1st Annual End of Summer Fun Run – Mineral Wells, Texas

I had the privilege of helping during the festivities and it was worth every minute of it! The most important event actually started the night before when Bill Spencer and Mike Burnside began cooking the tons of brisket and sausage that would be served all day during the event. When I pulled into the parking lot it was still well before daylight, the only light, sound and movement came from around the huge BBQ. Oh… did I mention smell? I recently quit smoking, and I swear I could smell that cookin’ a mile away. Mike and Bill offered me a cup of that good ole’ cowboy coffee that you hear stories about. That coffee and a couple of forkfuls of brisket were a wonderful way to start the day.

I think Steve Smith may actually have arrived before me, but he somehow wound up pulling in behind me. Steve had me go for some ice while he got things rolling around the shop. When I returned we put out the buckets of ice and sodas and began to organize the lot by blocking off all the entrances with barrels and signs for “Motorcycles only.” It wasn’t very long before the rest of the support crew arrived.

Jobs were divided up and supplies gathered. The stage had been set up the day before, but the chairs were still behind a locked gate at the rental shop. Fortunately, the rental shop was just across the highway and it soon opened. It was entertaining to watch Steve cross the four-lane on a forklift piled high with tables. We set up the tables and chairs and decided where the various stations would be for the raffles, poker registration, and of course food.

Bikes began to trickle in and out, some just seeing what was going on, others checking out the run times. It was during this time that Mark Helm, The Grand Treasurer, and Tom Malatino, The Deputy Grand Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, came in pulling the beautiful black cherry 2005 Dyna Super Glide that would be given away to the winner of the raffle. A limited number of raffle tickets were to be sold for $100; however, there were extras, and to sell them, tickets were sold for $5 for a chance to win one of the few remaining $100 tickets. All proceeds benefited the Pythian Home.

As the festivities began, I partnered up with Jimmy Williams to sign in the riders for the poker run. At $10 a hand we managed to gather over 120 riders. James Taylor, the shop mechanic began to sell raffle tickets for the 50/50 drawing, a drawing for a $300 ladies leather jacket, a drawing for a mini chopper valued at over $300, and he was even giving away tickets that would later be pulled for various free merchandise.

Juan Vargas, a talented local bike painter, manned the food table, dishing out platefuls of food all day long. Juan only paused long enough to move his own custom bike into the line for the bike show. Chuck Smith (Steve’s brother) and Dave Robertson would man the shop in case anyone needed any last-minute chrome. Steve Smith managed to be everywhere at once and hold the whole show together. Sweet Baby Doug helped out with the raffle sales and bike registrations and managed to be where he was needed all day.

No event is complete without music. To entertain the masses we had the band Hog Leg perform its mixture of classic and southern rock with Jack Dog and Chuck Stafford on bass, Richard Winniger on rhythm guitar, James Bogues on lead guitar and Roger Young on drums. And thanks to the sound mixing by Digimax Productions we managed to keep the neighbors tapping their feet all day.

The day progressed with the departure and return of the poker riders. Both high and low hands were won by lady riders, something I noticed we had a good turnout with. You go girls!

Everyone waited for the bike show, and the tension was high as folks clapped and cheered for their favorite bike in each category. I have included the winners below; you get to match faces and bikes with awards, Blue for 1st place, Red for 2nd.

The drawings got underway later on and there was a ton of stuff given away. But everyone wanted to know who would win the Harley. The winner would be Daryl Strain of Mineral Wells, who just happens to collect motorcycles….go figure. Way to go Daryl!

As folks packed up and prepared to ride off into the sunset, we began to break down tables and chairs as the band began to wind up their chords….cords, and put away their guitars. All in all it was a lot of fun, and completely memorable. I for one will look forward to next year and hopefully many years after.

By Michael Lousha