photo by Johnny Gang
The Third Annual Dutch Battle Memorial Ride and Gumbo Cook Off will be held on Saturday, Sep 26, from 8:30 am to 3pm in historic downtown Hammond. Registration starts at 8:30am and the ride departs at 9:30am. The event is sure to be fun for all, riders and non riders alike. Besides the ride and gumbo cook off, there will be entertainment by the Fabulous Dominos, the Scottish String Band and Bluegrass Band. There will be a display of vintage motorcycles, and promoters have planned a motorcycle safety demo, games for children and raffle drawings for a Honda motor scooter and other fabulous prizes. Dutch Battle was a fun loving guy and well known and respected in the Hammond motorcycle community. He worked for many years in the insurance industry in both Hammond and Ponchatoula. After leaving the insurance industry, he went to work for the Hammond Harley-Davidson dealership, and then moved to Summit, Mississippi. He rode his Gold Wing through the city and country, and enjoyed long road trips with his friends to places like Laconia, Yellowstone National Park and Sturgis. Dutch was a talented individual, and showed off his skills as a member of Back on Stage, a theatre group in Hammond. He loved hunting and fishing and was fond of music and music trivia. He was quite an accomplished photographer and reveled at the awesome wonders of nature. He especially enjoyed the National Parks for their solitude, beauty and serenity. Dutch was a veteran and proudly served his country aboard the USS Ponchatoula. He had a zest for life, and shared it with others, riding his motorcycle in support of local charity events; he had a heart of gold and contributed both his time and money to the local community. His friend, Terry King said "He was always eager to assist and help anyone, he was a most generous person. Dutch would always go out of his way to get along with every one and tried to always avoid controversy."
It was a sad day when Dutch lost his life to an unnecessary motorcycle accident. On December 18, 2006, he was on his way home when his neighbor pulled out from a drive way and hit and killed him about 200 yards from his house. His friend, Sam Dileo, said "After this tragic incident Terry King and myself decided we wanted to do something in his honor to promote motorcycle safety. Malcolm Zanka put us in touch with Warren Broussard and Joe Spearman of MAC and we partnered with them to bring into existence the Dutch Battle Memorial Ride. The first "ride" was held in 2007 at the Harley Davidson Shop in Hammond and was a big success. The Harley shop also hosted the second ride in 2008. We have outgrown the facility. The Third Annual Dutch Battle Memorial Ride and Gumbo Cook Off is set for September 26th in historic downtown Hammond."
This is how the Dutch Battle Memorial Ride started. For the third year in a row, his friends will tirelessly put in their time and efforts to organize this benefit in Dutch’s name, donating all proceeds to motorcycle safety and awareness in the Hammond area. For more information, contact Sam Dileo at legaleagle@i-55.com
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