A Snapshot of the Nineties

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January 1997

A new chapter executive had been elected; Joe B had taken over from Rocco as Director, and Christie had finally removed the "acting" part of her title as the editor of the newsletter. There was now a total of 17 individuals appointed to 11 positions. The Public Relations position that had disappeared six months before had not returned.

Other changes included a new chapter internet home page address courtesy of Grant W.

Regular Columns included:

• Editor's Corner - Christie mentioned her recent visit to the Toronto Bike Show, and reminded the chapter to bring in their membership renewals to the next meeting.
  

• Director's Report - Joe recapped some of the information he picked up at the Chapter Officers from Ontario meeting at the Toronto Bike Show.

The newsletter content concentrated primarily on the introduction of some of the new executive. Self written bios came from the Assistant Director (Gary M), the Activities Coordinator (Mike B), and the Photographer (Mike L).

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February 1997

Regular columns included:

• Editor's Corner - "The best rally I've ever attended" wrote Christie about Rosie's Rodeo and Roast, and related her weekend at the event.
  

• Director's Report - Joe warned the group that he and the executive have plenty planned for them to do this year. He also reported that he was checking with the Ottawa citizen if they wanted to do an article on the chapter.
  

• From the Safety Officer - A $35 course on CPR would be held at Hurst .
  

• Top Ten List - by Joe B of "Things Seen or Heard at HOG Bowling."
  

• LOH - Judy reported on the recent 2nd annual Pot Luck Supper, and provided the date for the next one, as well as date for the 2nd annual Scavenger Hunt. She also asked for bandana donations for a planned quilt that would be possibly auctioned off for charity.
  

• Getting to Know Your Ladies of Harley - Doris C was profiled.
  

• Re-Print - An article from Four Lakes Chapter newsletter informed members about ways to avoid crashes at intersections

Mike M provided the results for the Long Distance challenge for 1996. The hardest butt award went to Joe B who had accumulated 54,219 km on his green "monster" fuelie and beat out the second place contender by almost 20,000 km.

Joe B also wrote a position paper regarding Road Captains.

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March 1997

Regular columns included:

• Editor's Corner - Christie recommended that no one should miss the next meeting as John K ( Hurst ) would be speaking on "Spring" Bike Preparation tips. She also recommended "Ride for Sight" as an event to participate in.
  
  Director's Report - The chapter meeting location would now be at Joe's Diner. Gasoline Alley, the previous location, had gone out of business. Also, a Road Captain meeting would be held shortly, and all interested leaders should attend.
  

• LOH - The "next Pot Luck Supper" details were announced, as well as a plea for more bandanas.
  

• Getting to Know Your Ladies of Harley - José B was profiled.
  

• From the Safety Officer - Brenda P, submitted an article on "Proper Tire Pressure 101".
  

• Top Ten List - by Joe B of "Things Overheard at the Pot Luck Ticket Sale ."

Rocco, who had more time now as an ordinary member, wrote a report on activities he had attended "So Far" that year (e.g. HD Rock Show in Montreal , Show & Shine in Gatineau , Winterlude).

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May 1997

Regular columns included:

• Editor's Corner - Upcoming events were reviewed.
  

• LOH - Judy W brought everyone up to speed on the status of the quilting project, and called for more bandana donations to ensure its success. She also reported on the 2 nd annual "LOH Pot Luck Supper," and Joan A's planned "Ladies Ride Day."
  

• Getting to Know Your Ladies of Harley - Francine D was profiled.
  

• Director's Report - by Joe reported on the chapter's activities, both past and upcoming. He also strongly recommended an upcoming Advanced Riding course, and talked about some of the unsafe group riding he had seen over the past year. On the PR front, he hoped that Regional Contact would be soon doing a feature on the chapter for their program.
  

• Activities Coordinator's Report - Mike M reported on the recent chapter Poker Run and Flog Your Hawg run. He also urged everyone to join him at an observation run known as the "Ride for Something."
  

• Re-Prints - Downloaded off the internet was "Rogow's Rules of Camping," an amusing look at the trials and tribulations of camping. It came from the International Brotherhood of Motorcycle Campers.

Russ F provided some guidelines on basic group riding in "Organized HOG Chapter Rides," which also included diagrams of common Hand Signals.

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June 1997

Regular columns included:

• Editor's Corner - General info on past and upcoming events.
  

• Director's Report - Joe's report opened with the recent success of the Regional Contact filming of the chapter, followed by a short commentary about safety, and closed with a detailed write-up of his first 100,000 km on a Harley.
  

• The Buell Corner - Russ F had some fine poetry entitled "Lament of the Lightning Cowboy." Seemed his Buell garnered him plenty of respect from everyone when on the road except from "those Harley Guys on their shiny rides."
  

• Top Ten List - by Joe B, listed "Special Things About my 100,000 km on a Harley."

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July 1997

Regular columns included:

• Editor's Corner - General info on past and upcoming events.
  

• Director's Report - Joe reported on the month's many activities.
  

• LOH - Judy informed the ladies of a HOG contest for stories submitted in three categories: "Most Memorable Ride," "First Solo Ride," or "Backseat Riders."
  

• Getting to Know Your Ladies of Harley - Holly P was profiled.
  

• Re-Prints - from the Hamilton chapter, we learned "Why Harleys are better than Lovers."

This month's newsletter had an interesting retrospective look at HOG, and in particular the growth of the chapter. Andrew K, the founding Director, in an article entitled "The Way of the Eagle" used native American social structure to describe the Harley Community as a tribe, its leaders as chiefs, and its rank and file as warriors.

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October 1997

Regular columns included:

• Editor's Corner - Christie wrote about her weekend in Merrickville, and on the Scavenger Hunt.
  

• Director's Report - The usual review of past and upcoming events.
  

• LOH - Judy W reported on the 2nd annual Scavenger Hunt; $250 was raised for the Children's Wish Foundation.
  

• Getting to Know Your Ladies of Harley - Sarah G was profiled.
  

• Top Ten List - Came from Atlantic correspondent Lorna Y (and edited with or without permission by Joe B): "Things Overheard at the Atlantic HOG Rally."
  

• The Buell Corner - Russ F had trivia, jokes, and some quirky personal observations for the group.
  

Joe B had written a comprehensive trip report on the 1997 Atlantic HOG Rally in St. John's , Newfoundland . He also had put forth a proposal for revising the chapter elections. The proposal centered on the length of time executive members would hold office after elections, and appointments that could be made by the executive in the case of vacancies within the executive. A ballot was included for the membership to vote for the acceptance of the proposal, or its rejection.

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November 1997

Regular columns included:

• Editor's Corner - Christie discovered Speed Channel's "Two Wheel Tuesdays."
  

• Director's Report - This report had come from Biktoberfest, where Joe was when he put together his report. In between reminisces of the past season, I noticed Joe's comment which stated that the year had started with great chapter participation, but had thinned out as time went on. He speculated that the chapter may have organized too many events, so suggested that the chapter concentrate on three major events in the new year - Flog Your Hawg, Observation Run, and Toy Run.
  

• LOH - Judy W reported on the status of the bandana quilt for charity project.
  

• Getting to Know Your Ladies of Harley - Diane D was profiled.

There was a Rider Report from Don and Doris who wrote about their impromptu 5,147 mile, fifteen day ride to Mexico . They called it "The Great Mexican T-Shirt Odyssey."

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