Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

J.e. 'Peppy' Hoel. with wife Purl. reeding hi. proclemetion pleque. Good times roll in the Black Hills; 43rd annual Rallynevermisses a beat By Richard Creed To tell a story, one must usually begin at the beginning. But, in the case of the 43rd annual Black Hills Classic, it is best to begin at the end. Specifically, the end of last year's 4-2nd annual event. Following almost two weeks of increasingly visible biker activity, record numbers of cyclisls, a visit from the Hells Angels, public nudity, threats against city employees, and the culminating act (some would see almost ritual significance in it), the burning of the port-a-johns at the city park campground, Sturgis residents decided to decide about the fate of the rally. Actually, that is an all-too-neat explanation of what really happened. What really happened was an oldfashioned small-town blood war that almost, but not quite, pitted the town's business community (at least those on Main Street) against all comers, churcb against church over the matter of monies raised from catering food to the cyclists, townsfolk against rural neighbors, the state highway patrol against anyone on two wheels, young against old, city government against taxpayers and haves against bave nots. It was an exciting time, although not a very e!1joyable one. The con£licts that surfaced, the longsimmering feelings and antagonisms that are part and parcel of smalltown life, could have turned into an ugly quagmire of threat and retribution, but such, for the most part, was avoided. It was a tough battle nonetheless, fought between the end of the August '82 rally and a public referendum on the issue that November. The- key players in favor of the rally were a committee set up by Sturgis Mayor Robert Vorhees, the Chamber of Commerce and a group that called itself POSITIVE, which usede£fective, textbook-classic political organizing. Theopposition was led by the Rev. Harold Fitch, but they had their work cut out for them because the referendum was to be voted on by residents of the city of Sturgis, not residents of the surrounding county where the anti-rally sentiment ran highest. However, the anti-rally forces built their own roadblock in one instance. Claiming that they couldn't get a Sturgis attorney to draft their anti-rally petition, tbey went to a Rapid City attorney with it. He promptly lumped the races in with everything else to be cancelled. Nobody had any problems with the races, and though it seemed minor at the time, it was a definite chink in the anti-rally armor. The pro-rally forces had their own troubles. A week before the vote, a biker-oriented publication hit the town's magazine stands. In it was an exploitive article on tbe rally that featured page after page of nudity and o££ended just about everybody who saw it. As a result, POSITIVE took a calculated gamble and scheduled a radio debate between Bob Davis speaking for POSITIVE and the rally, and Rev. Fitch. Now in other parts of the nation the idea that matters of money and morality may weigh upon the public conscience like a scale teetering to and fro may seem quaint, even foolish; money will win out every time, right? But in the mid-west talk about money, uolessdone in its rightful place such as a bank, is rather suspect. Overt displays of wealth are frowned on unless one is young and unlearned, and debatinK money versus morals with a man of the cloth is an exercise in futility. POSITIVE's debate gave the "negatives" a public forum with a wide audience. Finally, mercifully, the day arrived. And as the vote were counted and the numbers continued to favor the prorally forces, I remembered a conversation I had with Rev. Fitch when he first began passing out petition. I had told him that I agreed with many of his points but couldn't understand why he included a ban on the races. He said that his lawyer had advised him to do so. To me it seemed like throwing the baby out with the bath water. I asked him what he might do if it came to a vote and he lost. He looked at me somewhat taken back, like the thought hadn't occurred to him, and then he said, ''I'll leave town." He was true to his word. After the vote there was a long stillness in Sturgis as the doings of everyday life assumed greater proportions. Then, suddenly, it was the second week of August and bikes rolled into town just as they had for over 40 years. Townspeople waited to see what the week would bring and then slowly began to relax as it became apparent that this year's crowd was di££erent, more like the crowds of several years ago. Main Street was lined with bikes four astride and three blocks long, but somehow, things had changed. For one, there was a quietness that was odd at first, until you figured out what it was. In the past, due to the closeness of city park where thousands of bikers camped and partied, there had always been a steady stream of bikes going back and forth from Main Street to the liquor store to the park and back again. This set up a constant background sound of rum bling motors. With the closure of city park, the din subsided. Several other things were different. There were more tourers and more touring couples, families even. And somehow everyone seemed to have