By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – It’s not very often that those involved in the motorcycle culture become silent and solemn.

But the gathering on Foss Road on Thursday night was a solemn affair. A year ago, 27-year-old Corey Sturgis was killed when he lost control of a motorcycle and crashed there while riding with a group of friends.

Before nightfall Thursday, roughly four dozen people gathered along the dead-end road to remember the fallen biker. Half of them arrived in cars and trucks. The others drove to Foss Road together on motorcycles.

“Corey was well-known,” said his mother, Ann Perkins, “and well-loved.”

The size of the crowd bore out the remark. By 7 p.m., groups of men, women and children huddled together at the scene of the July 7, 2004, wreck. They lit candles and stood in silence. They clutched balloons and released them all at once.

The mourners stood before a shrine affixed to a guardrail near the spot where Sturgis took a final ride on his Honda.

“He was such a good kid. He was very much loved, that’s for sure,” said Cathy Farr, a friend of the Sturgis family. “He was a good friend to everybody. He had a big heart.”

The shrine consisted of a polished headboard to which a photograph of Sturgis was attached. From the photo, the 27-year-old smiled out over a long row of flowers, a billiard ball and other mementos left by friends and loved ones.

“He was a great, great guy,” said 21-year-old Mike Farr. “Everybody loved him. There’s no doubt about that.”

One woman leaned in and kissed Sturgis’ picture. Others simply stood before the memorial and grieved quietly. Standing amid the masses, 11-year-old Ben Sturgis, Corey’s son, struggled to keep his emotions in check.

“I hope you are having fun up there,” the boy had written on a card placed next to his father’s photo. “And I want you to know I miss you and love you.”

The group stood in silence for many minutes. They clutched balloons in a variety of colors before releasing them in unison. Then they turned and watched the balloons float into the sky until shrinking to specks in the distance.

“This means more to me than I could ever say,” Ann Perkins said. “We will never forget your kindness.”

After an hour, the gloom of the gathering had begun to subside. Friends retreated into various groups and began to talk about their lost friend. They talked about motorcycles and memories and the mood lightened.

Before they dispersed, a mystery was solved.

A year ago, the day after Sturgis died, a black circle appeared on the roadway where he had fallen. The symbol had been made by the spinning back tire of a motorcycle, but no one seemed to know who had made it.

On Thursday night, Ann Perkins began asking around. She wanted to know who had created the design, believed to symbolize the circle of life. Most of the riders shrugged and said they had no idea who was behind it.

But after a year, Ann finally discovered that person’s identity when a young man named Josh stepped up to talk to her.

“I did that, ma’am,” he said. “I did it to honor Corey. It’s the only one I’ve ever done.”

Ann Perkins thanked the man and everyone else who had come to pay tribute to her son.

“He was one of a kind,” she said. “He will not be forgotten.”