What is Leather
Homecoming?
The
history
Strong friendships are
created over the
years among many Motorcycle Clubs and GDIs, but perhaps none as strong as those
that stemmed
out of the Rochester Rams
MC from the 1970s forward. Many members of clubs in the upper northeast
such as the Rochester Rams, Ottawa
Knights,
Spearhead LDSC of
Toronto, Unicorns MC of Cleveland, Nickel City MC (Buffalo), Buffalo
Bulldogs, the Utica Tri's, Syracuse
Journeymen,
"Endangered
Species", LOLA (the Lake Ontario Leatherman's Association) later called GHLA
(the Golden Horseshoe Leather
Association),
TMR (the Toronto
Motorcycle Riders), MC Falcon (Montreal) and many others have become intimate
friends over the years.
Although many of these
clubs no longer exist and although many of the members of these clubs are no
longer with us, nearly a forty-year span
of
intertwined friendships have been created through these connections.
Many of these
friends are close friends of the Rochester Rams or
have become Associate
Members of the Rochester Rams.
Rochester Rams' barnights
are always the third
Saturday of the month at the Bachelor Forum. The Rochester Rams have held a toy
drive on
their November barnight
since their creation in 1973/1975.
Enter: Al Rizzo (a/k/a
'Pop'). In the 1980s, Al used to host after-hours parties at his home on
Hancock Street in Rochester, NY. These parties
ended when he moved thirty
miles south of Rochester to Hemlock, NY; however, specific weekend-long events
have taken their place with
his larger home with 25
acres of property, such as: CanAm weekend (Victoria Day weekend), 4th of July
weekend, New Year's Eve (Albert's
birthday is December 31st)
and HOMECOMING which is on the weekend of the third Saturday of November.
Al's new home in Hemlock was
What's it
about?
Homecoming consists of the
forenamed friends getting together for a weekend and spending some quality time
bonding and catching up on
things. Friends
invite new people in their lives and the circle grows. In addition to
'Heaven' (the play-space), all facilities at The Ranch are
up and running all weekend,
including: the bar, hot-tub, the fireplace and more... Everyone chips in
and/or lends a hand to help prepare and
serve food, work the bar, clean up,
re-stock, etc.
The
schedule
People begin to arrive
Thursday and Friday evenings. We typically go out for dinner as a group on
these nights, but sometimes we'll make
something or pick up
pizzas. Of course, liquor is flowing at the bar, movies on the big screen
in the entertainment pit, music is playing and
frisky guys will flirt and
spend some time in Heaven (again, the fully-equipped
play-space).
On Saturday night, we have
a large and formal dinner which has been created by master chefs and amateur
cooks alike!
It's always a
swanky affair and we
consider everyone to be our extended family (think: a leatherman
Thanksgiving). Following dinner, we carpool into
Rochester for the Rochester
Rams' Rich Richards' Memorial Toy Drive, benefitting Roosevelt Children's
Centre, making a quick stop to pick
up toys at Big Lots, or
other discount store. We arrive at barnight about 8:30 PM and socialise
with the Rochester Rams and other leather-
men from the Rochester
area. Around 10:00 PM we head back to The Ranch for more cocktails and
activity!
Folks pack-up and
depart on Sunday, following breakfast and clean-up.
Who's
coming?
Over the years, the guest
list has changed -- and it's always continues to change. Some people have
moved too far away to make the trek,
others are no longer with
us, but are not forgotten. Accommodations at The Ranch are all handled by
Al & Dan (the owners), so if you know the
people who come or have
been invited and
feel you are a fit, contact Al & Dan well in advance to secure bed
space! This event is always
completely full with 25-30
overnight weekend guests, a handful of locals that come down to party but don't
spend the night as well as a few others
that come for the Saturday
dinner only. Some of the people you'll almost always see there are: Dan
& Al (the hosts), Tom J & Bob K of the
Cleveland Unicorn
MC, Michael P
& Marcus A of Potsdam NY, Duane M from Cattaraugus NY, K.K. and Chaz A from New York City
and
new people being brought by
others.
