Roy Richter  Roy Edward Richter (March 16, 1914 – July 28, 1983) was an American manufacturer who founded Bell Helmets and Cragar Industries. Richter was born to Otto and Cora Richter in the small town of Dupo, Illinois. Dupo sits across from St. Louis, Missouri on the Mississippi River. Roy's brother Melbourne was also born in Dupo in 1912. Roy's father was from Germany and his mother was of English, Irish, and French descent. The couple lived in Missouri before moving to Dupo. The family had many relations involved in the railroad industry. Dupo had one of the largest railroad switching yards in the country. It included a huge re-icing depot until refrigerated railroad cars became common. The family moved to St. Louis immediately after Roy was born. Otto moved the family again in 1922, this time to California, in search of better weather and better job opportunities. They briefly lived in Bell upon arriving in California before moving again to Maywood. Both cities are suburbs of Los Angeles located about six miles from downtown. Otto found work as an ice deliveryman but also pursued many business ventures such as real estate and mining. Roy spent the next few decades of his life in the Los Angeles area. Roy attended Bell High School and graduated in 1933. He spent as much class time as possible on subjects like auto shop and mechanical drawing. During high school Richter joined the Pacific Glider Club. The club met weekly at Seal Beach to full-size, manned gliders. During a flight Richter hit power lines during his landing approach and crashed. He was lucky to suffer only minor injuries. This was his final glider flight. Roy maintained lifetime relationships with many of his schoolmates, some of whom even went on to become his employees. Using earnings from odd jobs and money from his father, Richter purchased his first motorcycle in 1931. It was a 45" Indian Scout. Richter made many trips to Muroc Dry Lake on this motorcycle. During the 1920s and 1930s the lake was a popular meeting spot for automobile and motorcycle enthusiasts. The lake is currently home to Edwards Air Force Base. He began his career after graduating high school by going to work at Bell Auto Parts store in Bell, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. At that time he took an interest in auto racing in 1933. For a short time he was a professional auto racer, but came to realize his talents were more of building race cars and racing products than racing them.