Monster Truck Museum Grateful for Response
Article by KPC News | April 19, 2021
BUTLER — It was an invasion of rolling thunder, and Butler couldn’t be happier.
Saturday, a parade of more than 20 monster trucks of all shapes, sizes and colors rolled into town on the backs of semi-trailers as the International Monster Truck Museum moved to its new home at 541 W. Main St.
“We’re really excited. We’re overwhelmed a little bit. We didn’t know what to expect,” museum President Jeff Cook said.
“You always hope for the best, but you never know what’s going to happen.”
Leading up to the parade, IMTM said about 100 vehicles registered to participate, but when the parade rolled into Butler Saturday, it was clearly a lot longer, with reports of up to three miles in length.
“I wish we had a count,” Cook said. “We have no idea how many trucks, how many people or anything at this point. We had way more show up than what we were planning.”
The parade began at the museum’s former home at the Kruse Plaza south of Auburn, traveled east on C.R. 11-A and up C.R. 427 through Auburn and Waterloo before turning east onto U.S. 6 for Butler.
Butler Mayor Mike Hartman had a great view of the festivities, as he rode in the cab of bright-orange monster truck “Shotgun Harry,” waving to spectators along the route.
“Unbelievable to be honest,” Hartman said of the response. “This exceeded my expectations, and a lot of others agreed.
“The parade route was awesome with people lining the streets from Auburn to Waterloo to Butler,” he added. “It was an amazing sight as the parade rolled into Butler’s west edge — people were everywhere.
“I had many residents tell me they haven’t seen this many people in Butler in 20-plus years.”
“People were along the parade route videoing and taking pictures, people trying to get themselves and the trucks behind them, it was like, ‘Wow!’” Cook said with a big smile.
“This is a good start for the grand opening next month because, we’ll actually be out here doing stuff with trucks.”
Monster truck drivers came from Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee to be part of the parade. Fans came from Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to join the fun.
A grand-opening ceremony will take place Saturday, May 22. Advance tickets will cost $10 or $15 at the gate.
Cook said monster trucks will perform car-crushing demonstrations and stunts. Nominees for the 2021 hall of fame class will be announced, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place to dedicate the museum.
Renovations of the former Eagles building are nearly complete, Cook said.
“We’ve almost got it completed. We’re in the decorating stage right now,” he said. “This was one of the biggest steps, because we had to get trucks here to put them in the museum.” Ten or 12 monster trucks will be on display when the museum opens.
“We’re super-excited, and we’re happy with the way Butler has treated us. They’ve given us a huge outpouring and welcome.”
“Butler is excited to be the home of the IMTM,” Hartman stated. “They are truly an asset to the city.”
“If (Saturday) is any indication of what’s to come, we better be ready for the open house on May 22. It’s going to be huge!”
Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/butlerbulletin/article_b8a84810-e2bc-583e-b7f7-b9b3867302c3.html