It was shocking news in 1965 when over 5,000 ‘motorcycle rioters’ tore up a New Hampshire town and fought the National Guard.
The date was June 19th, 1965 and the town was Laconia. The motorcycle rally that has drawn an unknown number of bikers to the State of New Hampshire over the next few decades for its race events and later rally would be the scene of a group of riders referred in the news reports as “Hell Angels’ (always in quotes) who circled the town and reportedly refused to let any of the town’s residents out while the supposedly caused havoc.
The story is coming to life again through the latest service from Google, offering a searchable look at past news events through scanned newspaper reports. Many caught up in the 1965 event must have thought they were living through the movie ‘The Wild One’ starring Marlon Brando, only released some twelve years earlier.
‘“You’d better get out of here and get out fast– every one of you,” a young family was warned as cars were overturned, buildings set ablaze and National Guardsmen battled with 5,000 rioting motorcycle fans’, wrote the Miami News on June 21st.
No reason is given what encouraged the commotion but many motorcycle historians hint at a changing atmosphere for the event with two state laws enacted in 1965, one allowing police to arrest riders loitering in groups of 3 or more and the other provided for fines up to $1000 and imprisonment up to 3 years for persons who led a disturbance or caused property damage during a riot.
According to the Miami News, ‘Commissioner of Safety Robert W. Rhodes said the riot started Saturday night when a California motorcycle club known as “Hells Angels” tipped over a car and threw a ring around the area and would let anyone get away.”’
Nearly 100 people were injured, at least 10 seriously, and damage was estimated into the thousands of dollars.
The motorcyclists, many wearing bandanas but otherwise dressed entirely in black shiny leather and their hair in long slicked-down style, crowded into grocery stores earlier buying food and beer. Some 15,000 of them had assembled for the 100 mile national championship road race of the American Motorcyclist Association.
The Associated Press noted local resident differed on who and what casued the riots with then owner and operator of the raceway at Louden, where the races were held, stating the riots were caused by ‘an irresponsible fringe of motorcycle hangers on.’
The Milwaukee Journal wrote that the riot started at 10pm Saturday night ‘coming violently and suddenly’ when a number of leather jacketed youths stopped an automobile as it moved up the street of Lake Winnipesaukee resort.
According to the Miami News, 40 people were eventually arrested and left to face the recently enacted laws of large fines and jail time.
The New York Times focused the riot on Weirs Beach with 10,000 young men counted in the town located near Laconia, none mentioned as having anything to do with motorcycles. According to the Times story 150 rioters were arrested ‘on a variety of charges ranging from participating in a riot to breaking and entering and attempted arson’.
The following year the Laconia city council passed an ordinance prohibiting drinking in public which stated ‘No person shall drink any alcoholic beverage….on any public street, or public highway, public sidewalk, municipal parking lot, or municipal park within the limits of the City of Laconia.’
A website that details the history of the rally and motorcycle events held in New Hampshire notes the riot and resulting ordinance caused the annual event to slowly decline in the following years.
Interstingly, there was a riot in the same area the year before, but with 10,000 college students being the culprits for that disprutive action. Regradless, the riot at the motorcycle event was considered worse because ‘These motorcycle addicts were worse. If you could see some of the weapons we took from them,’ wrote the Naushua Telegraph.
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