CLANMOTHER'S
POCONO BIKER NEWS
EDITORIALS & OP-EDS
AT LAST, A NEW LETTER:
Any ideas where I can find a riding buddy? I bought a 2003 1200 Custom Sportster a few months ago and would like to find someone to ride with and teach me more about riding and the bike. I am a 35 year old male and live in Allentown, PA. Although I live in Allentown, I like riding a little more north in areas like Slatington, Lehighton, etc... A few clubs have contacted me, but would rather find a good riding buddy first, I think. Anyway, any suggestions would be appreciated. Feel free to forward this email to anyone you know. They can contact me thru this email address. Thanks! Dan BearJr68@aol.com
Yo Dan, Check out "The Bike Shop" at 101 N. First St. in Lehighton. Bud and Louise may take pity on you and introduce you to somebody to ride with. Will someone PLEASE Email this lonely soul? Clanmother
HEY LOCAL BIKERS, The rest of this stuff is getting old! So drop us an email with your opinions and ideas!!!!!!
ASK YOURSELF: Who could I trust to be fair and honest with me, the Cops or the Pagans?
2/10/02, A furor has recently arisen out of the circumstances around the arrest of acused cop-killer Thomas J Campbell down in Montgomery County, Pa. It seems that some of the media is using the arrest of a killer who happens to be a biker and a club member as an excuse to dump on all of us who ride, and especially those who belong to clubs. In a story in the Allentown Morning Call Feb. 1, 2002, D.A. Bruce Castor is quoted saying that Campbell "represents all the bad things you expect from motorcycle gang members"
Local bikers have spoken out to that paper. We are here printing the letter that Mr. Brad Braverman sent to the Allentown, Morning Call . SEE BELOW.
To the Editor:
The front page story on February 1, 2002 concerning the 52 year old criminal Thomas J Campbell Highlighted the fact that he was a member of the Pagans motorcycle club. After reading the article, I was wondering why. Sure, it was an eye catcher that Frank Devlin (the writer) used to turn a few paragraphs into space filler that somehow made it to the front page.
I felt the story would have reflected the incompetence of law enforcement in locking the criminal up. Wanted since 1999? The wheels of justice must move faster than that. The loss of Mr. McNamara's life should and could have been avoided.
Surely the members of the Pagans M.C. club do not appreciate one scumbag's affiliation to their club. One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch as D.A. Bruce Castor might have us believe. His remark that Campbell "represents all the bad things you expect from motorcycle gang members" just about pissed me off! If he doesn't have anything smart to say he should have kept his unfounded biased opinion to himself.
As a founding member of the Dragons Breath Motorcycle Club, I would like to shed
some light in what our club, and other clubs, do for various communities
Worldwide! Toys For Tots, Retirement Homes, Disabled Vets, Fund raisers for the
homeless. We do these things to bring a bit of joy and a feeling of self worth
to persons less fortunate than our selves.
We share the road with many types of people, some good and some bad. Just as
there must be bad newspaper writers and bad D.A.s. We the public do not
associate all writers and D.A.s with the few that should be locked up. Lose the
scary image of motorcycle clubs. We see the dreamy, wish I was riding along side
you, look in your eyes when we pass you on the road.
If either mister Devlin or Mister Castor would like ti expand their knowlege on
what M.C. clubs are really al;l about; I have a flexible schedule and would
enjoy educating them, over a cup of coffee. Any time any place gentlemen.
Brad Braverman
Bethlehem
Next is a letter sent, has not yet been Published, and may never be.
Dear Editor,
I
noticed that in every story you printed about the cop-killer Thomas Campbell
your writers felt it necessary to mention that he belonged to a motorcycle club
or “gang”. Though I do not belong to any clubs, I wasn’t aware that club
membership was a crime.
We here at PBN are throwing our pages open to hear what you have to say on this issue.
Have the dark days of
the 60s still not gone away? My grandparents told
me of the 20s and 30s when motorcyclists were thought of as different and daring
but not evil or criminal. Somehow, I felt we were getting back to that image.
Then along comes a bunch of jerks like criminal Thomas Campbell, D.A. Bruce
Castor, and writer Frank Devlin to stir up those old irrational public fears. What
do you think? Lets hear what you have to say, or better yet, lets hear what you
plan to do about the situation.
