanical prodigy–he acquired his first motorless motorcycle at age 16, which he promptly built into a working vehicle.

    It was at Polytechnic High School that Jordan met his future wife, Margaret, who died in 1988. They had two daughters, Bette, now deceased, and Gloria.

    In 1930, the County Motor Patrol hired Jordan, who was one of 70 officers responsible for patrolling the entire county, from Gorman on the old Ridge Route to the Orange and San Bernardino County lines, enforcing a speed limit of 45 mph.

    Fellow officers quickly realized Jordan’s talent in vehicular safety and detecting mechanical defects. He would often crawl under the vehicle during his routine inspections, earning him the name “Creeper,” as if he carried the mythical mechanic’s creeper on his patrol.

    The culmination of his career was represented by the trophy he received at his retirement dinner, entitled, “To LeGrand L. Jordan, Champion of and for the Motorcycle Officer.”

    In the early thirties, Jordan was introduced to the Ariel 4 engine, which he recognized almost immediately as the proper way to build an engine. After years of collaborative effort with his brother Eugene, Jordan eventually perfected a prototype motorcycle: a shaft-driven, electric starting, 4 cylinder square-four design that they presented to the U.S. Army. The Army liked the concept, but left it to Jordan to secure the funding, which he was never able to do. His prototype now resides in the Los Angeles Peterson Automotive Museum, where generations will come to catch a glimpse of motorcycle history.

    Aside from traveling and attending musical concerts, Jordan continued to perfect his mechanical skills well into his nineties as he helped repair, restore and rebuild every imaginable mechanical apparatus. Where most of us repair and restore things to save a few bucks, Jordan did so exclusively for the challenge.