Hollister and the Death of Family Riding
Michael Batterman
EN 1320
ITT Technical Institute
Instructor, Kenneth Frawley
August 9, 2013

Hollister and the Death of Family Riding In 1947 a riot occurred that caused authorities to say, "The trouble was caused by the 1% deviant that tarnishes the public image of both motorcycles and motorcyclists.” –Anonymous. In response most bikers sum up their feeling this way, “A 1%er is the one of a hundred of us who have given up on society, So stay out of our face. If you don’t think this way then walk away.”
These quotes sum up the world of the outlaw biker. The first is a short attempt to explain away the mess in Hollister California 1947, the second is a subtle warning to walk away or face violence. In 1947 a small town in Central California named Hollister became the center point of the motorcycle world. This little town with a population of about 4,500 (US Census 1947) hosted an American Motorcycle Association (AMA) event that would forever change society’s perception of bikers and the world in which they live in. This normally quiet town’s peaceful record was shattered by violence and destruction changing the world of the motorcyclists forever. This of course is the media’s dramatic account of the episode. Pushed by American news agencies, that stereotype led to the formation of the Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, and their integration into our society. One bit of dramatic licensing led to the formation of a billion dollar a year industry of drug running, guns, extortion and murder. But is this the truth? How did this myth become fact? Read on, but remember you have been warned. The months following the end of World War II felt the country reeling from the aftershock. Servicemen and women were returning home by the thousands and were expected to find work and settle down. For most, this was an acceptable conclusion to the horrors they had witnessed overseas but for a few, the loss of the adrenaline fueled life was anything but acceptable. These men found that living on the edge of death for the last four years had awakened an excitement that was going to be hard to find at home. The freedom that they found on the backs of their motorcycles rekindled these fires and allowed them the release they needed. They started to form clubs with others that held the same beliefs and ideas. These clubs, while mostly family oriented at first, soon began attracting men with more wild sides. Even though these clubs were based on the love of riding motorcycles; alcohol and parties soon became the focus of the weekly meetings. To identify themselves amongst the other clubs most took to wearing patches on their backs. With club names like The Boozefighters, 13 Rebels, The Pissed Off Bastards of Bloomington and The Market Street Commandos these clubs started to raise the eyebrows of polite society. For the most part these clubs functioned the same as fraternal organizations. They elected officers and paid monthly dues and they had rules they lived by. To join one of the clubs a person had to go through an initiation ritual consisting of such outlandish behavior such as getting drunk at a race or eating a live goldfish. (Hayes 27) After which they enter the prospect period. Prospects are required to do whatever is asked of them whenever it is asked. Prospecting for a club could last anywhere from a month to over a year depending on the club. This period is used by patch holders, or full members, to evaluate the prospect and see if he will fit into the clubs ways. Not all prospects will make the cut and this is the main reason motorcycle clubs today have such a tight bond of brotherhood between its members. The American Motorcycle Association (AMA) was founded in May 1924 with the goal of “protecting the future of motorcycling and promoting the motorcycle lifestyle”. (AMA Website). The AMA’s initial membership rolls listed over 10,000 members and they expected that to rise to over 50,000 within 20 years. The AMA threw themselves into their role as the protector of the motorcycle rider with a fervor getting laws passed that aided riders and organizing events such as the Gypsy Tour “where riders, dealers and everyone interested in motorcycles would tour to some convenient spot for a day's sport and a real old-fashioned good time.'' (AMA Website). These Gypsy Tours were a big hit with the everyday riding clubs who would come for a day of cycling, food and shows. With few exceptions these events were without incident and the AMA liked it that way. But to be clear, even though the AMA worked hard at taking care of the business of motorcycling, their focus was on public image. Those that did not live up to the standards of the AMA were denied membership and even fined. The AMA would not stand for those riders that bucked the system. By July 1947 the AMA’s gypsy Tour was scheduled to be held in a small town in California named Hollister. Hollister, founded in 1872, sits in the central California county of San Benito just south of San Francisco and according to the US Census of 2005, boasts a population of 35,000 (Hollister Website). With agriculture as its primary business Hollister maintains a small town feel as if stepping out of a Steinbeck novel. Although Hollister has more than tripled their population since 1947 they still maintain that country charm which gives the town so much appeal. However, in 1947 nobody was prepared for the madness that was about to descend upon the small town. By evening of 3 July the town’s main street of San Benito was packed with over 4,000 motorcyclists essentially doubling the town’s population. Hollister was