Alton hog-oween showcases costumes and chrome
ALTON – The Monsters met the HOGs on Saturday, as the Alton Harley Owners Group hosted a trunk or treat event for area kids at Ted’s Motorcycle World.
The trunks and saddlebags of many motorcycles were chock-full of treats as children made their way among the two- and three-wheeled machines. It was hard to say if the main draw was the cute costumes or the chrome. But everyone who was there agreed it was a good time.
âBelieve me, we love him as much as they do,â said Harry Nelson, director of Alton HOG.
âOur group loves doing these kinds of events where we go out, they just love to engage with the community,â he said. “Children love to see the bikes decorated like this, with skeletons and spiders.”
Jim Parks’ motorcycle was decorated with a skeleton and cobwebs.
âWe took the wrong time, so we got here an hour before everyone else. And they teased us, saying we had arrived so early that cobwebs were growing on our bike, âsaid Parks, from Brighton. âThe guy driving it has seen better days. But he has his mask on so he’s safe. We just enjoy it – everything about the kids.
Jessica Johnson from Alton brought a wagon full of excited youngsters to Saturday’s event.
âThey like to try to touch motorcycles because they’re kids,â Johnson said. “It’s pretty cool to see the motorcycles all decorated.”
Godfrey resident Maria Suhr said her nine-month-old daughter was more interested in candy on Saturday.
âIt’s the first thing she wants to grab hold of,â she said. “This event is really fun and unique because of the motorcycles.”
The Alton HOG group has been making trunk or treats for 10 years.
The Harley Owners Group, or HOG, is a worldwide organization of people who own and enjoy riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The motorcycle company was founded in 1903.
According to rideapart.com, the use of the term “pig” to refer to Harley-Davidsons began in the 1920s when racers competing on the company’s motorcycles adopted a pig as their mascot and carried the animal during the race. victory laps on the track. This practice has led various reporters to call racers âthe Harley Hogsâ.