Kate Whiting of Chetek, Wisconsin, shows off her classic rig – a 1973 Kenworth W900A truck called “Cherry Pie” – on Thursday, July 10, during the first day of the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop. That is expected to bring in more than 50,000 visitors through Saturday. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
WALCOTT, Iowa – Kate Whiting loves showing off her restored 1973 Kenworth W900A truck called “Cherry Pie.” It took her years to finish the 52-year-old rig that has a cherry red and white paint job. It has a reclaimed Double Eagle sleeper, heart-shaped windows on the side and a Cat 3408 motor under the hood. […]
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WALCOTT, Iowa – Kate Whiting loves showing off her restored 1973 Kenworth W900A truck called “Cherry Pie.”It took her years to finish the 52-year-old rig that has a cherry red and white paint job. It has a reclaimed Double Eagle sleeper, heart-shaped windows on the side and a Cat 3408 motor under the hood. “It’s good to let people see a restored truck with flare. … It shows them what can be done,” said Ms. Whiting of Chetek, Wisconsin, during the opening hour of the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott.That annual celebration of almost all things associated with the trucking world started Thursday morning, July 10, and runs through Saturday afternoon, July 12. The event features free admission, concerts and parking. There also is a free shuttle service from the parking area to the event grounds.
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Amanda Saumier of Kasota, Minnesota, stands near her purple 2022 Freightliner Cascadia, also known as "The Cancer Truck,” on Thursday, July 10, at the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop. It runs through Saturday. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
People examine the trucks on display on Thursday, July 10, during the first day of the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
A worker holds up a Walcott Truckers Jamboree T-shirt at a vendor table on Thursday, July 10. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Members of the Stauffacher family of Cuba City, Wisconsin, check out the trucks featured on Thursday, July 10, during the first day of the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop.CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
People examine the trucks on display on Thursday, July 10, during the first day of the 46th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Bill Blackmon and his wife, Nancy, have a 2010 Kensworth truck at the celebration to call attention to Truckstop Ministries, Inc. during the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
People look over the trucks on display on Thursday, July 10, during the first day of the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
These are some of the names on "The Cancer Truck,” on Thursday, July 10, at the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop. It runs through Saturday. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
These are some of the designs on "The Cancer Truck,” on Thursday, July 10, at the 47th annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at the Iowa 80 Truckstop. It runs through Saturday. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Jamboree organizers said they expect to attract more than 50,000 people to the three-day celebration. Last year’s fest brought in more than 53,000 visitors who came from many states and two Canadian provinces.“The Walcott Truckers Jamboree is a fun, free event for everyone to attend. Come see the Super Truck Beauty Contest, the antique trucks, the concerts, the Iowa pork chop cookout, and so much more,” said Lee Meier, marketing manager at the Iowa 80 Group.This year’s jamboree got off to a fast start. Within the first hour of the jamboree starting at 10 a.m., there were already hundreds of people looking over the many features. Attractions included vendors showcasing almost anything to do with the trucking world. Vendors were selling T-shirts, hats, Yeti coolers, diecast toy trucks, pain relief lotions and much more.
Services on display
There were also groups highlighting services for truckers and other people on the road. One of those groups at the jamboree is the Association of Christian Truckers, a Christian nonprofit group based in Brownsville, Illinois, that is dedicated to ministering to the needs of truck drivers and their families. That group also has a 34-acre site – called the Road Angel Truckers Center – at I-70 and U.S. 40, Exit 68 at Brownstown. That center has a truckers’ lounge, shower room, laundry facilities, parking spaces for trucks and much more to help truckers.“We want to let them know that there is somebody who cares about them on the road. … It’s really about fellowship,” said Eric Hoxsey, who was at one of the vendor tables on Thursday, telling people about the organization.He was also telling people about the Road Angel center, which has proven to be very popular with thousands of truckers over the past few years.“The biggest complaint we get about the place is that the truckers tell us they oversleep because it’s so peaceful at the center,” he added.Even though many people liked hearing about the Road Angel Truckers Center, the main event at the jamboree for many visitors on Thursday were the dozens of big trucks on display.In addition to Ms. Whiting’s Cherry Pie truck, there were a wide variety of vehicles with different themes.
Wide variety on display
Some of them include:
Bill Blackmon and his wife, Nancy, have a 2010 Kensworth truck at the celebration to call attention to Truckstop Ministries, Inc. It is a Jackson, Georgia, based nonprofit group that ministries to the truckers of the world. “We’ll have a service here on Sunday, after the jamboree is over. We’ll have at least 20 or 30 truckers here for that,” Mr. Blackmon said.
Amanda Saumier of Kasota, Minnesota, is showing her purple 2022 Freightliner Cascadia, also known as "The Cancer Truck.” “We want to use this truck to show people that there are people fighting cancer,” she said. It’s decorated with more than 3,600 names of people who are fighting cancer, are cancer survivors or who have died of cancer. The names are in different colors to highlight the different diseases they have faced. For instance, names in white are for lung cancer, dark blue for colon cancer, green for liver cancer and light blue for prostate cancer. “I have at least another 200 names to get on the truck,” Ms. Saumier added. On Thursday morning, she was wearing a black T-shirt with the word “Hope” on the front as she showed the truck to visitors.
The jamboree also featured older vehicles. Some of them include a 1944 Dodge owned by John Ebbert of Peyton, Colorado, and a 1965 White 3000 owned by Rich and Debbie Knox of Grain Valley, Minnesota.
Daniel and Phyllis Snow of Harrison, Arkansas, are showing their 1996 Freightliner called “The Goose.” The green truck has two life-sized statues of Canada geese in front, and a sign at the front of the truck reads “In God We Truck.”
A family from Cuba City, Wisconsin, was having a great time looking at “The Goose” and many other trucks on Thursday morning.“I like this place because they have a variety of trucks. You have everything from old to new here,” said Tyler Stauffacher.His brother, Ryan, was also a fan of the vehicles on display.“I just like everything they have … It’s all about the trucks,” he said.One of the most popular trucks on display Thursday was Ms. Whiting’s “Cherry Pie”. By noon, hundreds had stopped by, looked over the rig and taken photos as the classic rock song “Cherry Pie” by the band Warrant played over speakers inside the truck.The Wisconsin woman said she is happy the 1973 Kenworth W900A truck is getting a lot of attention from the crowd. That’s because the truck means a lot to her. In fact, it means so much to her that Ms. Whiting often doesn’t refer to the vehicle as an “it” but rather as a “she.”‘She's retired now, doesn’t work any more. She's just here at the jamboree to have a good time,” said Ms. Whiting.
Still on tap this weekend
Here is a schedule of events for the next two days of the celebration:Friday, July 11
10 a.m. – Celebration begins.
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Exhibits open.
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. – Super trucks on display, antique truck display.
11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. – Iowa Pork Chop Cookout.
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Trucker Olympics.
2 p.m. – 100th birthday party for 1925 Kenworth at Iowa 80 Trucking Museum.
5 to 6:30 p.m. – Angela Meyer and The Western Stars concert.
7 to 8:30 p.m. – Little Texas concert. Some of Little Texas’ iconic songs include “God Bless Texas,” “Amy’s Back in Austin” and “You and Forever and Me.” The group has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards – winning the Top Vocal Group of the Year award in 1993. Little Texas also won the CMA Album of the Year award in 1994.
9 p.m. – Fireworks at dusk.
Saturday, July 12
9 a.m. – Festival opens.
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Exhibits are open.
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Super Trucks on display, antique truck display.