matured a bit in a year, because the num ber of holeshot artists practicing their skills was almost non-existent. You could walk down Main Street since the city had passed ordinances against sidewalk vending. You could carryon a conversation, stop and admire a bike, and not be bumped into, blasted with noise. or be hounded to buy some trinket. Townspeople came down to check the bikes out in numbers unseen in the last few years. The custom trikes were lined up every night in front of the Norwest Bank, just like they had done in years past, and Chattanooga Charlie was back with a new creation. Things were looking up, except at tbe cash register. One o[ the oddities o[ this year's event is that the city will lose a considerable amount of money due to low sales at the city-owned liquor store and the low number of arrests and citations issued. Even with last year's problems and property distruction, the city turned a healthy profit. This year's event was mellow all over, including the bottom line. The city co££ers weren't the only one coming up barer than before. Vendors were caught in a squeeze between higher rents [or orr sidewalk sites and lower demand [or their wares. Sales of souvenirs, T-shirts, cy-c1e parts, tattoos, items that had been hot [or years, went wanting. By the end o[ the week many vendors were saying tpat business was off by anywhere from 50-80% of last year. Everyone was wondering whe.re the money went, including a couple o[ landlords who had vendors skip out without paying the rent. Various reasons were o££ered [or the low cash £low, but the primary one was low turnout. Some experts, using some formula known only to themselves, came up with the figure that rally attendance was o££ by 10,000 or more. Even if that were true, which I doubt, a 25% decline in numbers attending wouldn't explain away a 50-80% decline in sales. The reasons were more subtle. Forone, this year's rally crowd was not a biker crowd. They were more touring-, or at least cycling-oriented. They were solidly middle class. They knew that Sturgis was a week-long holiday and on Monday the 15th of August they had to be back at work. Hence, they didn't feel the urge to buy anymore than what they needed at the moment. So they bought a souvenir T-shirt from one of the many place selling them, maybe a commemorative la~1 pin and that was it. They didn't need any parts other than an oil change, or to fix a £Iat, or change a chain before the journey home. Many didn't even need that since they had their hometown dealer service the bike before they left for Sturgis. This year's crowd generally rode newer bikes and a more diverse selection. There were far fewer "rat" bikes', and more well-kept older bikes. As for leather goods, which have long been a favorite high-ticket item at Sturgis, most didn't move well for one simple reason. If the quality wasn't equal or superior to an item which could be purchased readily at home, it got passed over. This year's crowd was composed of selective, critical buyers who knew exactly what they wanted. The differences between this year's crowd and last year's showed up in odd ways. For instance, a lady at the rally headquarters who has sewn patches on jackets during rally week for years told a newspaper reporter that the money she was given for her services was cleaner than before, so her hands didn't get as soiled. There was one other major di££erence. ].C. "Pappy" Hoel and his White Plate Flat Trackers finally got some long overdue recognition. Hoel is generally credited with being one of, if not the founder, of the Black Hills Classic. He is the founder of the only organization in the nation that honors former Expert £Iat trackers. He personally solicited funds for the memorial that now stands just off ] unction Ave. and gave greatly of his own funds and time to the memorial's completion and operating the White Plate Flat Trackers organization. But Hoel is getting on in years and has been in poor health for some time. Who will take up the task of leading tbe organization and maintaining the memorial after he is gone is a question that has no answer at this time. That honor for his efforts is long overdue is accepted. But Hoel took two honors at this year's rally tbat will remain. On Thursday at the annual meeting of the WPFT, Hoel was presented with a framed proclamation from South Dakota Governor William ]anklow congratulating him on his years of service to motorcycling and naming Sunday, August 14 as "Pappy" Hoel Day in South Dakota. On Sunday at the Western Regional half mile, be was presented with the Dud Perkins Award by the American Motorcyclist Association in honor of his efforts on behalf of motorcycling most recently expressed in his founding of the WPFT and memorial. The presentation of Hoel 's honors, however, long overdue, was a fitting finale to this year's event. It was a tribute of sorts to all the hard work the ]ackpine Gypsies and the Black Hills Motor Classic members have done over the years to keep the race programs going. Although they may not have been honored individually like "Pappy," they shared his vision and enthusiasm and without them there wouldn't have been a 43rd Black Hills Classic. • c<') 00 O"l 17

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