Nearing the end of the Kenosha stretch of Harley-Davidson's 100th
Anniversary in the summer of 2003, Dr. Fulmer saw Peggy McAllinster
standing at a corner along with other spectators. Stopping at a
traffic signal at the corner, she and Dr. Fulmer exchanged a few
words. Dr. Fulmer invited her with a gesture to hop on the bike and
ride with him. Since Ms. McAllinster is one of our town's elders and
walks with a cane, many people would see this as a jest and not expect
her to ride. She was, however, delighted by the offer, and to the
surprise of Dr. Fulmer and the crowd, she accepted. The people around
her were pleased and moved by her enthusiasm. Two men lifted her up
onto the seat, placed her cane on the bike's handle bar, and cheered
as the doctor and his new friend prepared to ride toward the finish
line. Ms. McAllinster had a camera with her, and said "Gee, I wish I
could get a picture out of this." A woman in the crowd said, "Hey, pass
the camera overe here." She took two photos of Ms. McAllinster and
Dr. Fulmer, one of which appears here. At the end of the parade, two
more enthusiastic spectators lifted her off. Dr. Fulmer tried to hand
her her cane, but Ms. McAllinster said "keep it - I'm so happy
I could fly home."
Peggy McAllinster laughingly says that she was the only student at her
high school to have a subscription to The Enthusiast, one of the two main
Harley-Davidson magazines. She says that at Kohler High School she "was
nuts about dancing, cheerleading, swimming, roller skating, boys and of
course - motorcycles. No one in that quiet little town rode one until I
came along. I can only imagine how thrilled my mother was at the Vrrroom
Vroom of a couple motorcycles in front of the house." She did her share
of riding after she left home. She now makes original canes, some with
Harley-Davidson motifs, and acts as a Lockout and Emergency Person for
Lakeside Towers in the harbor area. She has put the pictures of herself
and Dr. Fulmer on the cover of her Year in Review Calendar, has one
printed on a T-shirts, one as a poster on her door, and another framed on
her wall.