Rain may have spoiled the pre-party for the annual Sawyer Motors Car Show, but by the time show-day arrived on Saturday the weather was fabulous, with low humidity and plenty of sunshine. More than 500 cars, trucks and motorcycles, and an estimated 12,000 people jammed Main and Partition streets.
Fathers and more than a few moms, and grandparents showed their kids and grandkids the cars, and pick-up trucks that had enlivened their youth.
For one Hurley couple, Saugerties, the Exchange Hotel and motorcycles provided the dynamic for the beginning of their lives together more than 25 years ago. Richard and Teresa Comerford returned to the village last weekend to show off their entry as part of this year’s inclusion of two- and sometimes three-wheeled vehicles.
For several years, motorcyclists have been asking Bob Siracusano, who runs the show, to include the objects of their passion in the annual car show.
This year, the owner of Sawyer Motors acquiesced. The owners of Bella Luna Restaurant offered the motorcyclists their back patio as a place to show off their iron. And while about 30 bikes were on display, by far the most unique was the three-wheeled 1952 Harley Davidson Servi-Bike owned by the Comerfords.
Richard explained the bike originally had a metal box on the back, but on the Comerfords’ the box had rusted away. He replaced it with a wooden one.
The vehicle had been used to make ice-cream deliveries, he explained. A number of police departments back in the day made use of these vehicles as well.
“I purchased the bike from a local guy in 1981,” Richard says. Over the years, “I’ve refurbished or rebuilt pretty much all of it.”
It was shortly after he purchased the bike and rode it from Hurley to Saugerties that he and Teresa met. “Main Street was lined on either side with motorcycles on Labor Day that year,” Teresa recalled. “I’ve always loved motorcycles. I walked into the Exchange Hotel where most of the riders were, and there was this empty stool at the bar. I sat down, and next to me was Richard.”
The two talked about their love for motorcycles and about their lives.
They became husband and wife. Teresa still rides everywhere with Richard. The only allowance she’s made for getting older is that she now rides on a soft pillow on the longer trips.
The two reminisced about that long ago Labor Day in Saugerties. They said they were glad that Siracusano included motorcycles in this year’s car show.
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