Work stopped for a few moments at Park Ridge’s City Hall Wednesday morning as some employees flocked outside to take their “hot dog break.”
The employees were admiring the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, a truck-sized vehicle in the shape of an enormous hot dog. They were quickly joined by passers-by and even a business owner who dashed across the park.
“This is so cool,” said Kathy Adrian, a city senior fiscal technician.
One of six such vehicles spreading the good word about hot dogs nationally, the 27-foot-long, eight-foot-high Wienermobile pulled up thanks to driver Bethany Lynn, a Park Ridge native allowed to relish her off day at home by using it as her personal car. The 2016 Maine South alum said she is having the time of her life in a year-long job trucking the Wienermobile around a regional schedule of promotional events for Oscar Mayer.
Various incarnations of the Wienermobile have whetted the appetite for hot dogs with all the trimmings since 1936, and Lynn said that in the 20 states she has driven it through, she constantly encounters people who are happy to see it.
Lynn tooled the Wienermobile, named “Oh I Wish” for publicity purposes, around Uptown Park Ridge, attracting gawkers and picture-takers at every turn. She parked by the Pickwick Theater, where Larry Parker, who had never seen a Wienermobile, simply said, “This is great.” Added companion Stephanie Kleiman: “I’m astonished.”
Two young women began jumping up and down and waving outside Starbucks, and Lynn rewarded them with a ride on the next go-around in two of the comfy passenger seats, decked in appropriate mustard and ketchup colors. “This is like a spaceship,” said one of them.
Regular rides are not part of the Wienermobile schedule. But Lynn can take on passengers for short demonstrations at her discretion.
“Who wouldn’t want to drive this?” asked Lynn, who is called a “hotdogger”—Oscar Mayer-speak for driver.
Like most other drivers, Lynn “did not see it coming” while at Valparaiso University. But her mother heard a radio report Oscar Mayer was searching for its next crop of hotdoggers. The thought captured Lynn’s imagination.
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“I needed a resume and cover letter to ‘cut the mustard,'” she said, then realizing she’d need more to stand out. Lynn bought a hot dog costume, posed in different locations and posted the photos to Instagram.
She did not get the job in 2021, but tried again and made the cut in 2022. “I started crying,” Lynn said when informed she was hired.
Hotdoggers do not need a special license to drive the Wienermobile. New hires go through a two-week training course in Madison, Wisconsin, where Lynn is based while on duty. The Madison Police Department assists in driver training.
“It’s like driving a school bus,” said Lynn. While on duty, two drivers sit up front. All get nicknames. Lynn is “Bologna Beth,” while partner Keagan Schlosser is “Chili CheezKeagz.”
Drivers become ambassadors of the brand, said Lynn, and practically learn showmanship on the job. “You learn how to talk on radio and TV,” she added.
The hotdoggers’ time on the job is finite. Lynn’s final month will be June. But the networking opportunities for the next job are plentiful with many she meets giving her their business cards and urging her to “come to work for me,” she said.
Lynn and her hotdoggers promote the brand, but no samples are given out at Wienermobile appearances. Lynn dispenses hot dog-shaped whistles instead.
“I feel like a mini-celebrity,” said Lynn. “For one year, my life has changed.”