Glenville Days: Loud vs. louder
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 23, 2006
By Kari Lucin, staff writer
GLENVILLE &045; Vehicle noise laws were not enforced Saturday afternoon in Glenville, as motorcycles, cars and trucks vied to find out who had the loudest engines and the loudest stereos.
The contest was part of Glenville Days, and though it was designed to get 16- to 30-year-olds involved in the town festival, representatives from every age demographic showed up to cover their ears and flinch at the noisy engines.
&8220;She’s just scared of the loud noises,&8221; said Kelly Bachtle of Myrtle as she comforted her fretting 11-month-old baby.
Little Aliyah Bachtle didn’t care for the noise, but 8-month-old Olivia Kohn of Hollandale didn’t seem too bothered by it. Kohn cried a little when one of the cars started backfiring, but the ordinary engines roaring didn’t bother her one bit.
&8220;We heard some other towns had done that. It sounded fun,&8221; said Sherry Adams, Glenville Booster Club President.
Sherry and her husband, Dean, played motorcycle-herders at the event. Dean held an instrument designed to digitally measure sound in decibels, standing 20 feet back from every motorcycle.
Stereos were measured from about 4 feet away from the vehicles, and the loud music of choice Saturday was definitely rap. From further away, all that could be heard was the bass notes. That was all that could be felt, too, as the vibrations from the sound spread through the air.
The loudest stereo, belonging to Jason Kuipers, clocked in at 121.7 decibels, and the loudest car pipes, owned by David Hensche, were 121.6. Motorcycles were in a class by themselves, and the winner Dan Adams brought a bike with a motor capable of grinding out 128.6 decibels of pure grunt.
&8220;That was an ear buster!&8221; said Dean.
The real surprise was how many people didn’t cover their ears or wear protection against the near-deafening noise.
Winners of the contest received a trophy and plenty of notoriety from admiring &045; and a little bit horrified &045; Glenville residents.
For those who wanted to keep their eardrums intact, there were plenty of other ways to have fun in Glenville over the weekend.
&8220;I’ve been in the tractor pull,&8221; said Isaac Mines, 10. &8220;I won a pop. I almost got a trophy.&8221;
Mines also enjoyed the dunk tank, though he didn’t succeed in his attempts to nail the target and send the person perched above the water into the drink.
Three stand-up comedians performed Saturday night. There was a parade Saturday morning, and a cookoff and a karaoke contest were hits.