Sturgis Rally started as a Family Event

When thinking about the Sturgis Rally, a family fun event may not be what you think of first. Yet, when the Rally began in 1938, that’s exactly what it was, and for the next few decades, that is how it would continue. So how did we go from family fun to by bikers for bikers? Let’s explore.

Origin in County Fairs and Gypsy Tours

Today, it’s not uncommon to hear the slogan, “by bikers, for bikers ,” when talking about the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. But how true is that idea?

In truth, it has very little basis in history. One could instead argue that the rally cry of, “for bikers, by bikers,” was more of a claim by a couple organizations who had issues with the Sturgis Trademark when it came to the Rally. One can see it as a larger case of trying to rewrite the history of the Rally for the benefit of their businesses. In short, the idea of, “for bikers, by bikers,” was a clever marketing ploy that attempted to erase the actual history of the Rally.

So if the Rally wasn’t made for bikers by bikers, how did it originate? It originated in the realm of county fairs and gypsy tours.

When looking at the early days of the Rally, what needs to be realized is that the event as a whole was actually two separate events. Instead of days being filled with riding through the hills, as it is today, only one day was used for such riding, and then it was as guided tours.

The term, gypsy, in the name Jackpine Gypsies, originates from the practice of taking gypsy tours; a practice that had begun in the 1800s. These tours were ways for individuals, and for families, to escape the day-to-day bustle of their everyday lives, and to simply explore the country.

Initially, these tours began by packing up the wagon and heading out to the countryside, without a real plan on where one was going. The goal was just to experience nature. With the rise of automobiles and motorcycles, the wagon would be ditched, but the goal was still the same. One could simply go further.

Gypsy tours would reach the Black Hills by the 1930s, and they served as a way for people to really explore the beauty that this little mountain range offered. It was in this spirit of exploration that the Jackpine Gypsies would be founded.

In 1938, when the Black Hills Motor Classic (as the Rally was initially known) debuted, it was preceded by one of these tours which the Jackpine Gypsies took their name from. For that day, those who came for the weekend races would go on guided tours led by a member of the Jackpine Gypsies.

Growing a Family Event

In the initial years of the Black Hills Motor Classic, the event centered around the race track. But it had originated out of local county fairs, which John Clarence “Pappy” Hoel had been involved in for a number of years. Hoel had been active in the Black Hills Community, having helped with local fairs and other events for a number of years.

Hoel had also been active in other local motorcycle events. It was out of this background that the first Black Hills Motor Classic was held. Taking those previous events as a blueprint for his, Hoel would help host a two-day event filled with racing and stunts during the day. However, it wouldn’t stop at that.

Taking cues from county fairs, a large carnival would be held downtown after the races, and on the first night of the races, a dance was held at the city auditorium. From the beginning, families were encouraged to come down and watch the “speed demons,” and then partake in the weekend activities downtown. Hoel had created a premier family event, and it would be seen as that for decades.

The focus on family entertainment would grow each year. While the racing would continue to be the highlight, the carnival atmosphere would expand. By the second year, parades would be held each morning, followed by circus acts that were provided for free. Each evening, a carnival would be held. Throughout the entirety, a promise would be made; no merchant would raise their prices.

In 1941, the family-friendly atmosphere would be expanded a bit more. While the carnivals, parades, and other events would continue, a child’s price would be added for admission into the races. The goal was to make the event even more welcoming to the entire family.

When the Black Hills Motor Classic Committee made the difficult decision to cancel the event in 1942, until the end of the war, the group announced that they would work with the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce to help produce other events. It was in that spirit that they would reorganize in 1946, and relaunch the Classic.

Relaunching the Rally

In 1946, when the Black Hill Motor Classic was brought back to life, the goal to keep the event fun for the entire family was maintained. It wouldn’t be just the tour through the hills, or the races that were brought back. It was also the carnival, parades, and other events meant to entertain all. In many regards, the Classic would become a rival of Deadwood’s Days of 76.

Shortly after relaunching the Classic, the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce would take on a larger role in the event. The two organizations had worked together in the past, but with the Classic continuing to grow, help was needed to keep the event at the same level it had been in the past.

This partnership would pay off greatly in 1947, when the second day of the races would be canceled due to thunderstorms. While the race track would be closed, there would be other attractions for the riders, spectators, and their families.

Over the next few years, the event would continue to grow, and with that, the family aspect would become more involved. In 1948, along with the world-class racers, and the spectacular stunt drivers, a portion of the races were handed over to youngsters and their soap box derby cars. Young riders and drivers would become a common feature of the races.

As the Classic continued to grow, and become known throughout the country, not just among riders and racers, but by the general population, its reputation as a family event would be cemented. Throughout the 1960s, the Classic was touted as not only an annual vacation spot for riders, but as a family destination. For many, it would be their one family vacation of the year, and the Classic Committee, and the Chamber of Commerce, would help make the most of it for all involved.

The Change

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Classic would continue to be promoted as a family event. That promotion would eventually become a focus in the 1980s and early 1990s, largely as a pushback against a change that was taking place.

While the early Classic was focused on motorcycle races, and the athletes who participated in that sport, there would become a changing perspective of what it meant to be a “real biker.” After WWII, there would be a rise in motorcycle clubs as many returning home were looking for an outlet for their pent-up energy. They were looking for a new thrill.

This would create a mystique that Hollywood would grab onto and spin. In 1953, Marlon Brando would star in “The Wild One,” which created a public image of bikers being rough and independent. This in turn would attract a new sort of biker, one focused more on rebellion as opposed to racing, giving birth to the outlaw biker.

This outlaw element would slowly change the face of the Classic. While a minority among the larger participants, the outlaw element would cause serious changes.

