Hollister
– Wild nights and alcohol consumption have been synonymous with
the first biker takeover in 1947, but 92-year-old Aurelia Bozzo
remembers that invasion much more fondly.
Hollister – Wild nights and alcohol consumption have been synonymous with the first biker takeover in 1947, but 92-year-old Aurelia Bozzo remembers that invasion much more fondly.
“They talk as if they were really mean critters, but they weren’t,” Bozzo said of the bikers.
Bozzo recalled that the motorcyclists used to park their bikes along Highway 25 and sleep in the fields at night, with little protest from locals who were “just glad to have them here.”
The longtime Hollister resident is one of the rally’s biggest fans. Having attended nearly all of the rallies since the 1947 invasion, Bozzo has become a huge proponent of the gathering, counting down the days to its arrival each year.
“I was very disappointed last year when they didn’t want them to come, but thank God they’re back,” she said. “We need the excitement in Hollister.”
While Bozzo supposes that loud noises and huge crowds drive some Hollister residents away for the weekend, she hopes for a particularly large turnout this year.
“The more crowded it is, the better,” Bozzo said. “I always manage some way or another to go. It seems in my old age it’s an added activity.”
Bozzo makes the trek downtown every year.
Although she loves the rally, she was never much of a biker herself. She mostly comes out for the chance to see and meet new people. Bozzo said that last year she made a point to go into Johnny’s Bar and Grill because she “had to see what that was about.”
While some Hollister residents are making a point to get out of town when the rally rolls in, Bozzo plans around the event. She loves walking along downtown streets, talking to people and hearing their stories.
This year, she hopes to catch a ride with one of the bikers.
“I was promised a ride, but only time will tell. If anybody asks me if I’d like to go for a ride, I’m ripe and ready to go,” she said.
