Local ladies pose on Harleys to help fund restoration of Belton church Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 31 2009 05:15 AM By Jade Ortego
Killeen Daily Herald

I f you pick up a copy of the 1874 Church Restoration Committee's "Biker Broads" calendar, you may be surprised at what you find.

All the models, clad in leather and posed on motorcycles, are well-known Bell County women between 65 and 100 years old.

According to Vickie Moose, fundraising chair for the restoration committee, the calendar idea is the committee's version of "Calendar Girls," a 2003 movie based on a true story about a group of Yorkshire women who produce a nude calendar to raise money for leukemia research.

"But we're not doing the naked thing!" Moose said.

Moose said it was a member of their congregation, the pharmacist at The Medicine Shoppe in Belton, who first came up with the idea. "He said, 'if we put the little old ladies on the Harley-Davidsons, what a combination it would be,'" Moose said.

The calendars are $20. All proceeds, Moose said, will be used to restore St. Luke's Episcopal Church at 438 N. Wall St. in Belton.

The committee's goal is to save the church, built in 1874, from further deterioration, and make it into a usable facility.

They'd like to turn in into an additional genealogy library because the one in Belton is getting cramped, Moose said. It also could be made into a multi-purpose community center, or a place to host weddings, she said.

"We don't really know the ultimate way it will turn out, but we want to give it back to the community," she said.

The restoration will probably cost $400,000, Moose estimates. "If we sold 30,000 calendars, we could pay for it," she said, wryly.

The women enjoyed the photo shoot, which was at Tablerock amphitheater in Salado, out around Bell County, and mostly at the Horny Toad Harley-Davidson store in Temple.

"The ladies have had more fun during the shoot. They had a ball. This is something they haven't done before," Moose said.

"They said they had the best time, and, you know, that means a lot," she said.

Moose said the women were chosen for their community involvement. "These are all ladies that have good backgrounds in the history of central Texas," Moose said.

"It was just wonderful, just pure joy," Rosa Hereford, Ms. February, said.

"I've always liked motorcycles, and when I was younger I could ride with someone else," she said.

Hereford, 68, was the first woman on Killeen's city council. She moved to Killeen in 1966 and was elected in 1984 — ("It was said it could never be done in Killeen. I did it!") — and served 12 years.

Hereford said she is excited to see the completed calendar, and will make all her friends and family buy copies. In her picture, she said, she is posed in front of a big motorcycle and is wearing a leather jacket, scarf and biker glasses.

"I was so pleased I was thought of to have a part in this great project ... it's for a great cause," she said.

Annette Lucksinger, Ms. January, is posed in front of Elvis Presley's old home in Killeen. The photographer altered her photo to make it appear that Presley, looking wistfully at Lucksinger, is reflected in the motorcycle's windshield. Lucksinger is the Killeen Area Heritage Association's president.

In mid-November, the committee will hold a signing at the Horny Toad Harley-Davidson store, where fans can get their favorite models to autograph their pictures.

The calendars will be available around the second week of November and can be purchased at by sending an e-mail to vickiemoose@1874church.org.

Contact Jade Ortego at jortego@kdhews.com or (254) 501-7553.