Riding through Sturgis and the Hills makes you nostalgic and it's hard not to get caught up in the memories, in the history.  It's everywhere you look, in the weathered faces of riders on old flatheads they just can't seem to part with, on vests that proudly display 10, 20, 30 years of Rally patches, and at the races, the one single event that put Sturgis on the map.

Hosting a race was Clarence Hoel's idea. Better known as "Pappy," he began his long love affair with Indian motorcycles as a teenager, using his motorcycle to drive cattle and ride fence lines on the family ranch.  Pappy also helped with the family ice business, but with the advent of the refrigerator he knew he had to find another source of income to support his new family, wife Pearl and son Jack.  He applied for an Indian Motorcycle franchise and opened his dealership in his garage in 1936.

1936 was also the year that the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club was officially chartered by the AMA.  Pappy and the "boys" had a good natured rivalry going with the Rapid City Pioneer Motorcycle Club (RPMs).  The Gypsies tended to ride Indians out of loyalty to Hoel's dealership, and the RPMs rode mainly Harley-Davidsons.  Races between the two clubs were held on the horse track in Rapid City until 1937 when the Gypsies invited the RPMs to a race on the old half-mile track at the Meade County Fair Grounds in Sturgis.  Both spectators and racers alike enjoyed how much extra speed could be built up on the banked corners of the Sturgis track, a result of the conversion the track underwent from horses to cars.

It didn't take the local merchants in Sturgis long to notice how popular the races were and see what a potential boon this could be, especially in post-Depression rural America.  They organized to form the Black Hills Motor Classic (BHMC), planning a rally in 1938. However the merchants considered themselves socially separate from the motorcyclists who created and participated in the event, allowing only local business owners to join the "proper committee." This didn't bother the Gypsies who never believed themselves to be inferior to the "namby pamby" merchants.  A few of the "boys" were business owners in town and were able to join the BHMC committee, acting as unofficial spies and making certain that the Gypsies always knew what took place at the "proper committee" meetings.

The Gypsies, pushed out of the picture, would not be outdone and planned an organized ride through the Hills called the Gypsy Tour.  Gypsy Tours were an AMA term for a weekend ride that included social and competitive activities such as a picnic and races.  The tours were readily accepted by local dealerships because in addition to the entertainment and social aspects, this was also an opportunity to showcase the new models.  Keep in mind that many of the dealerships in the '30's were small and demo rides in a sparsely populated rural area would draw potential customers.

Much consideration was given to the date of the BHMC in 1938; however, in the end the second weekend in August was chosen because it didn't conflict with other established events in the area.  In 1938 that weekend was August 12-14.

The committee set out to raise prize money to attract experienced racers.  The purse was $500 and anticipation was high, both for drawing spectators and the racers to entertain them.  To fill out the race weekend a parade was scheduled to include bikes and floats; a community dance; street carnival; and stunts at the fairgrounds.  Pappy loved to perform stunts, which he called tricks, fun and damn foolishness.   One of his favorites was crashing into an outhouse that was set on fire.  The small building was specially constructed of dry, knotty boards that would break when he rode through it on his Indian, making certain to keep his head well below the handlebars.  The fire tended to weaken the boards and make the stunt easier, rather than more dangerous.  With the promise of dangerous stunts and an exciting race schedule, one of the committee members was remembered to have remarked that if the event was promoted and managed correctly there could be "entries from the whole cockeyed world!"

And the enthusiasm continued to build with the AMA's recognition of the races.  This was to be the first AMA sanctioned race in the region and with the extra publicity from the AMA the BHMC committee believed they could draw riders from as far away as Texas and California.

As the race drew closer the purse grew to an amazing $750 and riders from eight states, including California, had registered, thanks in part to the Springfield Mile.  The Springfield Mile was a well-respected competitive event that would draw the top racers in the country and was held shortly after the newly established Sturgis race, giving racers a convenient stop off on their way to Illinois.

On race day nine competitors had registered - Gale Chandler, Gale Gilkerson, Johnny Spiegelhoff, Fred Ford, Dale Short, Al Nelson, Bill Smith, J.P. Lewen and Don Vodden.  All of the bikes entered in the race were Indians except for two, Spiegelhoff and Smith rode Harleys.  It was Harley-Davidson that won the day when "Smiling Johnny" Spiegelhoff crossed the finish line at the end of the first official Sturgis half-mile.

The winner had to share the spotlight with a local racer though.  While the Sturgis Tribune headline read "First Annual Cycle Race Meet a Hummer," a smaller headline read, "Johnny Spiegelhoff Is Very Fast But Meets His Equal In Rapid Speed Demon."  Nelson, who came in second, was from Rapid City and had a loyal fan base in the Hills.  Spiegelhoff and Nelson remained friends and competed in many more races, never imagining that the little race in Sturgis, South Dakota, would have special significance in motorcycle history, inextricably linking them not only to racing history, but to the great legacy that lives on today.