Description
Black and white 9 1/2″ x 11 1/2″ photo on page 31 of Life magazine that eventually influenced our culture in a surprising way. As the caption with the photo explains the Fourth of July weekend in Hollister, CA careened out of control as “4,000 members of a motorcycle club roared” into town. It details their exploits and the damage done by these frightening individuals. It claims that while some “hardly paused” there were others that “rested awhile by the curb” like the man featured sitting bleary eyed on a parked motorcycle holding a bottle up while others litter the ground around his front wheel. It tells us that relief only came when “after two days, the cyclists left”. The image created by this picture and the stories that grew out of the incident fostered the entire “biker” culture and was the impetus behind the 1953 movie The Wild Ones with Marlon Brando. How many other young men, like myself, stumbled upon this movie on late night television in the 1960s and felt a bond with “non-conformity”. But what is the truth behind this picture? I have long heard rumors that indicated that this picture was, in actuality, a fine example that “Not every lead turns into a story, if you insist on using the facts”. What seems to have really happened, with specific information provided by the book The Original Wild Ones. Tales of The Boozefighters Motorcycle Club by Bill Hayes , is that there was some activity in Hollister that was not even big enough for everyone in town to be aware that something was happening. It did seem to be enough for the State Police to be called but they were able to quickly put things under control. A story got out about trouble and reporters got interested. Remember that 1947 was before Eisenhower had been elected President and was able to create the Interstate highway system, a trip from the offices of Life magazine on the East coast to California by auto might take a week. When the reporter arrived, despite what the caption indicates, his interview with the Police Chief indicated little fear of having the bikers return for another get-together. A trip like that resulting in no story is not the way to further your career, or to sell magazines. Witnesses indicate that the reporter and photographer grabbed a drunk staggering out of a bar and placed him on a motorcycle they pushed into position by the curb. The assorted bottles by the front wheel were retrieved from various trash containers nearby. The man seen standing on the sidewalk with his hands in his pocket is identified in the book I mentioned as a man who had seen them corralling the drunk and wanted to be in the picture since he knew it was inaccurate.
Source: July 21, 1947 Life magazine.
