Hundreds of onlookers lined the route of the funeral procession yesterday afternoon for a local leader of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.
An estimated 500 bikers took part in the procession for local club president Dwight Sluder, which ran down Silas Creek and Peters Creek parkways from Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home to Parklawn Memorial Gardens.
Sluder, 48, was found shot to death in his home on Baux Mountain Road on July 15.
Many onlookers came out of curiosity, others because they are motorcycle enthusiasts. Some waited more than two hours to see the funeral procession.
Ida Mae Neal was there with her daughter, son and granddaughter.
"I love Harleys," she said. "I'm here for the excitement of it all."
She wasn't disappointed when the procession roared by.
"It's awesome," she said, "sheer awesome".
About 80 officers from local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies were also present, Forsyth County Sheriff Bill Schatzman said. They escorted the procession to the cemetery and kept the onlookers away.
Schatzman said that he was pleased with how the funeral went. He said that the officers were there to make sure that the bikers and onlookers did not interfere with each other. "Safe and orderly was what we wanted, and that's what we had," he said.
People started arriving on Peters Creek Parkway near Brewer Road about 11 a.m.
Summer Smith of Clemmons got there about 11:30 with her mother, Maxine Smith. Summer came for the opportunity to glimpse into a world that most people don't know much about.
"This is a once-in-lifetime chance to see this," she said of the spectacle.
Most of the Hells Angels bikers wore black leather vests with red-and-black insignias.
There were also about 100 cars in the procession , which featured license plates from as far away as Iowa and Massachusetts.
The procession began about 1 p.m. after a brief service at the funeral home.
Police officers and sheriff's deputies blocked intersections along the route. The bikers rode two abreast. Some of the people in the procession took pictures of the people along the route.
Jerry Herron, a retired Forsyth County sheriff's deputy, saw people gathering and stopped to watch. He said that several years ago he was part of the security at a Hells Angels funeral in Walkertown.
"I admire the respect they have for their members," Herron said.
Schatzman said that there was nothing new to report about Sluder's death, and that the investigation is continuing.
Sluder's neighbors on Baux Mountain Road described him as quiet and friendly.
Hal Mendenhall lives in the house next to Sluder's property.
He said that Sluder was a private person and very quiet. Since Sluder's murder, police had been monitoring his house throughout the night, he said.
"You couldn't ask for a better neighbor," Mendenhall said.
■ Melissa Hall can be reached at 727-7308 or mhall@wsjournal.com.
■ Journalreporter Christian Kloc contributed to this report.
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