Oklahoma Biker - The Riders Ragazine November - December 2018 | Page 8

Then • Now • Future
Part One Of Six Part Series
Folks this is the first of a six-part series
of MY OPINION on Motorcycle Clubs,
I will use NO names and no actual
events that are not already in the public
domain. I am sure there will be folks
that say I have my dates off, and this
and that, but in my defense, I was not
alive in the 30’s, 40’s & 50’s. And just
a kid in the 60’s & 70’s. So for these
time frames I have to rely on what I
have read, and what I have been told,
basically the research that I have done.
Although a few facts may be misplaced
and a few dates off, basically this will be
as factual and vague as possible.
For the life I live and what I consider to
be a MC, it all began in the late 1930’s,
although there were several clubs
starting up back then, not many passed
the test of time. Two that I can think of
that made it into modern times. One in
Southern California (who are said to
be the first 1% Club), and one in the
Mid-West. I am sure everyone reading
knows who was in the Mid-West, but
not many know who I am talking about
in Southern California but read on and
you will figure it out. After WWII, the
club scene exploded with many clubs,
heck one even wears “Est. 1946”
as their bottom rocker. Times were
different back then, if you ever saw the
movie “The Wild One”, as far fetched
as it seems now, that movie was not
that far off back then, it was a different
time. Back then a disagreement was
settled the two-fisted way, between
Oklahoma biker the riders ragazine
two men, and afterwards, they got up
dusted off and drank a beer together.
Just like in the movie when Johnny
and Chino got into a fight. Later in the
movie, Chino casually asked Johnny if
he wanted to have a drink, or maybe
fight again. Several clubs popped up
and grew through the late 40’s, 50’s,
and early 60’s. Many of which grew and
had several chapters in different states.
Times were very different then, the
power house clubs on the west coast,
east coast, mid-west, and even south,
stayed in their areas, wasn’t really a
matter of territory, folks just did not
move around as much back then. Folks
back then (even bikers), were usually
born in an area, grew up there, worked
there and eventually died there.
The mid 60’s seen the expansion of
the powerhouse clubs, and a few more
were even added. And many of the
smaller clubs started to wane. Several
clubs had several chapters in several
states, but it was not until 60’s that
one of the Power House clubs made
a move into the Mid-West. A club that
started in the 40’s in California had
grown immensely, and in 1962 one of its
members job transferred him to Omaha.
The Cali club did not have any chapters
outside of Cali, and no plans to change
that. So the person in question upon
moving to Omaha, hooked up with
some locals and started a new 1% club
(which has stood the test of time). A few
years later the club in Cali realized they
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