ASHLAND — With an eclipse nearly upon Ohio and a weekend of activities to boot, it could’ve been easy to miss Peggy King, a 92-year-old woman, as she and her family walked up to the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile parked in downtown Ashland on Saturday.
The Wienermobile is part of Oscar Mayer’s fleet, and the hot dog-shaped vehicles travel the country. It came to Ashland as part of Ashland Main Street’s “Total Eclipse of Downtown” weekend to celebrate the total solar eclipse that’ll be visible from Ashland April 8.
King’s daughter, Kriss Ott, carried a photo along with her.
The photo showed a young King standing in front of one of the hot dog-shaped vehicles.
When her husband went overseas to serve in the army, King got a job hand painting the Wienermobiles.
In the photo, King was only 22 or 23 — she couldn’t recall exactly how old she was when she painted them. Either way, the 92-year-old didn’t know she’d be seeing one of them again before arriving at the eclipse event. Her daughters planned to surprise her.
“The ones that I did were a lot smaller,” King said.
King and her family walked up to the door and showed Chloe Vancaeseele — a Wienermobile driver better known as “Chlo-Wienie” when she’s on the road — the photo.
Vancaeseele took a photo, and said she wanted to send it to her boss to show them.
King, who doesn’t typically enjoy surprises, said she spent 18 months hand painting the trucks around 1949 or 1950, until life got busy. After she stopped painting the Wienermobiles, King had four children and drove a school bus for 25 years.
But Ott, one of her daughters, said her mom always had a talent for crafts. Ott said King talked often about her job painting the Wienermobile.
Bringing back memories
For King’s daughters, Ott and Karen Burgett, bringing their mom down to see the truck was important.
With the trucks traveling across the country, and uncertainty about when it might stop in Ashland again, Ott felt like bringing her mom to see was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Ott’s sister, Burgett, agreed.
“It means a lot to us because the older we get, the more important it gets to cherish those memories,” Burgett said.
According to Vancaeseele, that’s what the Wienermobile is all about. Vancaeseele has traveled to 25 states with the Wienermobile.
She said her favorite part of stopping the truck around the country are the stories and memories people share with her when it comes to their town.
“The vehicle really brings feelings of nostalgia back,” Vancaeseele said. “It’s an honor to meet (King) and to see her out today.”
The truck stopped at Walmart in Mansfield Friday and will make a stop at Ashland’s Walmart Sunday before cruising out of town. It will be at the Walmart in Ashland from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
If you’re interested in tracking the Wienermobile’s movements, you can do so by visiting the Oscar Mayer website.
