I was a junior at Keller High School. Other kids were getting those new BSA’s and such. I traded a calf I was raising for a British made “James” motorcycle. It was about 125 cc. I spent more time fix’n it then riding it. I finally gave up and started hitchhiking everywhere I went.

I guess it was about 1970 or 71. One of our customers had a wreck on his 350 Honda. It didn’t hurt the bike but sure banged up the guys face. He got rid of it to me pretty cheap. I rode it all the way back to Fort Worth from Shreveport. I loved it and was hooked.

In 1973 I bought a brand new Harley Sportster. I rode that old iron head all over the United States and part of Mexico. Must have put 250,000 miles on it and I still have it!

I started riding with the Boozefighters in 1993. I think it was about 1997 or 1998 when a bunch of us was coming back from Austin. I pulled up and rode beside Big John. We were running about 80 mph when my timing slipped and that old Sportster started back firing. Big John snapped his head around and said “JQ, when are you going to get a good ride so you can keep up with the big boys?”

For my 60th birthday I bought me a Road King from a cop in Arlington. It only had 11,700 miles on it but now its approaching 80,000. I’ve been to the west coast 3 or 4 times on it, east coast once, Canada and Mexico. Mexico wasn’t planned. I made a wrong turn during a Gypsy Tour and led about a dozen guys across the border. They’ll never let me live that down.

Because I’m so damn old I guess. Naw- actually because of my research and knowledge of our “Original Wild Ones.” In May of 1995 my pretty wife Pat and I went on vacation to California. I’ve always been a history buff so Gary Rye set it up for me to interview ‘Wino’ and ‘J.D.’ while I was out there. Johnny Roccio came over too and we all sat around talking about the old days for most of a Saturday. I’ve got it recorded on video and recorder tape.

I saw about 5 picture albums and learned so much I thought I’d become an expert on the Boozefighters history subject. I enthusiastically told my wife afterwards “I’m going to write a book about the BFMC.” I’ve been accumulating notes, stories and pictures for it ever since.

I was so naïve that I didn’t realize I’d only scratched the surface. The history of the Boozefighters was about a lot more then just 2 or 3 guys. And I learned as time went on that all of the Originals had varying recollections of how it was and how it went down way back in the late 1940’s.

In subsequent annual vacation trips I met up with Jim Hunter, Red Dog, Jim Cameron, Jack Jordan, Vern Autry, Jack Lilly, Gil Armas, Les Haserot, Teri Forkner, Virginia ‘Dago’Day, and a lot of their families and old friends. I learned a lot of unique things from all of them and they weren’t always the same stories.

Sometimes they’d get into a big argument about how things happened. I noted every point of view and then did a lot of research to try sorting out the truth. I learned that the women of the Originals had a better handle on reality of how it was. For example, if it weren’t for Jeannine Roccio we’d never have known how the 3-Star Bottle center patch actually came about. Teri dispelled a few drunken myths that Wino told, but she added gobs of clear recollections that are priceless.

Regardless of the various slants, each Original had their own memory and it was, and is, rewarding to learn that they were a tight knit group of young people and basically all parallel on the central theme. They were all into it for SPIRITED GOOD NATURED FUN!!

We’ve all put together the museum. You have given me lots of stuff. Big John, Gene Long, Indo and lots of other members have contributed valuable collectables. Especially the Originals. I had file cabinets full of notes, pictures and things from over the years.

In 1999 I came up with the idea of doing a time capsule. With the help of ‘Dead Eye’, ‘Trainer’, ‘Dancer’ and others we got a 55-gallon barrel, painted it green and added three white starts on the side. It’s in the museum now. It was to be welded shut at midnight on New Years Eve but I’ve actually been adding to it ever since. It’s almost crammed full now. Then it’s not to be opened again until our 100th anniversary party in 2046. I might miss that one.

I was given 200 square feet of walled off space in the back of the warehouse to start a museum. We had the grand opening during fall nationals in 2001. We outgrew it the first day and have moved it to a larger space in our adjoining building where the Boozettes meet. We’ve outgrown it too. I think we’re the only MC in the world that’s got a museum. Lots of members and guest come for tours year round.

I can’t think of anything I’ve ever been involved in that I’m more proud of, besides my wife and children. This book is a great read and I am fully confident that all Boozefighters will agree.

Thanks for saying so but it wouldn’t have happened without Bill either. We made a good team and that is what it took to make `The Original Wild Ones’ possible. Now to be a little more specific let me explain about the team work. It wasn’t just Bill and I either. There have been countless numbers of BF brothers & sisters, plus a bunch of friends and family members contributing to this project. We have had so much help and in-put from so many people that it would take another book to explain it.

When Bill and I set out a plan to put this book together we figured to accomplish it with in one year. As others, like you and Big John for example, became aware of our projected goal they started volunteering tid-bits of additional information, stories, and pictures. Numerous times, when we thought we had a wrap, Bill or I would email or call one or another and say…”HOLD ON PARTNER – WE’VE GOT SOMETHING NEW THAT’s GOT TO GET INCLUDED!” I’d say that in all fairness this has been a total club team work effort. Bill and I just happen to be the conduit to funnel everybody’s contributions into a final transcript. And that is also why it turned out being a three year project…but it’s been worth it.

Now that you’ve got me going I want to make a couple of more important points about the book. Yeah you’re right…if I hadn’t spent 10 years in accumulating research about the “ORIGINALS” we wouldn’t have ever met and got to know most of them, much less got their stories included. I proudly accept that credit because I put lots of time and effort into it.

But the second point is…it’s like playing football. You’ve got to have lots of players pulling together to win a game. And you’ve got to have someone special to take the ball when it has been passed to them to run it in for a TOUCHDOWN.

Bill Hayes entered into this project for more or less a business venture. After all - writing and selling publications was his full time profession. That’s how he made his living. But this project did something different to him. He got so interested and wrapped up in it that it consumed him. He became a proud Boozefighter brother in the process and elevated to our “National Press & Publicity Officer,” over seeing all of our press coverage. Hence that’s why we now call him `PRESS.’ So my second point is that `Press’ became our go-to guy and he carried the football (the book) over the goal to win the game.

Can I go now? I feel a powerful thirst coming on after all that talk’n.

Thanks JQ. That was an interesting interview.

`DUKE’

~