Published: December 20, 2008 07:20 pm      

Ghost Riders again deliver Christmas cheer

BLUEFIELD — As the Ghost Riders walked into the Bluefield Union Mission Saturday afternoon carrying armloads of toys, games and assorted unwrapped presents, Craig Hammond could barely contain his excitement.

“Oh boy!” Hammond said as the 14 bikers walked out to get a second load. “They really did great this year.”

The Ghost Riders have been bringing toys to the mission for 15 years, according to “Beemer,” the club’s official spokesman for the day. “This is a tradition for the Ghost Riders,” Beemer said. “We held our fund-raising efforts before the Salvation Army started theirs. We shopped locally to get things for these kids.”

Beemer said that the Ghost Riders started buying food and supplies for the Mercer County Animal Shelter last year, and did it again this year. “The money we collected paid for all of this,” Beemer said. He expressed thanks to the Wal-Marts of Princeton and Bluefield, Va., as well as all the people who made donations for the event.

Beemer said that the Mercer County chapter is one of 10 chapters of the Ghost Riders east of the Mississippi with other chapters concentrated in Tennessee and North Carolina.

As the bikers were unloading the toys, Hammond played the Stu Archer version of “Ghost Riders In The Sky,” the Stan Jones classic ballad from 1948 that tells a story of cowboys who are doomed to move the Devil’s herd through the sky. Without exchanging a word, the bikers removed their hats and do-rags.

“We have adopted that as our song,” a Ghost Rider called “OMC” said. “We remove our hats when it is played. I have about every version of the song that has ever been done. It’s a beautiful song.”

As well-known local photographer Hal Brainerd, a Union Mission volunteer, gathered the bikers for a group photo, Beemer paused the song long enough for the Ghost Riders to replace their headgear for the picture.

“Seeing what these guys do each year restores my faith in people,” Lonnie Quesenberry, chair of the Union Mission board of directors said.

“I did not know that they took their hats off when that song was played until Lonnie pointed it out to me today,” Hammond said. “It was really a quite powerful expression on their part.”

Before leaving, “Whiskey” presented a $300 check to Quesenberry, representing a donation from Princeton Endocrinology. Whiskey is treasurer of the local Ghost Riders, and “Freddie” is president.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com