Organizers say record reclaimed
Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival organizers believe the Jeep parade Friday took back a world record the festival previously held.
Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe tallied more than 2,100 Jeeps in the parade from Butler County Community College to downtown which lasted more than five hours.
The Jeep Festival in 2011 set the Guinness World Record for the largest parade of Jeeps, but that record was eclipsed April 26 by Jeep Beach, an event in Daytona Beach, Fla., that had a parade with 1,846 Jeeps.
Though Slupe's count is unofficial, the festival organizers have sufficient evidence to provide to Guinness to have the record verified, according to Patti Jo Lambert, festival director.
Parade organizers recorded the VIN of every Jeep in the parade, took a count with two different sensors placed on the road and recorded continuous video footage of the parade, Lambert said.
They also will provide documentation such as testimony of officials involved and a database of all people who worked at the festival. The process of having the record confirmed will take two to three months, she said.
Though high temperatures during the day and periods of rain in the early evening caused a couple of Jeeps to drop out at the last minute, the parade was a success.
“We're so grateful for everyone hanging in there with us to get the world record back,” she said.It was hot for the parade with the temperature in the high 80s. Most of the parade watchers ended up on the west side of Main Street to be in the shade of downtown buildings.A hard rain hit just before 6 p.m. but the Jeeps kept moving all during the half-hour shower.Following the parade was the Jeep Invasion when more than 1,200 Jeeps were parked on and near Main Street until 10 p.m.Duncan Rolls of Longview, Texas, led the parade with his 1940 Bantam Pilot.“It's the first Jeep (model) built here in Butler,” Rolls said.Rolls started building the vehicle 11 years ago.“I wanted to build the original Jeep,” he said. “To show people where Jeep came from. Butler ought to be proud.”Rolls said leading the parade was an honor.“It was great,” he said.Rolls said he restores other World War II vehicles, but considers the Jeep his favorite.“It has been since he was 18 years old,” said his wife, Kim.Clarence Sears Jr., formerly of Butler, brought his 1945 Jeep up from his home in West Virginia. He has attended the festival for four years.Sears said he restored the vehicle after his late wife, Lora, became ill. He named the Jeep in her memory.His son, David Sears of Cabot, had his 2015 Jeep in the parade.“We cover two ends of the spectrum,” David Sears joked.David Sears, who volunteers as a tour guide at the festival, said his new Jeep is equipped to take on the toughest terrain.“Mine can go anywhere his can,” argued his father.David Sears said he bought his first Jeep in 1978.“I used money I made as a paper boy for the Butler Eagle,” he said.Both men agreed the parade and festival are great for the county.“It's a great event for Butler,” Clarence Sears said. “And everyone here is accommodating.”Jim Sommers of Peters Township, Washington County, was in his 1950 Willy's Jeepster. He's had it for 20 years.“I drive it around everywhere,” Sommers said. “I've been to Canada, Michigan, all over.”But Sommers said it was his first trip with it to Butler.“I'm really enjoying the parade,” he said.Charles Ellenberger of Oakland Township said he hoped the parade would break the world record.“I was so mad when Florida got it,” he said.Ellenberger was just watching the parade. He sold his 1973 Jeep Commando years ago.It's something he still regrets.“I sure wish I would've kept it,” he said.
Cole Williams of Butler said he had the doors off his Jeep Wrangler and got soaked as a result.But it was worth getting wet to be a part of the world record, he said.“It was worth it. Butler should have this record. It's not a Florida thing. It's a Butler thing. We're the birthplace,” he said.Mayor Tom Donaldson said he was thrilled to see the parade through the city.“It something that gets people coming into the city, when otherwise they probably never would have,” he said.Donaldson was helping direct traffic. It wasn't an easy task with the large number of Jeeps.“We've had a few hiccups, but it's going all right,” he said.Donaldson said the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau did a wonderful job organizing the event.“This is great national exposure,” he said.Business owners enjoyed the sights of the parade.“This is a booming town,” said Jim Chiprean, owner of Miller's Shoes on Main Street.Chiprean, who is chairman of the city parking authority, joked he is excited for the city to build its new parking garage so the Jeeps have a place to park.Jennifer Cummings of Cummings Coffee and Candy was watching for her husband, Barry, in the parade. He was driving his 2012 Wrangler.“It's great for downtown,” she said. “I would love to see more events like this.”
The Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival continues Saturday and Sunday at Cooper's Lake Campground in Worth Township.The festival has many activities and events including Jeep rides, talks on the history of the Jeep, clinics on how to fix and upgrade Jeeps, mud runs, and displays of Jeeps from over the past 75 years.On Saturday the festival will continue until 6 p.m.On Sunday it runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.Admission is $10 per adults per day and $3 for children, 3 to 12.