That change would really begin in 1982, when, as a shock to the Sturgis community, a biker mob took over the City Park, causing damage to public facilities while also starting fires. Instead of enjoying the community, they attempted to destroy it.

One could see this as the beginning of an end. It would still take more than a decade for a major shift in the Classic to take place, and with that shift, the Classic would be gone, replaced by the Rally.

The Shift

After the events of 1982, there would be a major pushback against the outlaw element, the element that labeled itself as “real bikers.” Because of the damage those “real bikers” had caused, additional law enforcement, including federal agencies, would be called in to combat those who sought to engage in activities that would destroy Sturgis.

This push had already begun in 1981, when the President of the Black Hills Motor Classic, John T. Hughes, stated publicly that they were aware of the outlaw element that had begun attending the Classic, and that they, as the group organizing the event, the group who created the event, were striving to bring a “better quality motorcyclist” to the annual event.

Hughes hoped to do this in a way that would benefit all involved, without having to resort to drastic actions. The events of 1982 would largely undermine what Hughes was attempting, and made things worse for all attendees.

A whole new slew of rules and regulations would be implemented, while a growing focus would be placed on keeping the event family-friendly. This would lead to the city of Sturgis becoming more tense during the course of the Classic. It would also lead to a growing attention being placed on the Classic.

While the event would continue to be promoted as a family event, the outlaw element would be the one highlighted nationwide. It was a story that gripped the nation, a nation that was largely in a panic.

The 1980s saw a height in a number of perceived dangers. The Satanic Panic was at a height, the concept of stranger danger was being pushed actively, the spate of very well publicized serial killers from the 1970s (names like John Wayne Gacy, The Zodiac Killer, David Berkowitz, and Ted Bundy) was in everyone’s fears, creating a very tense environment in the United States. With the rise of outlaw biker activity, and it being overly highlighted in Sturgis, it continued to fuel the shift that was happening.

In the public imagination, it was this outlaw element that began to define what the Classic was always about. And while it would be present every year at the Classic, it represented a very small portion of the overall event. Continuing through the early 1990s, the focus was still the races, and the Classic continued to be seen as a family event, while being officially marketed as such.

When the purported 50^th Black Hills Motor Classic was held in 1990, the fact it was a family event was simply taken for granted.

The Death of the Classic

Unbeknownst to those who attended the purported 50^th Classic, the event would never quite be the same.

For many local businesses, the 50^th Classic was the first time they would have to either move out of their shops for the event, or they would lose a great deal of their space as outside vendors moved in. The push for the commercialization of the Classic had begun in the 1980s, but it wouldn’t be until 1990 that it really fully took hold. It was a complete reversal of what the Classic initially began as, having promised during those formative years that no merchant would be raising their prices.

The 50^th Classic would lead to one last ditch effort to once again bring the event back to a semblance of what it once was. In 1991, the Black Hills Motor Classic Committee announced an effort to create a decency standard for the Classic. During the 50^th, there had been a massive uptick in complaints in regard to the actions of those attending, and a change was wanted.

For many within Sturgis, and those who knew what the Classic once was, the 50^th marked a low tide. But it would prove to largely be too little, too late. The Black Hills Motor Classic would become the Sturgis Rally and Races, and a Consortium would be established to organize the Rally. The ties to the past were being diminished.

The purported 52^nd Rally in 1992 would largely be the end of what once was the Classic. That year, the event was overwhelmingly promoted as a family-friendly event. Advertising campaigns would be launched throughout the nation proclaiming that the Rally was still the family-friendly event people had known. Family events were planned, including a Renaissance Festival.

While the event as a whole would be successful, a few would be upset. And those few would win out.

Commercialization

Through the late 1980s, and becoming cemented in 1990, the commercialization of the Rally became a focus for some. One such individual was Rod Woodruff, the owner of the Buffalo Chip. Capitalizing on the recently formed outlaw element of the Rally, Woodruff would begin catering to this new group.

This new group would be welcomed to this new era of the Rally with a steady increase in prices. As this commercialization continued, it brought a fortune to a select few, such as Woodruff. A portion of this fortune would rest on alcohol sales, which were sold at a hefty markup.

In 1992, Woodruff’s establishment, the Buffalo Chip, would be denied their beer license, as part of the effort to bring the Rally back to its origins as a family-friendly event. Woodruff would not be happy, and soon would begin sowing seeds of discontent.

While the Rally would be better than many for most, the decrease in alcohol sales would be a hit to individuals like Woodruff. It would lead Woodruff to publicly suggest that businesses should be worried that bikers may move to new locations, while at the same time threatening to move the Buffalo Chip. For Woodruff the family aspect wasn’t working, even though that had been a central aspect of the Rally for half a century.

Over the following years, the family aspect would be minimized more and more, while the commercialization, accompanied with ever-rising prices, took hold. At the same time, downtown Sturgis would find fewer and fewer local businesses open throughout the year. The process of having to move out each year so vendors could move in became too much for many.

Finally, in 1998, the shift had been completed. The Rally would no longer be promoted as a family event. With that shift, a new history was also being concocted. This rewrite of history, promoted by individuals such as Woodruff, and officially by Robin Bagley, the marketing director for the Sturgis Rally and Races, created this notion that the Rally had never been a family event. That in the early years, or really ever, children weren’t brought to the Rally. It was a history that wasn’t based on reality, but fit the new narrative.

This shift, and the newly concocted history, also brought with it the so-called traditionalists who lamented a past that was largely fictional. These “true bikers” mourned the time before the commercialization of the Rally, a time when it was like the Wild West. Largely, it was a time that never existed. Ironically, it was with the traditionalists, the “real bikers,” that the commercialization had begun.