Jul 4, 2002 3 min read

HOLLISTER, Calif. (AP) – Fifty-five years ago, a brawl at a motorcycle gathering in this central California farm town inspired the Marlon Brando film “The Wild One” and cemented the image of the outlaw biker in American lore. Over the July 4th weekend, an army of officers will be on hand to make sure the Hollister Independence Rally, the anniversary of the 1947 dustup, doesn’t provoke the lethal violence that rocked a similar event in Laughlin, Nev., in April.

Police expect more than 60,000 riders, mostly recreational riders on expensive, heavily chromed Harley-Davidson motorcycles, for the three-day rally beginning Friday.

On Saturday, the busiest day, sparkling bikes line block after block and visitors can barely move through the crush of leather-clad humanity. The town’s population swells from 36,000 to nearly 100,000.

Police Capt. Bob Brooks said security concerns this year are somewhat greater than in years past. The city plans to strictly enforce recently passed ordinances that ban knives over 4 inches long and cans and bottles in the streets.

“We have zero tolerance for alcohol violations,” Brooks said. “We want to make sure they stay within the bounds of their fantasy and that alcohol doesn’t cloud the line between fantasy and reality.”

Normally a peaceful gathering, the Laughlin rally was marred by a casino brawl between Hells Angels and Mongols gang members that left three dead on April 27. A fourth biker – a Hells Angels member from San Diego – was found dead that same day on nearby Interstate 40.

Some motorcycle events around the country were canceled. However, three major motorcycle “runs” in Nevada, California and New Hampshire last month have been trouble-free.

City officials say that riders bring from $6 million to $8 million to Hollister businesses over the weekend. One of those is Johnny’s Bar & Grill, the unofficial rally headquarters that features a life-size image of a young, leather-clad Brando. “We make three months’ income in six days,” said Johnny’s co-owner Charisse Tyson. “I’m praying a lot.”

Over the bar is a Life magazine cover featuring a 1947, posed photo of a bleary-eyed reveler sitting on a bike, beer bottle in his hand and a pile of bottles around him.

The magazine’s story reflected the view then of motorcycle riders as fiends on two wheels and painted an exaggerated picture of the gathering, favoring the police account. While several thousand riders showed up in town, there were about 50 arrests, mostly for drunkenness and disturbing the peace.

, and a handful of injuries.

“At first it would seem like a strange thing to celebrate the original Hollister run, which led to the movie “The Wild One,” which gave motorcycling such a big black eye,” said Dave Edwards, editor of Cycle World, one of the most popular motorcycling magazines in the country.

But Edwards said he doesn’t expect any trouble.

“Sadly,” he said, “I think that just like the original Hollister event, what happened at Laughlin really had nothing to do with motorcycling.”

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On The Net:

Hollister Independence Rally: http://www.hollisterrally.com