News and Information Archive : 2009 Saturday, January 31, 2009    The big news is we've set the date for this year's Catsup Bottle Festival Birthday Party & Car Show Bash! It will be Sunday, July 12, 2009. Save the date!    We have again partnered with American Legion Post 365, and many of our sponsors and entertainment will be returning. It's a guaranteed good time! See you then! Wednesday, April 1, 2009    Virginia Steffen and her crew from the PBS station, WILL-TV, in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, paid us a visit way back on August 15, 2007. Shooting her documentary was a lot of fun, although it was really, really HOT!    The best part of the day was that it gave us the chance to see Rod Reinneck again. Rod and his team from Diversified Coatings in O'Fallon, Illinois, restored and repainted the Catsup Bottle back in 1995. Click here for a photo gallery of the 2007 shoot.    We finally saw the video!    The video appeared on WILL-TV's Prairie Fire program, episode #708 from Thursday, April 24, 2008. Everyone did a great job! We hadn't seen it yet until this week. The 5 minute documentary, with lots of interviews, video footage, and archival photos, is posted on the WILL-TV website. It's must see TeeVee, as far as we're concerned! Take a look right here. Friday, May 1, 2009    Check it out! The World's Largest Catsup Bottle is included in the Roadside Attractions photo gallery on CNN.com! We received all call from a CNN producer a couple weeks ago, and we provided them with a few pix and all the background information they could handle. Too bad we only got a brief mention in the story itself, but being in the photo gallery is pretty sweet. Keep pourin' it on!!! Tuesday, May 19, 2009    You just never know what you'll see parked at the Catsup Bottle. This afternoon we had some unexpected excitement as a bunch of specially painted RV tour buses appeared out of nowhere! Each with a different family, each with a film crew, and each followed by an auxiliary van of cameras and producers! It was quite a scene!    As it turns out, the filming was for a new reality TV show called "The Great American Road Trip." We're not at liberty to say much more here, but we can tell you the show is set to premier Tuesday, July 7th at 8:00/7:00 central.    For a few more details, check out NBC's web site by clicking here!    According to NBC's web site: "...the ultimate road trip across America. Seven families take the journey of a lifetime. Over eight episodes, the families travel classic Route 66 through cities large and small, all while competing in a medley of humorous games that will ultimately lead one family to victory. Although family fun is the centerpiece of the show, the competition is real. Only one family will return home with the grand prize." Friday, May 22, 2009    We received an email today from a Casting Producer for the ABC Television's hit primetime reality show, "Wife Swap." Currently they are attempting to cast a show that features families that own, run, or work at a roadside attraction. It sounded like a lot of fun!    After giving it some thought, we realized that we didn't quite meet some of the requirements in order to be on the program. So, we respectfully declined to move on through the casting process.   Wednesday, May 27, 2009    Today we received a phone call from Eric Model, a producer for the Sirius-XM satellite radio program, "Left Jab," with the host David Goodfriend and Mark Walsh. We love the tag line: "Beer, Gear, and Politics." Hope we don't regret this... ...    Eric specializes in obsure, offbeat, and hidden Americana, and is setting up a live interview with us tentatively scheduled for the evening of July 12, immediately following the festival. We're also working on scheduling a podcast for earlier in the week on the program "Conversations on the Road."     Check out Eric's Hidden America website right here.   Monday, June 15, 2009    Work begins TODAY to repaint the Catsup Bottle!!! It's been 14 years since the previous paint job. We have been working behind the scenes for a while and late last week all the pieces came together.    Unlike the previous restoration, this time there is no need for a massive volunteer fund-raising effort. Thanks to the generousity of Bethel-Eckert Enterprises, owner of the catsup bottle, this project is under way! We can't thank them enough!    Click here, or the photo to the left, to read the full media release.    As a reminder, be sure to check back over the next few weeks as we post photos and status reports to keep everyone informed of the progress.   Wednesday, July 1, 2009    We spent the morning hanging out at the Catsup Bottle with Heidi Glaus, and her videographer Larry Johnson, from Today In St. Louis. Heidi interviewed Judy DeMoisy, the Catsup Bottle Lady, and Rod Reinneck, the painter. Look for it to air next week on KSDK Newschannel 5!    