DJI 0037 5Highway Hikers annual Toy Run provides Christmas presents for over 2,000 kids.

For the 37th consecutive year, the Highway Hikers Motorcycle Club has ensured that Clark County kids have something to open on Christmas morning.  The generosity of more than 2,000 bikers involved in Sunday’s Toy Run illustrates a starkly different portrayal of the motorcycle community than often depicted—the image of a burley biker guy with a huge teddy bear strapped proudly to the back of his Harley so a kid won’t have to go empty-handed at Christmas pretty much destroys that bad reputation.

2,188 bikes and dozens more in vehicles rode in Sunday’s Toy Run, which originated at the Medway VFW and proceeded through downtown Medway on the route to the fairgrounds, as it always has.  In a decades-old tradition, onlookers lined the route hours ahead of time, spanning the county’s entire east-west boundary to get a good look at the procession as it passed by.

Riders had to bring a toy or a $10 donation to participate in the run, which goes to the Salvation Army.  Barron Seelig of the Highway Hikers MC said that in the club’s 37 years of the run, they’ve seen that an estimated 30,000 Clark County children get a Christmas present.

Before departing the Medway VFW, Seelig addressed the crowds from atop the Salvation Army bus in a rallying cry for the good they were doing for the community.

“Last year we made sure that more than 2,000 kids got a Christmas,” he said.

Seelig asked that they hold a moment of silence for a longtime rider who did not get to make the journey this year, as he suffered a stroke the morning of the run.

“He’d been with us 30-some years,” Seelig said.

Before turning the bikers loose, Seelig turned the microphone over to a rider who proposed to his girlfriend in front of the crowd of over 3,000, and delightedly said yes.

“This is a first in the history of the Toy Run,” Seelig said.

 Click Here to view the photo gallery (there are a lot of large images so please be patient)
First Group 2x2
First Group 2x2
Local News

Stories on people, places, events and businesses right here in Western Clark County.

Local Government

Meetings and news from local Boards of Education, Township Trustees and County Commissioners.

Sports

Arrows, Bees & Warriors; we cover all local high school sports, as well as local semi-pro and adult leagues