Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411210074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Members of the Harley-Davidson Owners' Group in Roanoke held their first Thanksgiving ride for the mission. They tooled through Fincastle and Troutville before filling the mission parking lot and 4th Street with black leather and gleaming bikes.
The turnout was more than organizers expected, with sunny skies and warm weather drawing at least 45 motorcycles. The oldest bike was a 1947 Knucklehead and the newest, a brand-new '95. While the crowd was mostly male, couples and at least one child participated.
Monthly rides organized by the group usually draw between 10 and 20 riders, but Saturday's benefit drew more, said Ron Bailey, assistant director of the owners' group and a sales representative by day.
"We're going to try to make it an annual event," he said.
As the riders pulled up to the mission on Fourth Street in Southeast Roanoke, they dropped their food - either dried lima beans or coffee - into a basket the mission set out. More than 115 pounds of beans quickly piled up, while coffee, including six cans of Harley-Davidson "biker brew," was stacked next to it. The group also will donate $100, Bailey said.
The mission had suggested coffee and beans as their contributions. The kitchen goes through three pounds of coffee a day, so that's always appreciated, said development director Joy Sylvester-Johnson, and guests there just "like dried lima beans."
The Rescue Mission raises half its annual support in just two months: November and December. Another motorcycle group, the Retreads, also were to visit the mission Saturday, bringing food and entertainment for the evening chapel service.
The mission has two rules about donations: They have to be made intentionally and they have to be made cheerfully, Sylvester-Johnson said.
The 225-bed facility gets no public money because, "I don't know too many people who pay their taxes cheerfully," she said. The mission is also run as a Christian organization.
The Harley-Davidson procession was a striking sight along its route, especially passing through the small town of Fincastle.
"We got a lot of looks," said Ken Wilhelm. "Not bad looks, envious looks."
He and his wife Carol, new members of the group, showed up because they "like to ride and like to do charitable work."
The group is made up of people from all walks of life, said Bill Rand, retired CEO of Richardson-Wayland Electrical Corp.
"I'm firmly convinced," he said, "there's a Harley in the heart of every man."
by CNB