FARMINGTON — Saturday morning, Aug. 27, the parking lot at Irving Big Stop on Wilton Road quickly filled with motorcycles, jeeps, pickup trucks and other vehicles while waiting for the Hallman ride to start.
The fundraising ride was in memory of Ryan Hallman who died in a fire at his home in Industry on Aug. 12, and to support his surviving family members.
The ride was organized by daughter Shantel Hallman of Livermore Falls; Jenna Gilmore, Antonio DeSanctis and Chase Heikkinen of Chesterville; and Tucker Sills of Kingfield.
“Everybody is going to start showing up around 9:30,” Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said. There is a good combination of bikers and vehicles, he added.
Riders were to make their way from Irving Big Stop to Shelly’s Hometown Market in East Wilton then to Route 156 to Weld and meet at Center Hill, Heikkinen said. “It’s a nice easy ride, all right hand turns,” he noted.
Gilmore was kept busy accepting donations from the participants who came from across Franklin County to support the Hallman family.
After a group picture was taken just before 10 a.m., people headed towards their vehicles. A black pickup blocked traffic while the entourage exited the parking lot onto Routes 2 and 4.
There were more than three dozen bikes as well as numerous jeeps, pickups, SUVs and cars. A silent auction was planned after participants returned to Farmington.
“It was a pretty good crowd,” Robert Hallman, Ryan Hallman’s dad, said. “The [organizers] did an awesome job, it was a very good response.”
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