ELDRED — After Ken Kio read a local newspaper article about a young wounded veteran receiving a rebuilt Harley Davidson through the Harleys-4-Heroes program, he made a plan to help.

What Kio of Eldred decided to do was to donate all of his spare Harley parts to the program in honor of his grandson, Lance Corp. Thomas Baker Jr., of the Marines who serves in the Canton, Ohio reserve base and is studying nursing.

Kio, who owns Ken’s Used Auto Sales Inc. in Eldred, has been scaling back his shop after 40 years in the business. He noted that he had attended Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster to learn the trade and is now semi-retired.

Over the years, Kio also bought second-hand Harleys that he would repair and sell as a hobby. In addition, he owned and rode Harleys to a variety of areas and events in the country. His wife, Judy, accompanied him as a passenger on the bike “all over the East Coast” for many of those years. The couple had also participated in bike rallies in the past to help raise money for various causes and charities.

Now pushing 70, and with some health issues at-hand, Kio decided it was time to get rid of his motorcycle parts. The couple, who have a son, Steve, and daughter, Rachel, as well as six grandchildren, want to spend more time with their family, as well.

While he was able to sell his Harley, Kio wasn’t quite sure what to do with all the parts that filled a shed where he had rebuilt motorcycles and trikes.

“I told several guys (about the parts) and somebody said ‘Put them on the internet,’ but I said I don’t like to do that,” he recalled.

This changed when Kio read the Harley-4-Hopes article that appeared in both The Bradford Era and Olean Times Herald a couple of weeks ago.

The program presented a rebuilt motorcycle to Dustin Eugene Hargett, a wounded veteran from Roulette, who was surprised with a rebuilt Harley during a gathering at the Limestone (N.Y.) American Legion Post 1560. A Purple Heart recipient, Hargett suffered neck injuries in 2011 when he was hit by a grenade in Kandahar, Afghanistan, while serving as an Army Specialist E-4.

The motorcycle presented to Hargett by the Harleys-4-Heroes organization had been built from donated parts, said the organization’s founder, R. “Gus” Gustafson of the Harrisburg area.

Gustafson said the program is always in need of donated Harley parts to rebuild motorcycles for the wounded veterans. All told, the organization has given out 36 rebuilt motorcycles to veterans in the region.

Kio said he contacted Gustafson, via email, and made arrangements for him to come to Eldred to pick up parts that are expected to fill the back of a pick-up truck. A stuffed toy eagle dressed in a Harley outfit will also be given to the organization.

Kio and his wife said their hope is that the donation will inspire other Harley enthusiasts to donate spare parts to the organization, as they are really needed.

“It will help somebody else out,” Kio remarked.

For more information, or to make a donation to the organization, visit online at harleys-4-heroes.org or write to: Harleys-4-Heroes, 415 S. Fourth St., Newport, Pa. 17074.