Going whole hog for kids

Clad in leathers and looking tough, a group of Harley riders invaded Wal-Mart on Thursday evening and hauled away a truckload of Barbies, baby dolls and Tonka trucks — all in support of Toys for Tots.

“Oh my God, we had a blast — we really had a great shopping trip,” said Madeline Steeley, director of the Glacier Chapter of Harley Owners Group. “It brings you back to your childhood.”

Starting at 6 p.m., a group of eight bikers revved up a fleet of carts and powered off to buy piles of holiday treasures for needy children.

“This year we raised over $4,000,” said Madeline Steeley, director of the group. “It all stays in the Flathead Valley.”

They doubled their 2008 donation that they spent at Kmart.

She said the club of 112 Harley owners has supported Toys for Tots since 2003. The 60-year-old charity operated by the Marine Corps Reserves remains a favorite of many motorcycle groups, according to Steeley, who has two daughters and a son-in-law in the Marine Corps.

On the Thursday shopping spree, the bikers spent $2,100, reserving the other $2,000 to fill in gift gaps that crop up at the last minute.

Heading into the toy battleground, Steeley said they had word from Toys for Tots Coordinator Carey Dill that the inventory was a little light in girl gifts, so they geared their strategy to go a little heavier in the Barbie, baby dolls and craft kits direction.

Their shopping strategy placed two members on each cart. One punched a calculator to track their buying total while the other loaded up gifts.

“The selection was great,” she said. “It was amazing.”

Along with dolls, they filled their carts with Mega Bloks, weaving looms, electronic games, Tonka toys, classic board games such as Yahtzee and more.

“It’s a sight to see — a bunch of bikers in the store playing with toys,” Steeley said with a laugh.

Her personal favorite was one of those squishy balls with protruding tentacles — with an added twist this year. It laughs and giggles with every bounce.

“It’s going to drive some parent crazy,” she said.

Steeley brings a background of buying for her own three children and now seven grandchildren to the gift selection process. She has a long history of bargain hunting that took her quickly to the clearance aisle where she found “High School Musical” merchandise.

“I wiped that out,” she said.

The craft department also offered up interesting gifts, particularly for older children. Steeley said girls 9 to 13 may no longer play with dolls.

“You hand them a bead kit and they’ll have a blast with it,” she said.

The club spends about $10 per toy, which works well at Wal-Mart since the store offers more than 100 toys for $10 and under. Even though low cost, Steeley said, the toys were good quality.

Both Wal-Mart and Kmart kicked in to help Toys for Tots with an additional 10 percent discount on their purchases.

“That really stretches the dollars,” Steeley said.

Harley riders worked hard gathering up cash as well as toys through two major events. The first was their annual Toys for Tots Toy Run in July where riders donated toys and paid $20 to participate in a 100-mile recreational ride.

“It was really kind of cool,” Steeley said. “We had bags of toys loaded on motorcycles.”

The ride, including raffles and a silent auction afterward at the VFW, raised more than $3,000.

On Oct. 17, the Glacier Chapter Harley Owners Group accepted toy donations and passed their boots at Rosauers in Kalispell, Harvest Foods in Bigfork, Smith’s Foods in Columbia Falls and Super 1 Foods in Whitefish to raise $1,300 in Toys for Tots donations.

The bikers went shopping with vehicles instead of Harleys since their riding season ended in October. It begins each year in April and features a chapter ride every other weekend and a dinner ride each Thursday.

In the winter, they bowl, hold potlucks and progressive dinners.

“I can’t begin to describe how much fun we have,” she said. “It’s a great group of people.”

According to Steeley, the club covers a broad spectrum of people from doctors and lawyers to construction workers and truck drivers, homemakers and retirees.

“We literally cross the socioeconomic playing field,” she said.

Steeley, who rides a Heritage Softtail Classic model Harley, said women make up a growing segment of motorcycle riders, including about 25 percent of the Glacier Chapter.

The public will see members of the Harley Owners Group in coming weeks during the Kalispell and Bigfork Christmas parades.

“We do the Toys for Tots float,” she said.

Steeley counts this charity work among the most satisfying of the club’s activities. She said Toys for Tots played Santa to 1,605 children last year.

Their purchases Thursday filled a pickup truck to the brim for transport to the Toys for Tots mobilization space at Gateway Community Center. Steeley said volunteers have 90 boxes of toys put together for families who registered their children by age and gender.

Toys for Tots volunteers don’t investigate the families who ask for help.

“It’s on the honor system,” Steeley said. “As Dill said, it’s a system that has worked for 60 years.”

Because of the recession and local job losses, the Glacier Chapter bikers worked extra hard to double their toy budget. Steeley described the experience of raising money and buying toys as a “hoot.”

“You get up Christmas morning and you know there’s some child opening that toy because of what you did,” she said. “You can’t beat it.”

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.