Two drivers traveling from Georgia brought the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile to Chester. Ketchup Kayla and Tasty T greeted sightseers at the Kroger grocery store in the Breckenridge Shopping Center and at the Kroger Marketplace on Iron Bridge Road Thursday. Sightseers took pictures with the Weinermobile, viewed the inside of the vehicle, and took photos with hot dog cutouts.
KETCHUP KAYLA AND TASTY T ON THEIR YEAR-LONG ADVENTURE.
On a year’s assignment after graduating from college with broadcasting journalism degrees, the two Hotdoggers have been touring the East Coast for the last six months, putting around 25,000 miles on the Weinermobile, with likely another 20,000 miles still to go. They are heading to Florida after their Virginia assignment.
The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile program has been around since 1936, and it was created by Carl Mayer, Oscar’s nephew. Its home base has been in Madison, Wis. for 81 years with training and all assignments for the Hotdoggers beginning in Madison. There are six vehicles that crisscross the nation each year, and with around 1,500 applicants every year, only 12 are chosen for the one-year assignment.
“Personality is what they look for,” said Taylor Lennox, aka Tasty T. “You have to love to talk to people.”
“Grandparents bring their grandkids out to see the Weinermobile. It brings out simpler times for them,” said Kayla Kawalec, aka Ketchup Kayla. “We always hear great stories. No two days are the same. There are so many people with great stories.”
Grocery store visits are secondary for the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. With over 7,000 requests coming in each year, first on their schedules are visits to car shows, air shows, parades, fairs, and many different community activities.