2/25/02, An attack on a biker party in New York state by members of Campbell's "club" has thrown a different light on the matter mentioned above and the question of "club" vs "gang"; see the "letters".
Dear PBN staff & readers,
When a single member of a club or just two of them commit a crime, I can't blame the club. What am I supposed to say when 75 to 100 members of a club travel a hundred miles to commit aggravated assault, battery, and vandalism? What follows is verbatim from yesterday's Newsday internet news.
Police said the brawl broke out about 4:10 p.m. when more than 70 Pagans packed in at least 10 vans drove up to the Vanderbilt catering hall on Round Swamp Road in Plainview. Wielding bats and ax handles, they "immediately started turning over tables and engaged in a large brawl with the people there," said Nassau Chief of Detectives Herbert Faust.
John Ryan of Brookhaven, a member of the New York Firefighter's motorcycle club,
was caught in the mayhem: "People were fighting for their lives. They just
hit and stabbed and fought everybody they could to get in," Ryan said of
the Pagans. "Even if there was women and children there, if you were not a
Pagan rushing through the door, you were hit."
February
25, 2002,
Newsday Inc.
No apology at this time should be made to the Pagans, at least until their officers apologize to all the parties concerned for the actions of a significant portion of their membership with regards to the assault on that Long Island party. Pagans leadership needs to publicly promise to suspend those members who disgraced their club's honor for periods of time relative to each man's degree of involvement. I would recommend expulsion of the mastermind(s) or monstermind(s).
Defending yourself and your club brothers when attacked is totally righteous, But invading another club's ligit event, especially when kids are present, just plain sucks.
I've heard that years ago that part of Long Island used to be predominantly Pagan's territory and now the Angels is the dominant 1% club there. There are ways that clubs increase their sphere of influence and build membership, and there are way that criminal enterprises expand and grow. Was the assault on the Vanderbilt hall the actions of a club or a criminal gang?
Harley74gal via E-mail
you going to sic the law on him?
ANSWER:
We have to agree
with the sentiment. That event puts a real black eye on that club but diminishes
all clubs and all bikers in the public eye. If this kind of crap doesn't soon
stop the feds will stop us. I'm sure that anyone in that club with a room
temperature i.q. has already figured out how badly their bros have goofed. Let's
not let them forget it lest it happen again. Editor
Thanks for sticking up for the Pagans. A number of them are friends and customers of ours.
Rick, via Email 2/10/02
Rick, via Email 3/13/02
(Rick owns a custom painting shop that specializes in the restoration of antique motorcycles.) Ed. My-o-my how events can change our perceptions!!!
You folks appear naieve(sic) when it comes to 1%ers. They don't call em outlaws because they obey the law. They are motivated by greed and will 86 anybody that gets in thier(sic) way, including thier(sic) own. Don't kid yourself, they're all criminals. CFJ249
Ya know CFJ, I’ve spent time, lots of it, around these guys. I've known some as personal friends for decades. I don’t agree with the attitude some of them have toward women, and I will agree that a fair percentage are or have been criminals. Blanket statements however are always wrong (ask Dr. Heisenberg). Lets just say I trust 1%ers a whole lot more than I trust lawyers and about as much as I do cops, which is what you sound like. I know that statement will piss some people off; however I can back-up what I’m saying with facts. So then CFJ, what can you tell us about all politicians, all Native Americans, or all BMW riders? I'm sure you could either educate or amuse us. Clanmother
YO
CLANMOTHER...........
NOTICE: Please don't send us Email that we can't publish because it may implicate certain people or otherwise compromise pending criminal cases. If you do, please don't expect them to go up on the site.
Listening to the Curtis and Kuby Show on WABC Radio has somewhat explained to my satisfaction, the root cause of all this 1% fighting. Kuby is the lawyer for the Hells Angels, Curtis, who is the head of the Guardian Angels charged that this was all about methamphetamine dealing territories, and Kuby refused to flatly deny it. It would really disappoint me if any friend of mine was dealing speed, let alone committing acts of violence against fellow bikers to promote such a low-life enterprise................... Clanmother
Hello!
I just recently met a few members of a popular motorcycle club. I have always been under the impression that these biker guys were 'bad'. Well, all I can say is that these guys actually act like men. Not one of them degraded women in any way, shape or form! It was unbelievable the respect they show for one another and everybody in their company! I was amazed at the fact that you did not hear them curse or carry on like children. They sat and enjoyed the peaceful evening just talking amongst themselves and other people that were there.
