Southwest Illinois Travels to New Orleans
The Southwest Illinois chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club traveled to New Orleans, LA for the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Clubs (NABSTMC).
We departed St Louis and the Metro East on Aug 10th with 20 bikes and 2 support vehicles carrying 6 Associate members and guests. The first day of riding took us to Jackson, MS where we rested up and enjoyed the local hospitality. We also hooked up with members of the Little Rock, AR chapter of Buffalo Soldiers. The next day we rode in to New Orleans and checked in to the New Orleans Marriott located right downtown on Canal St. We were overwhelmed by the number of Soldiers and Troopers that were present from across the country and Canada.
Let the partying begin. We had good times sight seeing and hanging out on Bourbon Street. We dined and enjoyed ourselves at the local eateries. There was one place that stood head and shoulders above the rest. That was Two Sisters Resturant. The down-home cooking and large selection of good food was so good that we made a few stops here during the stay in town.
The stay was not all fun and games. We went to do community service and help the city recover from the damage done by Hurricane Katrina. Soldiers from various cities worked in City Park, located close to the city center. They painted fences and amusement rides. They did tons of landscaping to restore bike paths and park settings to pre-Katrina condition.
One of the major events that were planned was the National Meeting where we elected new National Officers. The escorted motorcycle ride across Lake Pontchartrain Bridge to Slidell and Mike Bruno’s Harley-Davidson was amazing. The Louisiana State Patrol and numerous local law enforcement agencies shut down I-10 and the north-bound lanes of the bridge as a three-mile train of Buffalo Soldiers roared through New Orleans. A local TV news report warned the citizens of New Orleans that the noise that they would hear that day was not a result of bad weather, but the hundreds of Buffalo Soldier motorcycles.
We had a fantastic time, renewing old friendships and establishing new ones as we fellowshiped with our extended family of Soldiers. The New Orleans chapter sponsored a great event and we look forward to the next annual meeting which will be located in our Western Frontier.
Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club raises money for scholarship fund
CLUB KEEPS MEMORY OF BLACK SOLDIERS ALIVE
By Jason Sibert Suburban Journal
Thursday, August 6, 2009 5:12 PM CDT
The Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Southwest Illinois’ block party in Lebanon was about more than raising money for a new scholarship.
The party, held Aug. 1 on McAllister Street, was also about preserving a piece of black military history.
The Buffalo Soldiers’ story began immediately after the Civil War, when Congress authorized six regiments of black Army troops, two calvary and four infantry, according to the website Texas Almanac (www.texasalmanac.com). The name Buffalo Soldiers came from American Indians who thought the soldier’s curled hair resembled the curly hair on a bison’s face.
Larry Wilkins (left), of St. Louis, and Karen Sisk, of St. Louis, prepare chicken for attendees at the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Southwest Illinois scholarship fundraiser in Lebanon on Aug. 1.
The first chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club was started in 1993 in Chicago by a Chicago police officer to pay homage to African-American contributions to the post-Civil War military, according to the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club website (www.buffalosoldiersnational.com). The club has 80 chapters nationwide.
“The legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers, it’s a legacy that military people and law enforcement people want to see continued,” said motorcycle club member Laurie Calkins. “So much is not taught in school. I hadn’t heard of the Buffalo Soldiers until after I’d joined the military (at 19). Our focus as a motorcycle club is to educate people in the schools and the communities about this.”
Calkins is retired from the Air Force. She’s also the owner of Lil’ Bits Juke Joint in Lebanon, a tavern that serves as a clubhouse for the local chapter of the club.
This year marks the first year for the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club of Southwest Illinois scholarship. One $1,000 scholarship will be given to a student from the Lebanon, East St. Louis, Madison, Cahokia or Lovejoy school districts who attends a four-year institution, according to member Wendell Johnson. Criteria for the scholarship are a 2.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and the completion of an essay on Buffalo Soldiers.
Participants in a motorcycle poker run for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society stopped by the fundraiser because Lil’ Bits Juke Joint was one of five stopping points for the run in the Metro East.
They took the time to grab a bite to eat and talk with those at the block party.
Brandon Osborn, of O’Fallon, a poker run participant, said the block party represented the chance “to hang out with other bikers.”
Aaron Wright, of Collinsville, who also participated in the poker run, said the two events amounted to a “good Saturday ride” and the chance to be with other bikers.
A few feet from Lil’ Bits Juke Joint, local Buffalo Soldiers club President Darryl Nelson worked the disc jockey booth, playing a combination of rock and rhythm and blues.
“We want to educate people on the history of the Buffalo Soldiers,” Nelson said. “We do that by going out to churches and different organizations. Some of our other chapters have scholarships and we felt it would be a good thing for us to do.”
Nelson, who is retired from the Air Force, and his wife Donna Nelson are Charter Members the Southwestern Illinois chapter which began in 2007. Nearby, St. Louis resident Larry Wilkins, an Army veteran, cooked and served up turkey legs, chicken, bratwurst.
Sonny Theobald, the owner of S&J Lighthouses in Belleville, operated a booth to installed LED lights on bikes. LED lights make motorcycles more visible at night.
“I’ve never worked an event with the Buffalo Soldiers before,” Theobald said. “I’m having a great time. I’m meeting some great people.”
The final tally from the fundraiser was not available.
