Today (Saturday) is the final day of the annual Freedom Rally for ABATE of Iowa. The motorcycle organization has its own gathering ground for this annual festival of music, fellowship and great big motorcycles and the people who ride them. A woman who simply goes by the name of “Tonya” cooked meals all weekend to feed ABATE staffers and said she’s been coming to the rally for thirteen years.She and her husband honeymooned at the rally when they got married, and they renew their vows in a way every year visiting to celebrate freedom of the road, their right to choose, and brotherhood and support for America in general. A woman known only as Timi sells Greek and Cajun food at a booth on the rally grounds, northeast of Algona. She says she’s been coming for years and you couldn’t keep her away. Plenty of people who come to the ABATE rally are known by just one name, often a nickname, and Crazy Bob is a veteran who gets into the spirit of the annual gathering of friends and comrades.Celebrate America on the Fourth of July, he says, and be together — brothers. The group bought 140 acres northeast of Algona last year for its own campground, and has built a shower house, bridges and pedestrian vending area for the use of campers at the annual Freedom Rally. The acronym ABATE stands for “A Brotherhood to Aim Toward Education.”
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