FORT PIERRE S.D. — When we first shared the story of the oldest person in South Dakota also being the oldest person alive – with any precise recollection – to have attended the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, some didn’t want to believe it.
But when you’re as sharp-minded at 108 as Hazel Baumberger is, well, who is anyone to say. And does it really matter?
Aunt Hazel’s story (she was in her 20’s when she attended her first Rally) hadn’t gone around the world yet when we first visited with her and her niece, Sandra Griese of Pierre, S.D. But it has now with emails and phone calls come in from all over the country, to congratulate the 2024 South Dakota Centenarian and a defining fixture in the 84 year history of the Sturgis Rally.
⌊ South Dakota’s Oldest Person Loves Farming, Family & The Sturgis Rally ⌋
So much so that the chatter on social media platforms is that a group of bikers plan to bring the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to her.
The “Rally to Hazel” will take place Monday, August 12, 2024 from 11a.m. to 3p.m. According to the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce, bikers will be honoring the famous centenarian, “who has achieved legendary status in our community, especially for her lifelong passion for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally!”
The invitation to all bikers continues with, “Although she can no longer attend the rally due to age-related limitations, (her last one riding on a bike with her nephew was at the age of 99) Hazel’s vibrant spirit and fond memories of the lively Sturgis celebrations continue to inspire everyone around her. The upcoming “Rally to Hazel” event at Peaceful Pines, 1000 Yellowstone Street, Ft. Pierre, S.D., will provide an opportunity for the community to come together and pay homage to this exceptional South Dakota icon, celebrating her enduring enthusiasm for life and the adventurous spirit that has defined her for more than a century. Join us for some refreshing lemonade and the chance to meet the remarkable Hazel Baumberger! We hope to see you there!”
The event’s slogan is spot-on: “You’re Never To Old To Enjoy The Ride!”
The inaugural Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was organized by the franchise owner of an Indian Motorcycle dealership Pappy Hoel and his motorcycle club, the Jackpine Gypsies. The event focused on testing participants’ riding skills and creativity on a dirt track, open fields and during a hill climb.
An official history on the Sturgis rally’s main website says nine racers showed up in 1938. Eight came on Indian bikes and one rode a Harley-Davidson. Today, the rally draws more than 500,000 a year.
Baumberger remembers there being just three motorcycles at the start of the classic with two more rumbling their way into contests later on.
It wasn’t just happenstance that brought Baumberger to Sturgis, S.D. It was her nephew, Jim Bush, who served as the Sturgis Police Chief for 37 years. When late summer rolls around each year, Baumberger often wistfully remembers her many rides in the Police Chief’s Ride that kicks off each Sturgis Rally.
It’s been a while since Hazel has been to the Rally, but she still wears some of the many Rally T-shirts she gathered over the years, and she has Harley-Davidson stickers embellishing her walker.
Sharon Baumberger said Hazel had been living in an apartment in Pierre and at the urging of her family moved into an independent living center there.
The management company at the center requested that residents get themselves a walker to use so they wouldn’t fall and risk breaking their bones, Baumberger said.
Hazel obliged, but when the Baumbergers went to visit they realized it was difficult for residents to determine which walker was theirs because they all looked the same. Hazel had her walker taken by other residents on more than one occasion.
“I went down to the Sturgis Harley-Davidson shop, and I found as many blingy sticky things as I could, and I took it up and we slapped them on her walker. And you know, no one has taken it since,” Sharon Baumberger said.
The senior center is calling all bikers leaving Sturgis to stop by Baumberger’s building in Fort Pierre between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday, August 12, 2024, so she can watch and wave at the chrome ponies like she used to.
