You Meet the Most Interesting People on a Harley

 

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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.

 

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