For many years, the local Sturgis newspaper (Meade County Times) put out a special edition newspaper after each Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Looking through the archives at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame, we found a stack of these special editions from various years starting in 1984. Each edition was a full newspaper with as many as five sections. They all boast full color covers on each section, and plenty of advertising from local and regional businesses. If you were around any of the years prior to 1988, you could snag one for only $1. From 1988 through the last edition we’ve found in our archives (1999), you could get your copy for $2.
When it comes to archiving items in the museum world, newspapers are notoriously bad bets. They’re made out of inexpensive paper that tends to age and even disintegrate quickly when compared to other papers. Handling any textile, and particularly paper, is hard on it, so you can’t have old newspapers out where they can be handled. Because of the issues associated with saving and archiving newspapers, we try not to keep too many of them on hand. These special editions are an exception at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.
We decided to get them out and give you a little taste of them for this month’s feature. We’ve got full editions from 1984, 1986-1991, 1994-1995, 1998 & 1999. In addition, we’ve got a “Legends of Sturgis” special collector’s edition that chronicles historical information. When we spent a little time perusing these editions we learned that there are some things that seem to have stayed the same over the years and others that have changed drastically.
There’s an article from 1984 about the addition of extra phone banks for rally-goers. In this day of personal cell phones, that seems a little odd. There’s an article from 1988 about Chris Carr – who was a 21-year-old racer. Since then, Chris has held a land speed record, been inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame and retired from racing. The 50th Anniversary in 1990 has a headline indicating it’s “Once in a Lifetime.” Back in 1994, there’s a story about rally-goers opinions on health care reform, gun control and helmet laws. In 1998, there’s an article about the unveiling of a brand new motorcycle – the Excelsior Henderson – which only lasted one year.
A big part of our mission here at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame is to keep the history of the Sturgis Rally. These old publications are just one of the many ways we strive to meet that mission.
Please follow and like us:
