The Catskill Chronicle

Saint Nick and his merry band of helpful elves: Sharon McMan, Jason Parks, Nick Cristino.

Story and photos by Ted Waddell

WURTSBORO/WOODBOURNE – “It’s fulfilling a life-long dream,” said Jason Parks, who turned up at O’Toole’s Harley Davidson on Sunday in the guise of Saint Nick, before heading over to Woodbourne to hand out tons of toys to hundreds of needy kids in the county’s Head Start program.

As a ten-year old, Parks watched his father play Santa Claus, and now 30-some years later he got to don a bright red costume as Saint Nick, albeit with a longer custom made coat fashioned by “Mrs. Claus,” Becky Siruchek.

Along with a longer coat, the biker from Middletown sported a shorter beard with a touch of artificial white instead of Santa’s usual long white whiskers.

“I was going to get it bleached, but it would have turned orange,” he added of the whiskers dye-job in a move that probably saved a lot of kids nightmares if they sat on the lap of a big guy in a red suit with a face full of orange hair.

“I stopped shaving and cutting my hair back in September,” he added. “After three-and-a-half months, I can’t wait to get a shave and a haircut.”

On December 20, Saint Nick returns to the Wurtsboro-based Harley Davidson dealership to pose for pictures with kids from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. For information about pics with Saint Nick, who when not playing a jolly old fellow who hands out gifts on Christmas, rides a 2006 Harley-Davidson Ultra Glide, call O’Toole’s at 888-2426.

A couple of years ago, Parks fulfilled another dream and bought his first Harley-Davidson, only to total it in a collision with a run away deer at 45 mph. That bike was history, so two weeks later he was back on another Harley, a bike considered the icon of American freedom and independence two-wheeled iron.

As Saint Nick prepared to make the trip from Wurtsboro over the Woodbourne, he rode in a 1970 Mack fire truck owned by Walter Barrett, and was accompanied by two “elves,” 21-year old Sharon McMan and Nick Cristino, 18.

John O’Toole, founder of O’Toole’s Harley Davidson may have retired a few months ago, but the tradition of the yearly Harley Owners Group (HOG) toy run lives on. Twenty-four years ago, the motorcycle dealership and the Wurtsboro HOG Chapter joined forces to kick start the toy drive to benefit the Head Start kids. Over the years, tons of toys have been distributed to thousands of children, and 2009 was no exception, as an estimated 500 kids got a chance to meet jolly Saint Nick and get a few toys just in time for the holiday season.

After Tom “Tommy Vig” Verviglione and Dan Tandy hung up their Wall Street suits, they bought the motorcycle shop in July 2008, and in addition to selling Harleys, switched over the leathers and boots as they carried on the tradition of brightening the holidays for a lot of kids who might otherwise face a bleak Christmas.

“There’s nobody wearing a Honda tattoo, we love the lifestyle,” said Verviglione.

“The Wurtsboro HOGS are fantastic…they show up for everything. They are one of the best chapters in the country, and we’re lucky to have ‘em.”

Tandy said they came to Wurtsboro and acquired the Harley-Davidson dealership in search of the similar passion they once felt for Wall Street. “This is a dream come true for both of us,” he said. “There is nothing better suited than the passion of Harley-Davidson…we sell a lifestyle, not a motorcycle.”

In 1953, Marlon Brando starred in “The Wild One”, a tale about rowdy motorcycles taking over a small town, and the legend of badass bikers was born. Although Brando rode a Triumph Thunderbird 6T in the film, and Steve McQueen had a thing for old bikes, Harleys are forever engraved in the American consciousness as statements of individuality; rendered in chromed steel.

Only a trio of bikers, all members of the local HOG chapter, braved the cold and lingering snowfall, as they put rubber to the road on the journey from Wurtsboro to Woodbourne: Ron Miller of Wurtsboro and his Harley-Davidson 2009 Super Glide, Stevew Pappas of Liberty astride his 2004 Heritage Softtail, and Brett Kronholve of Wurtsboro on his 1987 “customized and modernized” Sportster.

At O’Toole’s Harley Davidson, American Flags rule the day along with iconic American iron: Old Glory is seen through the front window as reflected off a new motorcycle.

To view more photos or to purchase prints from Bikers Ride for Tots visit the Chronicle on Zenfolio.