‘Purple Ride’ honors couple that left a lasting impact in State College, biker community

State College icons Hal and Natalie Hallock were known for many things — a purple Corvette, their brightly colored house, their love of motorcycle rides and helping others.

Now, four years after their deaths, a motorcycle toy run in their honor will be held Saturday for the third year.

Organized by the Centre Line Riders, the “Purple Ride” organizes bikers in a toy ride that benefits the Salvation Army. Proceeds from the ride’s fees go to the Salvation Army, which uses the money to sponsor community assistance programs. Toys collected for the ride are donated to the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, which gives toys to parents with financial needs to gift to their children during the holidays.

The Hallocks, well known and beloved in State College for their support of the arts, died in 2019 in their purple, pink and gold house in State College. They were also longtime members of the Centre Line Riders, which is the Centre County chapter of the Alliance of Bikers Aligned Toward Education (ABATE).

Elin Kjelgaard, the office manager for the State College Salvation Army, said that the Hallocks worked with former State College Salvation Army officers Chuck and Pat Niedermyer to coordinate toy rides as far back as 2008, when Kjelgaard began working there.

“I grew up in State College,” Kjelgaard said. “And when I was in seventh grade, I remember having (Hal) as a substitute teacher ... and he stood out because he drove a purple Corvette.”

The Hallocks were known in Centre County for their eccentric and colorful — specifically purple — style. One of their sons, Troy Hallock, said that his grandfather, an architect, started the family love of the color.

“I know that that community really cared about them. I talk to people on a regular basis who tell me they knew them,” Troy Hallock said of Hal and Natalie.

Hal and Natalie even have a place on Michael Pilato’s mural at the intersection of East College Avenue and Hiester Street. They were married for at least three decades.

They were active volunteers with the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and First Night State College for years, but their son Robert Hemman said that the couple also did a lot for the motorcycle community.

Mike McGrath, treasurer of the Centre Line Riders, talked about the legacy the Hallocks left the motorcycle community, especially related to their safety advocacy through ABATE.

“We have a small Operation Save a Life program and they go into the high schools and present to the high school students on how to drive a vehicle safely — and they do incorporate motorcycles into it,” said McGrath, explaining that the program got started while the Hallocks were ABATE members.

Last year, the Purple Ride raised more than $3,000. Not only does it benefit local kids but “it’s fun for (the bikers) too,” Kjelgaard said.

The 75-mile Purple Ride will leave from the Millheim Hotel at noon on Saturday. If you bring a toy, you get a jacket patch for free. Registration opens at 10 a.m. the day of and costs $15 for each rider and $10 for each passenger. There will be food and entertainment at the Millheim Hotel following the ride.