I have been doing lots of research about the top 4 most popular motorcycle clubs and have spent a small amount of time in their presence and have also been introduced to family members. Not one of the web-sites that I have reviewed talk about the GOOD THINGS that these clubs do. What about all the charity events they have and money they raise for children....does that not count for anything? And from what I gather, most of the men in this club hold very respectable jobs and make good money. At least they are making something of themselves by keeping a job and supporting themselves!
The main reason I am writing this e-mail to you is about the fact that in all those web-sites I have read, the writer talks about how these clubs abuse women, sell drugs, deal with weapons, and fight like a bunch of hellions...where are the articles telling about the Congressmen, Governors, and even our Presidents doing the very same things that these club members are being accused of doing? We now have Priests that are out there sexually abusing children, teachers, coaches, law enforcement officers getting 'busted' for child pornography rings on the internet!
These motorcycle clubs are not any different than any other clubs out there in the world. We have good doctors-we have "quacks"; we have good cops-we have crooked cops; secretaries who do their jobs right-secretaries or bookkeepers that embezzle and launder money! These motorcycle clubs are no different...they have good guys and bad guys just like the Moose, Elks, Eagles, VFW...and a lot of the older men in these motorcycle clubs have even fought for our country in the war! And what really sucks about that is the people in our country vote in a President of the United States that has NEVER fought for our country, has taken drugs in the past, had 'sexual relations' with a lot of women, and God only knows what else...but society tends to call the guys in these motorcycle clubs BAD! Where were their heads when they were voting? Must have been up their "backsides"!
Well, I hope that some of the other people in this world open up their eyes and see that the "myth" about these motorcycle clubs are no different than your everyday guy or gal out in this world trying to make a life for themselves. My rule to live by is: "DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS, WHEN THE TIME COMES, GOD WILL DO THAT FOR YOU!" Thanks for reading this... DKHolley69
Hear Hear DK !!!!
You're singing our song. I presume your "popular clubs" refers to 1% clubs.
As for the president having done drugs and not seen military action I agree, but George W. seems like a faithful husband. I still didn't vote for him. Gore served in Nam but he didn't get my vote either. I don't know if Buchanan or Nader are vets, but they both see what big business and big Brother are doing to our country and our freedom. Either one would be more trustworthy than the Demoblicans or the Republicrats! Also. my people expect to be judged by a council of esteemed ancestors when they enter the spirit world. The Great Spirit has more important things to do than worry about who's really been "BAD".
Clanmother
Just
checking in with you good folks from the Pocono mountains. How you finding
the riding? Had a meeting up in the Stroudsburg area last week so I made a ride
of it. Got to the meeting on time and when I left I made sure it just wasn't a
ride down Rt 80 to Rt118 just to blow down the mountain and be done with the
ride and back in Wilkes-Barre. Nope, got riding about and ended up taking some
roads I was never on before and had a blast doing it, finally getting into a
town I know something about. White Haven. Nice town and since it was after
5:00pm by the time I got there I figured it might be time to stop and get a
"cold soda". There are a few good places there to get something
cold to drink. From there I kept heading west on secondary roads and
finally found my way believe it or not basically across from Berwick. Lots of
fun. Nice country too. Finally took Rt 11 up to Rt 29 there in West
Nanticoke and headed home.
I
guess the trick to having a good ride in the Pocono's is not being afraid of
getting lost or taking a wrong secondary road. Saw some awesome country and
really for what time of day it was not very much traffic. Still going to try to
catch up with you all one of these weekends and do some riding. Until then, ride
safe.
Also
wanted to let you know that I enjoyed the feedback you got on the two (very well
known clubs). I find it comforting to know that most of the folks out there
riding that write into your e-paper seem to agree that the cops are still
after the man that wears the colors. For no more reason then just wearing them. I
also have friends that belong to one of those clubs and I have no argument with
them on their policies and inner workings. The only time that we as a public
need to worry about the fighting between any two clubs is when innocent people
(like children for instance) are in the wrong place at the wrong time and
get hurt or killed by accident. That's when it becomes necessary to say take it
somewhere else to settle your differences AWAY from the general public. Its as
much of our right to say Not Here as its theirs to fight. That of course is just
one man's opinion. Talk to you soon.
