Motorcycle club rides for veterans

Richard “Little Richard” Lloyd grew up on his uncles’ stories from World War II and saw what they went through in service to their country. He also remembers seeing what the veterans went through when they came home from Vietnam, as they were spit at and called baby killers.

Some veterans returned, but never saw their homes again, Lloyd said. Instead, they saw the insides of veterans’ hospitals and long-term care facilities due their war injuries, he said.

“Everyone sees the veterans that are coming home now,” he said. “No one mentions the veterans that are here.”

So, Lloyd visited with veterans at the Wilkes-Barre Veterans Affairs Community Living Center, formerly the VA nursing home, where some have lived for decades.

“My heart went out to them. That could have been me, my brother or my uncles,” Lloyd said. “I met them, talked to them and I saw the need.”

He decided then to do something to help, providing personal care items, hats, gloves and clothes for their bodies and puzzles, books and DVDs for their minds.

As national president of the nonprofit motorcycle riding club, Old Dogs Brotherhood, Lloyd came up with an annual event, the Gathering, to raise money for the cause.

This year, the three-day, 21-and-over event will be held Aug. 28, 29 and 30 at the White Haven Veterans of Foreign Wars post grounds. The event features live music, food, camping, tattoo artists, vendors, a bike show and contest, dancers and mud wrestling.

A spaghetti dinner on Saturday and pancake and sausage breakfast on Sunday are included in the admission donation of $25 for individuals and $30 for couples, as well as hot dogs, chips, fruit, cake and coffee, Lloyd said. Packaged goods, such as liquor, are not permitted, but those who choose to imbibe may do so at the VFW post, he said.

Lloyd and his wife, Lucy, start planning the event in February, seeking donations of food, soda and water from area businesses and companies to keep the costs down in order to have more money to spend on the veterans.

Donations, though, are down, with companies giving less or not at all, he said.

“This year has been very bad,” Lloyd said, saying one company reduced its donation of water from 40 to seven cases. “Every dollar that we have to spend is a dollar less that we have to give.”

Even though the couple sent requests to more than 60 companies, they still need water, soda, sausage patties, hot dogs and meatballs, said Lucy Lloyd, who asks for coupons when companies turn them down.

“It all adds up,” she said. “If it weren’t for these (veterans), we wouldn’t be singing ‘God Bless America.’”

The couple liked visiting the veterans at the nursing home, where new faces are a welcome sight, Richard Lloyd said.

“When new people show up, even if they don’t know the visitor, it’s something,” he said, adding the boredom must be immense for them. “We sit out back and we shoot the bull. They like to look at our motorcycles.

“Most are living in the past,” he said. “They don’t talk about their service. They talk about before. What else do they have? Some went straight to the hospital and never went home. They’re in a long-term hospital. Basically, it’s storage. I feel sorry for these guys.”

Anyone who would like more information about the Old Dogs or the Gathering 2015 can call 570-369-6976 or email olddog1369@yahoo

.com. Those who can’t attend, but want to contribute to the cause, can send donations to ODB, P.O. Box 341, Blakeslee, PA 18610. Checks should be made out to ODB or Old Dog Brotherhood.




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