Michael Lichter ’ s image of Gloria on her Heritage Softail appears on the back cover of her book and perfectly captures what makes her tick . Dig those white boots !
Gloria with fellow Sturgis Hall of Famer Marilyn Stemp at last year ’ s Sturgis induction ceremony . Gloria ’ s also an AMA HOF inductee . and getting good at it , doing stunt riding and even racing a bit . When Pearl Harbor pushed America into WWII , he went to work for Indian and helped develop its military-spec machines , and eventually drifted into the military himself .
Despite literally growing up in a motorcycle shop , Gloria had only been on a bike once , and had no interest in doing it twice . “ One day Bub grabbed me and said I was gonna learn ,” Gloria says , “ and even though I said ‘ no way ’, he won the argument . I ended up riding a ’ 31 Indian Scout in a field .” Gloria was sixteen . It was 1941 . And things blossomed from there . She began riding the shop ’ s used bikes , first locally but venturing farther afield on a wide range of machines , from Triumphs and BSAs to Ariels and Harleys .
She bought her first bike – a shaft-drive , army-spec camo-green Indian that , ironically , Bub had helped design while working at Indian – in ’ 44 , and sold it a few years later to buy a beautiful blue ’ 41 Indian Scout . She joined the Motor Maids organization in ’ 46 at the age of 21 , and began riding everywhere and anywhere , often accompanying her mother to the beach – she on a bike , her mother in a car – during the summer , lane-splitting and cutting through
26 | MAY 2020 | THUNDERPRESS . NET