Oscar Mayer Wienermobile stops at Ontario, Mansfield Walmarts
ONTARIO ― A small crowd of spectators began filing by the 27-foot-long hot dog parked outside the Walmart store off Lexington-Springmill Road Thursday morning.
The attraction was the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, one of six such vehicles that travel the country making stops locally, including Mansfield and Ashland Walmarts, with plans to be in Medina for Monday's total solar eclipse.
Co-pilots Chloe Van Caeseele and Mary Clare Kammer were handing out "Wienermobilia," including Wiener Whistles, allowing people to look inside the vehicle and letting guests take photos with the "big dog."
Allison Carter-Deloach of Mansfield was out getting lunch when she saw the Wienermobile and had to get her photograph taken with it.
"I collect wiener stuff, little whistles," she said, adding she likes the fun of collecting memorabilia.
"Someone gave me a Wiener Whistle some years ago for Christmas," she said.
Nicole Shockly was taking a photo of her granddaughter, Kenzi Shockly, with Nicole's aunt, Monica Hill.
Nicole Shockly said she saw the Wienermobile as a kid in Boston.
"We were going to go see it on Possum Run and we just happened to drive my," she said.
Life on the road in the Wienermobile
Van Caeseele said Thursday marked her 10th month on the road with the Wienermobile.
Van Caeseele said she and Kammer drove from Greensboro, North Carolina, to be in Ohio for the weekend before the eclipse.
She said there are six vehicles and 12 drivers and everyone takes turns driving during their year.
We all start at the same time as a class," Van Caeseele, who hails from western New York, said. Kammer is from St. Louis.
"It is so much fun (to drive it)," Van Caeseele said. "Every day feels like a parade. People are smiling, honking the horn."
Van Caeseele said the Wienermobile receives warm welcomes in smaller towns, something she likes since she is from a small, rural town.
"It's a crazy lifestyle and a big commitment for sure. ... It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," she said.
Hotdoggers such as herself each work in two regions of the country. Van Caeseele said she did the central United States with one partner (Lacy Garrison), covering 16 states in six months.
"Now I am the East team with Mary Clare Kammer. I am now at 25 states, so I've done half the country so far ,which was my goal. So it feels good to meet my goal, but I'm still going to different cities every week; even though I might be in the same state again, it's different cities."
Isaac Brinley of Mansfield got out his phone as he walked up to Walmart, taking photos of the colorful vehicle.
"It's so cool. I wish I had my camera," Brinley said, smiling at photographs on display of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile through the years, 1936 to the present.
Van Caeseele said her team will leave the area Monday to head for Washington, D.C.
"But the Midwest team, Hammy Sammy and Sammer Sausage, will be coming in (for stops on eclipse day)," she said.
Oscar Mayer Wiener Whistle history
First developed in 1952, the Wiener Whistle was included in packages of Oscar Mayer Wieners in 1958.
The Wiener Whistle made its film debut in 1994 in "The Santa Clause," starring Tim Allen. In the movie, one of the adults stopped believing in Father Christmas at age 3 when he didn't receive his requested Wiener Whistle. By the end of the film, he's a firm believer and gets his whistle.
Fun facts shared about the Wienermobile include it's a custom-made fiberglass model with a V-8, 6.0-liter engine. And, it stores up to 11,000 Wiener Whistles. The vehicle is 11 feet tall, 27 feet long and 8 feet wide. The license plate of the vehicle Thursday is WNR MBLE.
Several people walked up to ask the co-pilots if they were selling hot dogs.
The co-pilots said sometimes in the summer months stores they visit do indeed sell hot dogs.
Stops locally:
Thursday
Walmart, 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 359 N. Lexington-Springmill Road, Mansfield
Walmart, 3–6 p.m., 2485 Possum Run Road, Mansfield
Saturday
Total Eclipse of Downtown, noon-3 p.m., 143 W. Main St., Ashland
Sunday
Walmart, 1-6 p.m., 1996 E. Main St., Ashland
Check the online Wienermobile tracker for updates the full schedule of events.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
419-521-7223
X (formerly Twitter):@lwhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Oscar Mayer Wienermobile stops at Ontario, Mansfield Walmarts