Also today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran a nice story and a great photo with Rod hard at work at the top of the bottle. Plus, photographer Christian Gooden did a little videography as well. Look for it right here.    Well then, the next thing we know, the story is picked up by the Associated Press and by the afternoon it's out on the wire all over the country. Fantastic.   Wednesday, July 1, 2009     KPLR Channel 11 ran a really great 2 minute segment about the paint job and Rod did a spectacular job during his interview! Rod's a natural on camera! We should have had him as our spokesperson years ago!   Thursday, July 2, 2009    We wake up to see a photo and story in the Belleville News-Democrat about the painting project and the upcoming festival.    Then later in the morning we get a call from our pal Wally Spiers who is writing another piece for the weekend tab section of the BND. Keep a look out for that real soon.     But wait, there's even more to be excited about! We had a really fun interview with host Jay Thomas on the Jay Thomas Show on Sirius XM satellite radio. We talked about the bottle and really plugged the festival coming. Excellent! Tuesday, July 7, 2009    It's a really busy day here at Catsup Bottle Central Command HQ. We're wrapping up a whole bunch of last minute festival details. (Check in at catsupbottlefestival.com for all the latest.)    Along with that, we have an Internet podcast scheduled at 1:00 for Eric Model's "Conversations On The Road" blog. That should be cool.    And then tonight at 8:00/7:00 central time, the new reality TV show "Great American Road Trip" premiers on NBC (also Channel 5 in St. Louis). The previews look pretty funy! The crew stopped by and shot some footage with the families at the Catsup Bottle back in May. We're not sure, but we should be included in this episode. Let's hope so!! Tune in to see what happens!   Tuesday, July 7, 2009    The podcast interview with Eric Model for Conversations On The Road went really well. That's good because otherwise we ended up on the cutting room floor and didn't appear on the Great American Road Trip show on NBC. Wrigley Field, Springfield, and the Gateway Arch all looked great. We're just disappointed we didn't make it. Oh well, it happens to the best of us!    Plan on tuning in tomorrow morning for Heidi Glaus's story during Today In St. Louis on KSDK Newschannel 5. Wait until you see what cameraman Larry Johnson did! We hope he didn't get in trouble!!!    Also, be sure to watch the KPLR Channel 11 Noon News on Friday, July 10, as we're scheduled to be on, live in the studio at 12:30.   Wednesday, July 8, 2009    This video is awesome!! We had a lot of fun with Heidi Glaus and videographer Larry Johnson from KSDK's Today In St. Louis back on July 1st. Our best buddy Rod Reinneck was interviewed and Judy was, too, as you will see. Yours truly, the Big Tomato, took a bunch of photos and Heidi included some at the end of the piece. (Here's a teaser: wait till you see Larry's feet dangling off the top of the Catsup Bottle!) Check it out. Thursday, July 9, 2009    Here is the photo gallery from the morning we spent with Heidi Glaus and Larry Johnson from KSDK's Today In St. Louis. Friday, July 10, 2009    A good time was had at KPLR Channel 11 Noon News with yours truly, the Big Tomato. They should have given me more time... or, even better, give me my own show! This was a blast!    The 11th annual World's Largest Catsup Bottle Festival Birthday Party and Car Show Bash was held on Sunday, July 12, 2009!    For all the details click over to www.catsupbottlefestival.com and click the 2009 archive link! You gotta love it: Custom & classic car, truck & motorcycle show, hot dogs (smothered in ketchup) eating contest, ketchup tasting, Princess Tomato & Sir Catsup, hula hoop competition, appearances by Ronald McDonald & St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders, water balloons (filled with ketchup...?) toss, birthday cake, food, fun, games, and live music from the Quarter Draw Band. Thursday, November 12, 2009    Thanks very much to WRAL of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and its GoLo Blog. They gave the Catsup Bottle a nice little write up. "Go Local. Talk Local. Share Local."   Thursday, December 31, 2009    2009 was a big year for the World's Largest Catsup Bottle. Its 60th birthday was celebrated at the annual festival held in July. The attendance was fantastic! Click here to check out the photo gallery.    Also in 2009, the Catsup Bottle was cleaned up and repainted. Many, many thanks go out to Bethel-Eckert Enterprises and Reinneck Industrial Coatings for getting the job done! Click here to check out the photo gallery.   Back to Top  •  Back to Archive Index ©World's Largest Catsup Bottle Fan Club, Inc.