Mary Shepard Cutright
1993, Leadership
Mary Cutright of Chillicothe, Ohio was born Mary Virginia Shephard, on October 5, 1918. Her interest in motorcycling began when her brother bought a bicycle from a local Harley-Davidson dealer in Chillicothe. Bicycle riding was a love of Mary's and at age 15 she won a bicycle race.
After graduation from high school, she got a job at a local shoe factory to earn money to buy a motorcycle. In May of 1937, she had stashed away enough to buy a 1937 45 cubic inch Harley-Davidson. All the local boys were very eager to teach Mary how to ride and she learned with no trouble at all.
Mary was wed to John Scott Cutright in November of 1942. Her son, Johnny, came into the world in February of 1944. She continued to ride her bike for the first seven months of her pregnancy, and at the early age of 8 weeks, Johnny was riding on the motorcycle with mom and dad. He rode on the front until Mary couldn't see over his head, and then moved to the back of her buddy seat as she rode all over the country. She became widowed in November of 1969.
During the war years, Mary rode her 1940 61 cubic inch Harley-Davidson back and forth to work at a Naval fireworks factory. Riding was limited in the war years because of the gasoline shortage, but right after the war, when things picked up, Mary was out riding as much as possible. Her riding was mostly with male riders, but every once in a while she would spot another girl riding and learned about the Motor Maids. She signed up as soon as she could.
Mary joined up with the Motor Maids in 1949. In 1952, Mary was appointed State Director for Southern Ohio. She did such a terrific job in that capacity that in 1957, she was elected to the position of Supply Officer, taking care of all the uniform supplies, membership lists, decals, pins, etc. She was so completely efficient at this job, that in 1963, they added the Treasurer's title to this post. She then had to keep track, not only of supplies, but the money as well.
The Motor Maids always created a positive influence on the two-wheeled sport. Their uniforms were royal blue with grey slacks, white boots and white gloves. They opened many national races while riding in formation as they circle the track to the front of the grandstand.
At the 1966 Motor Maids convention in Sturgis, South Dakota, Mary was elected President of the Motor Maids. She presided as President for a total of 12 years. Since she had been a Motor Maid, Mary had not missed one annual convention until 1987, when she was diagnosed with cancer.
The Motor Maids was not Mary's only club. She was also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, White Shrine of Jerusalem, Social Order of the Beauceant, the Chillicothe Motorcycle Club and was a charter member of the BMW Owner's Club of Ohio.
Making friends was the major reason Mary loved to ride her Harley-Davidson across the United States and Canada. In the last decade of her life, Mary worked 40-hour weeks at Miller Sales and Service in Chillicothe. She rode her bike on the weekends during the summer months, averaging up to 12,000 miles per year. In 1980, Mary was inducted into the Charity Newsies Motorcycle Hall of Fame. The plaque that she was awarded described her as "A truly great lady of the roaring wheels." Mary had also received many awards and recognitions from the American Motorcycle Association.
One of the rooms in Mary's home was lined with many of the 100 plus trophies that she had won in skill-testing competitions. She was skilled at timed road runs, as well as field meets which included pushing a barrel, riding a plank, etc. These maneuvers were quite a task while riding a Duo Glide and being only 5'1" in height.
Her lifetime membership to the AMA ended on March 10. 1988. Mary's family, friends and admirers came to mourn and then inwardly celebrate the living memory of a woman that meant a lot to not only the world of motorcycles, but also to all the people she came to know, love and respect.
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