There is NO rally quite like Sturgis. Period.
Started 80 years ago by “Pappy” JC Hoel and his wife, Pearl, Sturgis has been around for what seems like forever.
Pearl, you ask? Well yeah. She was a teacher in the Black Hills, and in 1936 she and her husband created Hoel’s Motors on Junction Avenue in Sturgis. Her husband was a founding member of the Jackpine Gypsies MC - who are still around to this day. In 38, the JG hosted the first rally in the back yard of Hoel’s Motors.
In the years later, Pearl and the wives often prepared food and refreshments for rally crowds, sometimes even jackets and blankets. Pearl then started meeting the Gypsy Tours at Custer or Devil’s Tower. Pearl was an integral part of the rally since the start, but in 1989 after the death of her husband, she stepped up and represented the rally.
Pearl was also an artist - she did many oil canvases. She even painted her own house at the age of 95! Pearl was “The First Lady of the Rally”, and is now in the SD Hall of Fame.
We will be located at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, up front in the FREE Crossroads area - aka, by the big engine! It’s FREE to enjoy this area of the Buffalo Chip, and we’ll be right up front as you pull into the lot with FREE parking. Oh, and there’s cheap beer, live music, a Wall of Death, and DAILY bike shows, including the Biker Belle’s event!
