Trustee: Motorcycle ride back in 2021
Event to benefit vets a COVID-19 casualty
When Michele Hale looks at the vest her husband, Darrell, wears when he rides his motorcycle, it’s the pins that get her every time.
The U.S. Navy SEAL has all 20 lined up perfectly on it, shiny mementos of North Township Victory for Veterans rides past. The LaPorte couple has completed the ride every year since it started in 1999, and this year, when most people are clamoring for something — anything — to remind them of life before COVID-19 more than ever, they were so ready to go.
But pandemic precautions largely run the show now, and for the first time in 20 years, the roar of more than 2,000 bikes won’t go up out of the west entrance of Wicker Memorial Park in Highland just before noon Sunday.
The North Township Trustee’s office, which puts on the ride every year, announced last month it was canceling the 2020 ride.
The decision was a disappointing one, to say the least, Township Trustee Frank J. Mrvan said.
“It’s a symbol of great patriotism and we have thousands of people who want to pay their respects each year,” Mrvan said.
“But safety first, and with 2,400 to 2,500 people who show up every year, we had to take into account the pandemic and be responsible for our staff and volunteers.
“It’s the right thing to do, as disappointing as it is.”
That the veterans causes in which the Township is heavily involved — such as Lafayette House, home for homeless veterans in Lafayette; the Wicker Park Veterans memorial and the outreach program the township mans in East Chicago — will take a hit monetarily isn’t lost on Mrvan, either, and that made the decision even harder.
The plan, he said, is that the
ride and other events will be rescheduled as soon as health professionals declare it’s safe to do so.
In order to keep with social distancing guideline, Hale wondered why the township couldn’t spread the the riders out throughout the park beyond the parking lot like it did in the beginning.
“They used to let us use the 2.2 miles on the (walking) track as a staging area for the bikes. We could’ve done that again,” she said. “And if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to go.”
Former Township Chief of Staff Lori Polger said the office went through every scenario, but in the end, they just couldn’t assure everyone’s safety.
“Any time you put that many people together, they’re not going to social distance,” Polgar said. “It’s sad we can’t have it, because it’s a big deal for a lot of people. People would set up chairs alongside the road just to watch the bikes go by.”
For Hale, it’s the giant flag that never gets old.
“One of my favorite things is driving up over the hill on Ridge under the flag. I’ve always said it makes the hair on your arms stand on end,” she said.
Tanya Tribble, of Calumet Township, has coordinated a group of between 30 and 50 riders for breakfast at a Griffith restaurant prior to the ride for the past several years. A friend of Hale’s, she too was saddened by the cancellation.
“It draws a big group of diverse people from all over — Michigan, Illinois — and knowing what they use the money for, it’s really sad,” Tribble said.
“I wasn’t shocked when they canceled, and we’ll miss it, but I think it’ll continue next year because it brings attention to veterans’ issues.”
Mrvan, who’s running for Congressional District 1 seat, assured that the event will go on.
“The symbolism of this ride is much too important. We’ll always make sure this office goes forward with it,” he said.
Event afilliate American Veteran Motorcycle Riders Association is sponsoring its own bike show at Wicker Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon, Mrvan said.