Famed Sturgis motorcycle rally celebrates 70th anniversary

oFF THE WIRE
7/30/2010 10:16:54 PM
By Jackie Sheckler Finch
Small Newspaper Group


Travel the Byway

Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway is a popular ride for motorcyclists on their way to and from Sturgis.

"It's one of the greatest places you can ride," said Darrell Kickler of Forest Lake, Minn. "When you're on a motorcycle, you can pull over and see the scenic wonders in a lot more spots than cars can."



STURGIS, S.D. — The rumbling roar of a Harley-Davidson echoes down the street on this otherwise quiet weekday. Seems somehow fitting. After all, mention the name of this small South Dakota town to most motorcyclists and they are well-acquainted with its reputation.

"Sturgis is the biggest motorcycle party around," said Roger Schieman, board member for the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame. "The population of Sturgis is about 7,000, but during the rally we have had as many as 600,000 people come here."

And to think — it all started in the 1930s with a guy named J.C. "Pappy" Hoel and his Jackpine Gypsies motorcycle club. Back then, Hoel worked in the family business delivering ice to Sturgis, Fort Meade and surrounding areas. When refrigerators became popular in homes and businesses, Hoel found his ice business melting into obsolescence.

So he looked around for another job.

"He got an Indian Motorcycle Franchise and started selling motorcycles," Schieman said. "Then Pappy formed a motorcycle club known as the Jackpine Gypsies."

A year later, the Gypsies were sanctioned by the American Motorcycle Association and held their first rally and races in 1938. Just nine riders took part in that first race. Today, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally draws people from all parts of the globe. Held during the first full week of August, the rally features races, trade shows, hill climbs, poker runs, vendors, beauty pageants and top entertainers, along with plenty of cruising where folks can see and be seen.

Main Street motorcycles

"Main Street in Sturgis has four rows of motorcycles lined up for blocks," said Schieman, a Jackpine Gypsy for about 20 years. "You can hear motorcycles day and night."

For miles around, the hills are alive with black leather bikers, glitzy touring cycles, custom choppers and other two-wheeled motor vehicles. The 70th anniversary will be celebrated this year on Aug. 9-15. Scheduled to perform are Kid Rock, Great White, Eddie Money, Motley Crue, Marshall Tucker Band, Ozzy Osbourne and the Doobie Brothers, among others.

How does such a small community handle such a tremendous influx of visitors? Shortly before the rally, the town is transformed. Hundreds of vendors arrive with canopies and merchandise. Empty storefronts become dealers in black leather, tattoos, souvenirs and bike customizing. Church basements become cafeterias. Backyards become campgrounds and entire homes are rented out.

"We have a lot of food vendors come in and the campgrounds are packed," Schieman said. "Some people have to stay as far away as Wyoming for the rally. When 600,000 people come, there are probably that many bikes, too."

For a history lesson on the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and on motorcycles in general, stop by the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame on legendary Main Street. After opening its doors in 2001, the museum moved to the old Sturgis Post Office where it is jam-packed with about 100 motorcycles, photographs and other memorabilia.

"We have so much stuff that we even have it displayed in the restrooms," said Christine Paige Diers, executive director. "It's not a Harley museum. We have some Harleys here but we have motorcycles from all over the world."

Museum packed with motorcycles

Among the highlights is a 1905 Excelsior, the oldest known Excelsior in existence. The first motorcycles made in the United States were used for pacing and drafting bicycle racers in indoor veladrome racing. Because of its light weight components, the Excelsior is likely a direct descendant of those early bikes and a prototype for heavier weight street models that were produced in later years.

Other models on display include a 1915 Harley-Davidson Road Track Racer, 1925 Douglas, 1934 Crocker, 1948 Indian Chief, and 1970s chopper Pandemonium. The museum also has an exhibit titled "First Ladies of Motorcycling."

"It pays tribute to some of the women who have broken barriers in the motorcycling world," Diers said. "It's been fascinating for me to research and learn about these great women who were first in their field."

The exhibit includes a display about the first women's transcontinental solo ride in 1916, the first women's motorcycle club, the first woman motocross contender, the first woman to race super bikes, the first mother/daughter land speed record holders and the first female commercial bike builder.

Nestled at the base of the northeastern Black Hills, Sturgis is a neat place to visit even when the motorcycle rally isn't roaring. Founded in August 1876, Sturgis was named for a commander at nearby Fort Meade Cavalry Post, Samuel D. Sturgis. The commander's son, Lt. J.G. Sturgis was killed with General George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

The town was also the home of a legendary Black Hill's character. A cigar-smoking, gun-toting card shark, Poker Alice ran one of the rowdiest bars and brothels in the Old West. She is buried in St. Aloysius Cemetery in Sturgis.

For questions about the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame, call (605) 347-2001, or go to www.sturgismuseum.com. To learn more about Sturgis, call the Sturgis Visitors Bureau at (605) 347-2556, or go to www.sturgis-sd.org.