This is wild. It brings up memories of wild times and early issues of Easyriders Magazine.



I have a neighbor in Deadwood who works for the Deadwood Historic Society. He called the other day about an article published in Easyriders around the Deadwood Whorehouses. Just before the article was published the feds raided and put an end to prostitution in the Black Hills forever, sorta…




Michael Runge, the City Archivist and Collections Manager called to get permission to feature the article with like art in the recently refurbished Bullock Hotel basement. As it turns out the hotel was restored and upgrade by Adrian Newkirk, a longtime friend of mine and builder of the Hamster Lodge in Spearfish.



Built in the year 1895, Bullock Hotel is one of the finest and the oldest hotels in Deadwood. Thanks to the extensive restoration and renovation it underwent in 1990, its historic charm and alluring vibe was retained. This historic hotel gets its name from the original owner Seth Bullock. Some believed it is haunted by the ghost of Seth Bullock himself, who was a major player in the growth of Deadwood and a buddy of President Theodore Roosevelt. Ghost tours are offered.




I don’t know about the ghost, but a recent Bullock Hotel owner brought Adrian a haunted dog from Arizona. The pup is meaner than 14 Pitbulls on meth.



During my conversation I brought up my connection to the rally through Easyriders Magazine and how we covered the event in 1978 with Billy Tinney photography and in 1979 Michael Lichter shot the shit-house burning action and suddenly little Sturgis, population of 5,000, became home to the wildest motorcycle rally on the planet.



A rumor surfaced around rally numbers, which can’t be confirmed. The year ER covered the rally 12,000 riders attended. The next year it doubled to 24,000 and so on until the 50th Black Hills Rally brought over 500,000 maniacs to the Sturgis region. Who knows, but it sounded good and Michael Rungy ran with it.



He spoke to Billy Tinney and I spoke to Michael Lichter who told me about a strange movie theater where he crashed with Billy. The city of Sturgis had a motorcycle curfew at the time and towed his motorcycle away in the middle of the night.

Here’s a portion of the letter Mike Rungy sent to Billy Tinney recently after asking to interview me about the magazine's impact on the rally for the Deadwood Historic society.


Thank you again for calling me last Thursday about your article and photography in the January 1981 Easyrider Magazine on the closing of the Deadwood houses. Enclosed please find a copy of this article in its entirety. As discussed on the phone, I am interested in hearing more about this interview, your ties to Keith “Bandit” Ball, and your involvement in covering/photographing Deadwood and the Sturgis Rally for Easyriders magazine. As you know, the Sturgis Rally has grown exponentially in the last 40 years. This growth has also impacted our community of Deadwood, making it a tourist destination for motorcyclists.




The City of Deadwood Archives annually collects ten oral histories on a variety of topics related to Deadwood. The Sturgis Rally has been one of the ideas tossed around for several years. Both you and Bandit's involvement in making the Sturgis Rally a national destination through Easyriders Magazine is something worthy of recording for posterity. In the not-too-distant future, mainly when I see him next, I will be having the same conversation with Bandit about this topic. If I can find him.

 I am also interested in any additional photographs of the Pam Holiday interview that did not make the magazine story along with any images of Deadwood you may have taken as part of the Sturgis Rally. If you have time, I would be interested in scheduling another phone call with you. Could you please let me know what dates and time work the best for you?

Thanks again for the call and I look forward to continuing our conversation.

Best,
Mike