All revved up for Wreaths Across America fundraiser
KANE - Sixty-five motorcycles with 97 riders were revved up as kickstands were raised in anticipation for the Kane VFW's Annual Fallen Soldier Memorial Motorcycle Ride on Saturday.
David Schutz, a member of the St. Marys American Legion, Post 103, for 38 years, said he served in the U.S. Navy from 1974-1978 working aboard an aircraft carrier.
“I was never sorry that I went in,” Schutz said. He said he was happy to be a veteran when he got out of the Navy.
Schutz said he has been participating in the 135-mile ride for years and it is a worthy cause.
Fellow veteran Tim Ruffner, treasurer for the Legion Riders Post 103 out of the St Marys Legion, said he comes to Kane frequently for the rides to help raise funds for the Kane VFW.
Ruffner stated that he has been riding with other individuals as a club. A group of eight motorcyclists joined the Kane Annual Fallen Soldier Memorial Motorcycle Ride.
“We, as a club, donated $500 to the Kane VFW today,” Ruffner said.
Ruffner said he began serving in the U.S. Army in 1976 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
Dave Swanson, commander of the Kane Legion, Post 1132, said the riders were going to travel from the Kane VFW Legion to the Clarendon VFW, then to the Bradford VFW, the Eldred
VFW, the Port Allegany VFW, the Wilcox American Legion, and then back to the Kane VFW Legion.
Among the event's largest donors were the St. Marys VFW Legion who donated $500, the Class of 1977 donated $500 and the American Wilcox Legion donated $500. Swanson said there were more donations that raised a total of $4,600.
The fundraiser goes towards the $17,000 that is needed for the Wreaths Across America that the Kane VFW will be doing this year for the cemeteries with a ceremony in the Kane area.