As written by long time members…
Our chapter received its charter in October, 1987, and we still have several charter members. We are a relaxed group of people who have come together to get away from the stresses of everyday life. We have always prided ourselves in keeping things simple. Our main objective is to ride and have fun! We follow H.O.G. guidelines without adding additional unnecessary rules and regulations. Which means we are not a “bar to bar” bike club or a political group. We are a family oriented organization whose main purpose is to ride and have fun. As with all H.O.G. Chapters, the Irish Hills Chapter is non-political and non-religious.
Our chapter started as a small group, meeting at local restaurants. After a few years our sponsoring dealer, Town and Country Sports Center, added enough space for us to have our own meeting room at the dealership. We continued to grow in size, and we now meet in a banquet room in the basement of the Artesian Wells Sports Bar/Restaurant, next to and owned by our sponsoring dealership.
We have always had the fortune of having a great relationship with our dealer, and many of us think of them as friends and family. In the past we helped them with their semi annual bike lottery, which was a way of selling Harleys when they were hard to get. We raised money for MDA by selling food and charging $1 to register at the lottery. We now help the dealership with their annual Memorial Charity Ride, parking at special events, and any other way they ask.
In the beginning we had a few rides a month and weekend trips here or there, then adding long weekend trips to Michigan areas, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. We have gone white water rafting, visited state and national parks, and landmarks like Gettysburg PA, the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory, and the Harley-Davidson factory in York PA. We now have a calendar of events and activities each month throughout the year. Not only do we still continue to go on adventures like those listed, but we ride to several H.O.G. rallies in the surrounding states.
Many of our members bring their spouse or significant other, and their children to our meeting, and on rides. Many of our Ladies ride their own bikes, and plan and lead rides and parties.
We continue to get together during the non-riding season to enjoy a few games, good food, fellowship, conversation about the up coming riding season, and revisiting the memories of the good times we have had riding in the past.