unprepared for this sort of massive turn out. In previous years due to the ongoing war the town had only experienced a third of the clubs that came out this day. Because Hollister is a small town and the few houses in the area were working farms, the motorcyclists found it difficult to find places to sleep. Some club members chose the sidewalk as their resting place, while others drifted into the bars after the day’s events. As the alcohol flowed and the bikers became restless they poured out into the streets and Hollister’s small seven man police force was called in to deal with the problem. Motorcyclists from all clubs continued to ride up and down the streets. Some preformed stunts others conducted drag races. One Boozefighter named Jim Cameron was riding by a bar when another member asked him to come in, so he did, bike and all (Hayes 187). According to police the revelry continued well into the night until law enforcement arrived from nearby towns and rounding up the bikers and blocking off a portion of the street with two trailers and a live band. The police allowed the party to continue to the next morning while the bikers drank and danced to the music. As the sun rose it found Hollister in the same state as it was when it set. During the infamous “Riot” approximately 50 arrests were made and 60 injuries occurred. Of these, nearly all arrests were for drunk and disorderly behavior and most injuries were treated and released within a few hours. Only three serious injuries occurred, those being a broken leg, a fractured skull and road rash. Hollister itself suffered very minor damage with only a couple of broken windows and a lot of empty beer bottles to clean up. None of the residents of Hollister were hurt in any way nor were there any reports of major crimes to any citizen. On the morning of the 4th Barney Peterson a photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle was in town taking pictures. Mr. Peterson asked a man by the name of Eddie Davenport to sit on a motorcycle while Peterson took some photos. Not liking the way that the pictures were turning out Mr. Peterson arranged some beer bottles around the wheels on the bike and began shooting what would turn out to be one of the most iconic photos ever taken in the motorcycle world. Writing up his story for the Chronicle, Mr. Peterson used words like “Terrorism” and “Destruction” which only served to enflame the average American reader. The story was picked up by Life Magazine (Peterson 31) and spread across the country. Soon everyone was talking about the wild drunken gangs of motorcyclists that had descended upon the quiet American town. The photo cemented in the American mind the image of the drunken biker perched atop his death machine forever linking the destruction and mayhem in Hollister with the outlaw motorcycle clubs. Today America has well over 1200 sanctioned clubs registered with the AMA (AMA Website). “Outlaw” clubs, or clubs not registered with the AMA far surpass that number. Of the thousands of unsanctioned outlaw clubs in existence there are four that stand alone in the motorcycle world. The “Big 4” as they are known consist of; The Hells Angels, Bandidos, Outlaws and The Pagans. These clubs are considered 1%er clubs in that they associate themselves with the 1% of the riders that tarnished the image of the other 99%. Being a 1%er is not something that they take lightly. It does not mean that they pull their bikes out on weekends to ride the back roads of America. These men live the biker life. Their entire existence revolves around the biker world and to support that lifestyle a lot of the clubs turn to drug trafficking to make ends meet. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’ s 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment (NGIC) three of the four big clubs have ties to Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations. These clubs are responsible for the movement and distribution of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines throughout the US raking in millions of dollars annually. According to reports from the Department of Justice during fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2011 the DEA confiscated over 21.5 billion dollar’s worth of assets and drugs from cartels nationwide (DEA). Since the days of Hollister 1947, America has seen the outlaw clubs grow past anyone’s wildest dreams. A single event blown out of proportion and distorted by the American press created a criminal organization that today wields power worldwide. As they continue to grow these clubs leave in their paths a trail of murder and destruction, taking down and rolling over those who stand in their way. With their hands in a multi-billion dollar cookie jar, the outlaw clubs are a long way from going away.

References

Hayes, Bill. The Original Wild Ones: Tales of The Boozefighters Motorcycle Club, Est. 1946. St. Paul, MN: Motorbooks, 2005.
Winterhalder, Edward, Out in Bad Standings: Inside the Bandidos Motorcycle Club - The Making of a Worldwide Dynasty, Blockhead City Press, 2005/Seven Locks Press, 2007 (ISBN 0-9771-7470-0)
Peterson, Barney, On Fourth of July weekend 4,000 members of motorcycle club terrorize Hollister, California. July 21 1947. LIFE Magazine
National Gang Intelligence Center, 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment Emerging Trends, Washington DC, 2011
Drug Enforcement Administration, 2013 DEA Fact Sheet, Office of Public Affairs, 2013
US Census, http://www.census.gov/, 12 August 2013
AMA History, http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/ ,12 August 2013
Hollister About, http://www.hollister.ca.gov/ 12 August 2013