Blue Max Motorcycle Club records, 1922-1996

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Summary

Creators:
Blue Max Motorcycle Club and Hegge, Hal (Hjalmer M.)
Abstract:
Administrative records, slides, photographs, film, video recordings, sound recordings, objects, textiles, buttons, and ephemera from the Blue Max Motorcycle Club, a gay motorcycle club founded in Los Angeles in 1968. The materials document club events such as motorcycle runs, anniversary celebrations, fundraisers, officer ceremonies, gay pride festivities, and other events.
Extent:
17.2 Linear Feet 2 archive boxes, 15 archive cartons, and 7 flat archive boxes.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Blue Max Motorcycle Club Records, Coll2013-055, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection comprises administrative records, slides, photographs, film, video recordings, sound recordings, objects, textiles, buttons, and ephemera from the Blue Max Motorcycle Club, a gay motorcycle club founded in Los Angeles in 1968. The administrative records and scrapbooks document Blue Max's activities, such as its Red Baron motorcycle runs, beer busts, monthly meetings, officer ceremonies, and fundraisers; as well as events of other motorcycle clubs and the Council of Southern California Motorcycle Clubs. The photographs, slides, and audiovisual material document Blue Max and other motorcycle clubs' events. The objects, textiles, and ephemera include buttons from Blue Max and several other motorcycle clubs, accoutrements for Blue Max's elaborate uniforms, and flags and props likely used for Blue Max's annual performance, "The Rose of No Man's Land." Personal papers and photographs from Hal Hegge are also included.

Biographical / historical:

Excerpted from Little Fairy on the Prairie, Red Baron 1991 program: "The Blue Max Motorcycle Club was founded on June 7, 1968 with an original membership of eleven, and became incorporated on June 23, 1968. In the Fall of 1968, we joined the Council of Southern California Motorcycle Clubs. The first chapter of "The Rose of No Man's Land" was presented at Badger Flats in 1968. Over the years, our membership has grown as high as twenty-three and dropped as low as seven." Blue Max held monthly meetings, organized benefits for community groups, and organized annual motorcycle runs throughout California. The Blue Max was known for its reverence of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Prussia and the Red Baron with members' uniforms resembling Prussian military regalia. In 1969, Blue Max organized its first annual Red Baron Run. Hal Hegge, the donor of this collection, served as one of Blue Max's early presidents and Chancellors and was involved with the club from its founding through the late 1970s. Blue Max continued to operate into the 1990s.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Hal Hegge, circa 1996.
Processing information:

A portion of this collection was formerly housed in box #103-358 and A235. Collection processed by Rachel Roque and Loni Shibuyama, December 2014.

Arrangement:

This collection is divided into five series:

Series 1. Administrative records

Series 2. Photographs and slides

Series 3. Film and video recordings

Series 4. Sound recordings

Series 5. Objects, textiles, and ephemera

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers. The films in this collection are deposited in conjunction with the Outfest Legacy Project at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Advance notice is required for researchers wishing to access these materials.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Blue Max Motorcycle Club Records, Coll2013-055, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007, US
Contact:
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
Website