Founder and first International President
Frances Popley wrote in 1980: Louise, as almost all members must by now know, is the Founder of The Women’s International Motorcycle Association. Without her, this book would never have been written and many of the events in it would never have taken place. Unfortunately, I have never met this remarkable and inexhaustible lady, but I do have a detailed account, written by her, of how the Association began.
Louise’s interest in motorcycling started in the early 1920s when she sat on a 1921 Indian, which was owned by a lad who came to visit her elder sister. A few years later, her brother bought an old Indian. In 1924 Louise had her first ride in a sidecar; at first, she was scared, but then found it great fun.
Years passed, Louise grew up and got married. Her husband started yearning for two wheels again as he had owned several machines before they met. So Louise became a pillion rider on a Harley Davidson. This was soon replaced by an Indian Chief and Louise once again had the pleasure of riding in a sidecar. In 1932 Louise’s husband decided that because she was so keen on bikes, he would get her one of her own. The idea frightened Louise, as women drivers were almost unheard of and she was a little worried about the effect riding would have on her reputation, as she was supposed to be ‘ladylike’ and ‘dignified’. She held a good position in the Kodak company and wondered what the rest of the office would think of her ‘putting about’ in the city on a motorcycle!
Louise need not have worried; it was soon known that she had taken to two wheels and every Monday morning her colleagues would ask “Where did you go this weekend?” She kept her good reputation and she and her husband joined the Kodak City Motorcycle Club and later the Wayne County Club. Soon Louise was active in many motoring clubs including the American Motorcycle Association, the Canadian Motorcycle Association and the British Pathfinders Club.
It was then that she became interested in women motorcyclists in particular. She joined, and helped to revive the Motor Maids, set up in the 1940s with various branches throughout America. It was not so much a motorcycle club, more of a display team. The girls in it used to do a formation ride around the track at the start of a race meeting. They wore smart blue uniforms, and their bikes were always beautifully turned out. Louise so much enjoyed the experience of getting The Maids together again that, when she moved back to Waterloo, she enlisted the assistance of another girl and formed the Waterloo Twilight Roamers Motorcycle Club. During the WIMA twentieth Anniversary celebrations, Louise was presented with an Honorary Life Membership of this club.
Louise’s interest in motorcycle publications began with her riding, first with her attempts as a reporter of club news, then as a contributor of articles which appeared in several publications. She became the Associate Editor of one of America’s leading motorcycle publications and for the past fifteen years Louise has, of course, been the Editor of the International edition of the WIMA Newsletter which members receive each quarter.
Let’s get back to Louise’s riding. Louise’s first machine was a 1932 Indian Scout. Her training ground was a gravel road; three lessons later, she was riding through city traffic. Since then, she has been riding continuously on various models of Indian. In her many miles she has never had an accident! Her trips have taken her to many parts of the USA and Canada. She undertook her first long journey (1,200 miles/1,931 km) to Chicago in 1937. Louise believes that she can lay claim to the distinction of being the first American woman to reach the far North – the Temagami Forest of Canada. This was in fact rather more of a feat than it sounds. The trip was in 1937, when many main roads in Canada were still made of dirt and gravel and were very rutted and rough. Louise also feels that she may have been the first American woman to compete in a foreign competition. In 1948 she rode in a 720-mile/1,159 km enduro in Canada. During this period Louise took part in many events, but her main love was touring.
During the 1940s, the number of women riders increased, and Louise believed that there should be more activities for them. Her belief in this grew stronger and stronger and she started thinking about a world-wide organisation of all women motorcyclists. It was during the second World War while Louise was exchanging correspondence with many women in various parts of the world, that she became obsessed with this new idea. Why not unite as a body, exchanging ideas, problems and advice? It would add considerably towards improving the atmosphere, the good companionship, and marvellous fun of competition and touring and all that is characteristic of the sport. She felt sure that others would agree with her. At this time, women abroad were competing in a wider range of events than in America and were doing well. Why? Mainly, Louise felt, light-weight motorcycles had proved their safety and easy handling among women riders. With the influx of these machines from abroad – here was an encouraging outlook. Why couldn’t American women look forward to uniting and increasing their opportunities in competitions as riders? Why couldn’t women unite their interests into one big Association? With this thought, came the initial step of founding The Women’s International Motorcycle Association.
Someone said to Louise at the time that this endeavour would be impossible! But Louise’s love of the sport and her determination kept her going and she made it a possibility and then a successful reality. Once she had completed the groundwork, she enlisted the help of two of her friends, Mrs. Hope Jones and Miss Grace Conrad. So I suppose they could be called the first two WIMA members! I’ll let Louise have the last words: “With the help of every member and some wonderful friends, the WIMA has now grown today to be the largest women’s motorcycle organisation in the world.”
Here, with only limited space available and only ordinary words at my disposal I cannot think of a suitable tribute to pay to a woman, who was not only our founder but who has also devoted a lifetime to the Association. Louise, a Big Thank You from all of us.
Current Members’ recollections
Former GB member, founder of the WIMA Australia division, Linda Bootherstone-Bick stayed with Louise in summer 1983, and helped her get the international newsletter out. Louise sorted out a 360 Honda upon which Linda set off on a 13,000-mile journey staying with WIMA USA members all over the country.
GB members Widge Thorpe and Rose Wilbraham, plus Widge’s husband and daughter visited Louise at her home in Waterloo, NY in August 1986. Louise made them very welcome, and they stayed overnight camping close by. Widge recalls: ‘We had proudly worn our ‘British Division’ WIMA tee shirts, but Louise was indignant that anything other than official USA regalia in red, white and blue existed. Oops. She had strong views about a number of motorcycling issues – we decided it was diplomatic to just nod in agreement.
‘We took Louise to a local diner for an evening meal before settling down for the night in the tents. The etiquette of American buffet eating was new to us. Louise happily tucked into plain fish with red jello to follow. Next day, before we left, Louise showed Rose and I a tea-chest half full of correspondence from all over the world that she needed to deal with. Her stay in hospital had caused a backlog. It was an interesting experience that I am grateful for. The culture of Louise’s WIMA in the USA at that time was very different from ours in WIMA GB. The focus seemed to be on leading parades and wearing identifying regalia rather than riding the scenic roads of the country and meeting up at rallies as in the UK.’
Louise’s health was declining by the time of Widge’s family visit in 1986 and she spent the final part of her life in a retirement home in New York. Her 1940 Indian motorcycle and her collection of over 350 toy motorbikes are in the INDIAN motorcycle museum, Springfield, Massachusetts.
A book called Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s was published in the USA by McFarland in 2023. Written by Linda Back McKay and (WIMA USA member) Kate St. Vincent Vogl (www.katevogl.com).
