FAYETTEVILLE — Whether in faded denim or new leather, vests adorned with patches and pins tell stories of people who ride on two wheels.
"Some are pretty self explanatory," said Tom Brown of Stonewall, La.
"You've got your history on you," he said, explaining that patches serve as reminders of places traveled and people loved.
Brown and his friends Brad Folker and John Spitale rode up from the Shreveport area for the 10th annual Bikes, Blues & BBQ Motorcycle Rally, which began Wednesday.
The three members of the Harley Owners Group were among the early attendees of the festival, wandering around the parking lot outside Baum Stadium, as Brown put it, just"oohing and ahhing."
Like the majority of people at the festival, Brown was wearing numerous patches.
"One thing, you don't wear a patch unless you earned it, or you're wearing it for someone who can't," Brown said.
Some of Brown's patches tell of his Army service and some of where he's ridden.
331838
http://focus.arkans…">
Stanley and Bonnie Seiler of Springfield, Mo., agreed that one must earn the right to wear a patch or pin, having amassed an extensive collection of their own from various destinations.
Stanley Seiler was looking for pins, considering he ran out of room for patches on his vest.
Bonnie Seiler said she has two vests filled from various places they've seen over the course of the 70,000 miles they've ridden since 2003.The couple has logged 30,000 miles on the Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic they bought in 2007.
Seiler said they've been to all the major rallies this year and have put on 13,000 miles since March. She said they plan on touring the rest of the country now that they're retired. All of it will happen on two wheels.
"Trailers are for boats," she said.
Seiler said she likes to sew the patches on their vests rather than leave it to someone else.
There are at least three booths at the rally to buy patches or have them sewn on.
Oscar Leveille of Edgewater, Fla., heads up one of three teams traveling the country for Chaps and Bags, a custom leather shop. Leveille said the shop's owners talked him into joining the trade because they knew about his penchant for perfection. That was more than 10 years ago, he said.
Now he spends half the year traveling to rallies, Leveille said. In the winter, the staff of five puts together their inventory for the rally season, he said.
Leveille sat in a booth in the Baum Stadium parking lot waiting for customers.
Up the hill on Dickson Street, the "Stitcher Brothers" were putting their 100-year-old sewing machines to work.
Brothers Gene and Bob, who declined to give their last name, have been traveling the country sewing on patches for more than 20 years, since a fire destroyed Bob's Arizona shop. There are a number of people that sew patches, but many do it wrong, Bob said.
"It's hard to do a professional job," Bob said.
Bob and Beverly Rice of Kansas City, Mo., bring patches for Bob or Gene to sew on.
The Rices talked with "Stitcher Bob" while he sewed a few patches, including a Bikes Blues & BBQ rally patch, which the brothers said wasn't up to their standards. Neither brother liked the patch because it was small and didn't have a border or plastic backing.
Rice also was looking for a Honda VTX patch, but none was on hand. The brothers have a tent full of Harley-Davidson patches and a few for Hondas and BMWs, as well as an assortment of novelty patches.
Richard McCarver had Stitcher Gene sew on his first patch.
McCarver said he doesn't have a Harley-Davidson yet, but enjoys riding his Honda Elite Scooter. He got a fitting patch.
"Scooter trash."
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 11, 13 on 09/24/2009