Decked out for Halloween and coming off of birthday celebrations this summer, the 27-foot Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was on a roll with visits to Oak Park and River Forest.
The giant hotdog shaped truck, 60 hot dogs long and 24 hotdogs high to be exact, parked in front of two Jewel Osco locations in Oak Park and River Forest on Oct. 7 and 8, respectively.
“Ketchup Kampbell” Hemeyer and “Lunchmeat Luke” Kirchner, the two drivers of the truck, greeted people as they stopped by and handed out goodies such as coupons, a hotdog shaped whistle and stickers. They are two of 12 “hotdoggers” driving six Wienermobiles around the country for the whole year.
“The purpose of the Wienermobile is to spark smiles across America. That’s the best part of the job is making people smile and really excited to see something that’s pretty awesome,” said Kirchner.
Liz and Valerie Fairweather pose for a photo in front of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Oct. 8, 2026., in River Forest. Credit: Sydney Lovan 
“Ketchup Kampbell” Hemeyer sets up decorations around the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Oct. 8, 2026, in River Forest. Credit: Sydney Lovan 
Gio Munoz, left, and Marisa Munoz pose for a photo with props from the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Oct. 8, 2026, in River Forest. Credit: Sydney Lovan 
The front of the the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile with a specialized license plate on Oct. 8, 2026, in River Forest. Credit: Sydney Lovan 
“Ketchup Kampbell” Hemeyer, right, shows Valerie Fairweather around the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Oct. 8, 2026., in River Forest. Credit: Sydney Lovan 
A sign showing off the different designs of the truck over the decades sits in front of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Oct. 8, 2026, in River Forest. Credit: Sydney Lovan
The Oscar Mayer team has been “sparking smiles” for 90 years and celebrated its birthday this July.
“The party’s forever going, so the Wienermobile’s been around the block a couple times, and we’ve got a lot of extensive history that we’re telling folks about. We love to educate everybody about the Wienermobile and how we started back in 1936,” said Hemeyer.
Wednesday Journal’s own Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor actually wrote an article about the Wienermobile’s first visit to Oak Park at the Carleton Hotel in 1993 for the paper’s old Itinerant column. Then it was only 10 feet high, or 22 hotdogs, and 23 feet long, or 52 hotdogs, according to the article.
The hotdoggers welcomed in visitors who were, frankly, obsessed with the truck, showing off the decorated interior and helping take photos on the exterior. Their upbeat attitudes and endless supply of hotdog puns are just as classic as the vehicle itself.
“We really relish all of our puns, but I would say because I’m Ketchup Kampbell, I love to throw out a little hope to ketchup with you later,” said Hemeyer.
“We do have buns and buns of puns, but I would say my favorite has to be when people ask if we sleep in it, I like saying no, it is not a wienie-bago,” said Kirchner.
The truck will continue through Illinois with visits to Wheaton on Oct. 9, St. Charles’ Scarecrow Weekend on Oct. 10, and the Wilmington October Fest on Oct. 11. The Wienermobiles can be tracked on its website to see where they are at any given time.