$60,000 raised for Special Olympics
WEST MILFORD. More than 80 people take part in the Sgt. Peter Kamper Jr. Memorial Ride. This was the first year that it began in West Milford.
| 16 Aug 2023 | 05:00
More than 80 people take part in the Sgt. Peter Kamper Jr. Memorial Ride on Sunday, Aug. 13. (Photos by Fred Ashplant)
A drone is used for a group photo.
Kim Kamper, a cousin of the late Peter Kamper Jr., coordinated the event.
This memorial plaque is on the Jefferson Avenue bridge in Pompton Lakes, where Peter Kamper Jr. was a police sergeant. He died in a motorcycle accident in 2017.
Riders gather for instructions before leaving West Milford.
Police officers lead the riders.
Motorcycles are parked outside the Frank M. Sell American Legion Post 289 in West Milford.
John Canella and Marianne Murphy, cousins of the late Peter Kamper Jr., man the registration table.
Brenda Lewin, a cousin of the late Peter Kamper Jr., sells a commemorative T-shirt to a rider.
There was live music and food after the ride.
Sgt. Peter Kamper Jr. was riding home Aug. 9, 2017, after a shift with the Pompton Lakes Police Department when he struck a deer near the Jefferson Avenue bridge in Pompton Lakes. He was thrown from his Harley Davidson motorcycle and died.
He had followed his father, Peter Kamper Sr., and uncle Ken Kamper in becoming a police officer. He and his family have been passionate supporters of the Special Olympics for more than 50 years.
Peter Kamper Jr. was a volunteer with the nonprofit organization, which provides sports training and activities for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
He also worked with other programs for children and was proudly active as a firearms instructor.
Family, friends and co-workers called him the “gentle giant.”
For the past six years since his death, a memorial ride has been organized to raise funds for the Special Olympics. This was the first year that it was held in West Milford.
Kim Kamper, event coordinator, said the ride has generated about $60,000 since it began.
Kamper is a cousin of Peter Jr. Many of his family members are involved in the memorial ride.
Cousins John Cannella and Marianne Murphy were at the registration table and another cousin Brenda Lewin was selling T-shirts and tank tops.
Others were setting up tables, preparing food and assisting with motorcycle kickstand plates placement.
Just before the 11:30 a.m. “kickstands up” time bell, 83 registered riders assembled for a pre-ride briefing and safety talk.
The course took the participants from Frank M. Sell American Legion Post 289 in West Milford to Greenwood Lake, N.Y., then back to New Jersey and down into Wayne and Pompton Lakes, crossing the Jefferson Avenue bridge past a memorial plaque to Kamper Jr.
The ride then went north on Route 23 to Union Valley Road and back to the post.
Passaic County sheriff’s deputies and police from Rutherford, Wayne and Pompton Lakes served as traffic control and safety guards.
The ride was completed in about two hours and was followed by food at the post. Two band members of Eko Rising, a local hard rock cover band, played acoustic instruments to entertain the crowd.