On July 23, family, friends and colleagues gathered at Dirty Word Customz a custom car shop to remember two of Oak Lake’s sons that lost their battle with cancer. Denis (Deco) Decroliere ran his corral cleaning business in the spring, summer and fall months. In the winter months Deco put in countless hours taking excellent care of our local skating rink. Tom Wardman grew up south of town, later moving to Virden where he ran Alternative Cycles, a motorcycle repair shop. Both men enjoyed cruising on their bikes.
Ninety-three participants registered for this Memorial ride, including riders from as far away as British Columbia and Minot, North Dakota. Many of the classic cars present were from Brandon.
It was an impressive sight as the 70 plus motorcycles and 10 other vehicles fired up and headed out of town, pulling onto the highway heading east. Colin and Evie (nee Elder) Lawson from B.C. led the way, turning north on 21 highway heading up to Hamiota where a pit stop at Pope’s Drive In was in order.
On the road again, we continued on to Shoal Lake, turned west to Birtle, then headed south to Miniota, where they obviously had heard that we were coming because they flagged us into the Miniota Motor Inn parking lot. I’m thinking that they opened up especially for us, and we sure appreciated the cold drinks and washroom facilities.
After a short refresher we were on our way once again. The next stop was Virden, where a group picture was taken in front of Tom’s Alternative Cycles shop.
The final stop was at the Oak Lake fair grounds where everyone enjoyed more visiting and a meal before they headed for home. There were several draws for door prizes and a 50/50 draw that was won by Mark Houston, who generously donated his winnings back to Cancer Care.
The ride was organized by Dennis Griffith and Mona Kenderdine and Marvin Elder and Marina Enns were a great help. This event was widely supported by the sponsorship of businesses and individuals from the area. There was a surplus of supplies so any unopened buns and cases of water we happily passed along to the Virden and Area Food Cupboard. Donations are still coming in and all proceeds will go to Cancer Care.
