Legion group coming to town

• American Legion Riders

The American Legion Riders will be in Two Harbors on Aug. 10 to raise money for their Legacy Scholarship fund. Submitted by Zandra Kessler.

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Eleven thousand children have lost their parents in overseas wars according to the American Legion Riders, a charitable program of the American Legion. The motorcycle group raises funds for veteran-related programs and donates their services as escorts for funerals and other events.

The Minnesota chapter will complete a three-day motorcycle Legacy Ride around the state Aug. 10-12 that will include a stop in Two Harbors. The ride will raise money for The Legacy Fund which offers scholarships to the children of fallen soldiers.

“We want to get people to come out and show their support (with donations or) even by waving at us. That is absolutely huge,” said local rider Zandra Kessler. Last year Kessler was a passenger on the ride and passed through one town where waving citizens lined the streets.

“They basically shut the town down for us. It’s tear-jerking to see that kind of support,” she said.

Kessler, a member of the local American Legion Auxiliary, will join the group as a driver for the first time this year.

She joined the American Legion Riders in January and she’s been the local post secretary in the auxiliary for two years. Next year will be the second vice president of the district. Involvement in the auxiliary runs in the family.

“I joined because of my mother, who’s been a member for fifty-five years,” Kessler said. Her grandmother was also a member, as are her husband and children.

Though auxiliary work is familiar to her, driving a motorcycle isn’t—she just got her license in May.

Forty Riders will start in Pine City on Friday, Aug. 10, and stop in Two Harbors around 12:30 p.m. for lunch.

Nancy Hopper, president of the American Legion Post 109 Auxiliary and Kessler’s mother, said they’d like to get as many people as possible out on the streets waving as the group drives by.

“This is the first time they’ve ever come to Two Harbors,” she said. “If we give them enough attention, they’ll want to stop again.”

They will come from the south on Highway 61, turn down Seventh Street and ride to the Legion to eat. They’ll depart via Waterfront Drive and head north on Highway 2 toward Virginia, their next stop.

Donations can be made at the American Legion Post 109 on First Avenue any time before the ride.

“Come out and support the veterans and their families,” Kessler said.

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