Mtman..
We
got out a few times lately. Though working full time kinda cramps ones riding
style. We got to the MDA Ride for Life, as well as the Biker Rights Rally in
Harrisburg. Watch for stories in Thunder Press and in Pocono Biker News. We like
riding in the White Haven area too. The old diner downtown with the electric
trains is a real hoot. Or is that toot? Next time try some of the side roads in
Hickory Run State Park. Make sure you got good tires because one of the roads
actually fords a wide shallow stream. Speaking of West Nanticoke, Guru can't go
near there without stopping at Stookie's for a ham barbecue; there's nothing
else like it!
]
It is about time we citizen-bikers took back our world. Just as President Bush said that terrorism is not to be tolerated so should it be in the riding community. Any biker or club of bikers who attacks other bikers except in self defense needs to be punished severely. It is time we went about our lives like normal bikers (is that an oxymoron?) but keep a wary eye out for the rare but malicious biker-terrorist. We can and should use legitimate law enforcement whenever possible the way the feds caught that last highjacker, but when necessary we need to be ready to take action to subdue club wielding thugs the way the passengers on the plane caught the shoe bombe terrorist.
Before we get into the heavy mail, lets start with a lighter piece of Email.
This letter is from Maggie who told us about Harrison's Tavern: RT 191 AND 390, Mountainhome/Cresco, PA. "A great little bar" says Maggie, Phone: (570) 595-2921-
I responded that I’d probably stop in there for a cold one on some sultry summer night after work.
Maggie wrote:
OOOOOOH SULTRY, GOOD WORD.
SMALL PLACE VERY HOMETOWN SANDWICHES CHILI HOTDOGS 11 AM TILL 2 AM CLOSED SUNDAYS.
TRICIA AND CRAIG OWN IT, GREAT PEOPLE: NORMA WORKS COUPLE OF NITES GREAT GAL. SHE AND I THINK WE ARE LEDZEP, WE HANG PARTY GET DOWN.
I WAS JUST CRUISIN' THRU THE PAGES HERE CAME ACROSS BIKER FRIENDLY BARS SO I AM TRAVELIN HAHAHAHA. DIDNT THINK THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE I WAS SURPRISED. I’M AN OLD HIPPIE HEAD; PEOPLE R PEOPLE MAN. NOW ** COMING INTO MY OWN ONCE AGAIN KIDS RAISED GOOD.
RODE A LONG TIME AGO 10 YRS IN A PACK HAHAHA. SOOOOO HERE WE GO WANT TO GET MY OWN BIKE ITS BEEN A GOAL ALL THESE YEARS.
ANYWAY, COME ON BY I WORK DOWN THE ROAD AT THE FORKS WELCOMED THERE TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS LITTLE LIKE HOW WOULD YOU SAY UPPITY BUT I WORK AND TELL THEM “LOOK A BAR IS A BAR IS A BAR” “WE ARE ALL HERE FOR ONE THING OR TWO” HAHAHAHA
HEY I AM ALWAYS IN A NY STATE OF MIND MAKE YOUR OWN PARTY IS WHAT I SAY WE COULD ALL BE NUKED TOMORROW SO PEACE AND SAFE.
Sounds like a really cool place to visit. Maybe we can all stop in and give Maggie a little encouragement to get back into the wind A.S.A.P., Whadayasay? Clanmother
Maggie,
Oh yeah, there's a difference between
"Biker Friendly" and "Hostile Territory". There's a stuffed
shirt Seafood bar / restaurant in Wind Gap that refuses to serve anyone who
rides in or wears riding clothes. There's a Red neck joint in Temple that only
welcomes those who drive big cars or trucks (and are white). I could tell you so
much; anyhow suffice it to say that if the publican compliments you on your
ride it is probably a "Biker Friendly Joint". If you're asked to park
it in the back or you get ignored, it ain't!
Maggie, you've got to get another
bike. We ain't getting younger and The Great Spirit only allots us so many years
to enjoy this world in, so start enjoying it in the wind. It would be great to have a new
Harley or even a new Road Star, but if all you can afford is an old 450 Honda,
then get on it and ride girl!
I'll be coming around one of these
days. Hope you're riding by then.
Clanmother