Highway Hikers’ Toy Run Is This Weekend
The Highway Hikers Motorcycle Club will hold their annual Toy Run this Sunday, continuing the longstanding Clark County tradition of bringing holiday cheer to local families in need. More than 2,000 bikes rode in last year’s run, which continues to expand each year.
As always, the run will kick off from the VFW in Medway and travel across the county to the fairgrounds, where the toys will be left with the Salvation Army. The Highway Hikers give the toys to the Salvation Army, which then distributes them to children throughout the county at Christmastime.
Barron Seelig, Road Captain of the Highway Hikers, said he expects around 3,000 bikes this year, but noted that he would like to see as many as 5,000. Seelig thanked the Medway VFW for their continued support of the run, noting that the event is close to outgrowing the facility there.
Seelig said it was overwhelming to consider that an estimated 30,000 children in Clark County have had a gift to open at Christmas because of the Toy Run, which will hit its 37th anniversary this year.
“At the end of the day, we do this to see to it that kids in Clark County have a present,” said Seelig.
“I mean, every child deserves a Christmas.”
Seelig said the run also helps to dispel the negative stigma sometimes attached to the motorcycle community.
“We try to change the image people have of bikers, because we’re often portrayed in a bad light…it’s hard not to show something good about bikers when we’re giving thousands of kids a present at Christmas,” Seelig said.
To participate in the Toy Run, motorcyclists must bring $10 or a toy of equal or greater value. Participants in cars may also join the run, but must follow behind the motorcycle procession, and will be subject to stopping at normal traffic patterns while the procession will be escorted through town without stopping. Seelig said the route will be slightly altered this year due to the Lower Valley Pike construction. Instead of taking Lower Valley straight out of Medway, the procession will leave Medway and hit Medway-Carlisle Pike to Route 40, where they will then turn south onto South Tecumseh Road and pick up Lower Valley again by George Rogers Clark Park, and then onto Route 4 where they will head east to the fairgrounds.
Seelig said the best way for cars to participate is to show up at the fairgrounds with their toys and donations around 2 p.m. and wait for the procession to arrive.
Seelig’s father Big Red was one of the Highway Hikers’ charter members, and Seelig is the only second-generation member, though he did stress that the club maintains strong family ties among its members. He said it was astounding to think of the Toy Run’s growth, as it began with only a couple dozen bikes, and has developed into one of the area’s largest motorcycle functions.
The club purchased a new motorcycle to be raffled off at this year’s event, and Seelig said that a significant member will be awarded the Betty Payton Highway Hikers Lifetime Achievement Award for exemplary actions during the Toy Run. He said the award was first handed out last year, and said that this year’s honoree is a “pretty special person” who has done great things in the name of the run.
Last year, 2,170 bikes rode in the run, with more than 2,000 Clark County children reaping the benefits.
The 201 Toy Run will depart from the Medway VFW at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 18 and arrive at the Clark County Fairgrounds around 2 p.m.
