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Good rip:
Sixty-nine-year-old Ed Charon of Sutherlin broke the Guinness World Record for tearing telephone books Saturday afternoon at the Roseburg Valley Mall.
Ed Charon reclaimed his crown Saturday as the world's telephone book ripping champion, tearing through 39 Portland white page directories in three minutes.
About 100 people watched as the Sutherlin resident ripped the books in half during the exhibition at the Roseburg Valley Mall.
Charon, 69, took a swig from a sports drink bottle and wiped his hands on a towel before he got started. He propped his right foot on a paint can set up on the makeshift stage and grabbed the first phone book as a timer counted down the last few seconds before the three-minute period began.
Charon, who wears a size 16 ring, went through the first book like it was only a few pages rather than 1,004. He tossed the two pieces into a box at his feet and grabbed the next book off of a table.
After the first 60 seconds, Charon had already ripped through 16 phone books -- three shy of the number he tore through two years ago when he originally set the world's record in Branson, Mo. After two minutes, he had gone through another dozen.
Only twice did any of the books give Charon a problem. He paused slightly on the 32nd phone book and again on the 34th before splitting each in half. He'd almost finished ripping the 40th volume when time expired and the audience erupted in applause.
"Oh, I wanted 40," Charon said, after grabbing another drink and taking a short rest. "I wonder how long 39 will stand up."
Charon lost his title in late 2002, when Mike West, a fitness and judo instructor from Indiana, ripped through 30 phone books.
"I feel pretty good," Charon said, after taking his record back. "I haven't slept that well the last two or three nights. I was a little worried."
If he was concerned, those in the audience weren't.
Roseburg Mayor Larry Rich, one of four official witnesses seated next to the stage to attest to the fete in the submission to the Guinness World Records, said he was confident Charon would snap the record.
"I wasn't surprised," Rich said. "He had the motivation and desire. You could see that in his eyes."
Roseburg residents Jane and Paul Jarvis were among those who watched Charon break the record. They said they were impressed.
"It was wonderful, wasn't it," said Jane Jarvis, who noted she only wears a size 4 ring. "I knew he could do it."
"He's mighty tough for an old man," Paul Jarvis said, laughing.
This was the first time Charon has set the record in Oregon. The retired pastor of Umpqua Trinity Fellowship set the other two marks in Branson, Mo., where he and his wife Betty were living at the time. They returned to Douglas County about a year ago.
His earlier world's records helped land Charon on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" in early 1993. Another guest on the program, comedian Robin Williams, dubbed Charon "the Rev. Shredder."
For his record-setting try Saturday, Charon specifically chose the Portland directory, which includes listings for Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. The paper used in those phone books seems a little thinner than those in other directories, he said.
"Of all the phone books I've torn, I've found that the Portland ones tear better," Charon said.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
About 100 people watched as the Sutherlin resident ripped the books in half during the exhibition at the Roseburg Valley Mall.
Charon, 69, took a swig from a sports drink bottle and wiped his hands on a towel before he got started. He propped his right foot on a paint can set up on the makeshift stage and grabbed the first phone book as a timer counted down the last few seconds before the three-minute period began.
Charon, who wears a size 16 ring, went through the first book like it was only a few pages rather than 1,004. He tossed the two pieces into a box at his feet and grabbed the next book off of a table.
After the first 60 seconds, Charon had already ripped through 16 phone books -- three shy of the number he tore through two years ago when he originally set the world's record in Branson, Mo. After two minutes, he had gone through another dozen.
Only twice did any of the books give Charon a problem. He paused slightly on the 32nd phone book and again on the 34th before splitting each in half. He'd almost finished ripping the 40th volume when time expired and the audience erupted in applause.
"Oh, I wanted 40," Charon said, after grabbing another drink and taking a short rest. "I wonder how long 39 will stand up."
Charon lost his title in late 2002, when Mike West, a fitness and judo instructor from Indiana, ripped through 30 phone books.
"I feel pretty good," Charon said, after taking his record back. "I haven't slept that well the last two or three nights. I was a little worried."
If he was concerned, those in the audience weren't.
Roseburg Mayor Larry Rich, one of four official witnesses seated next to the stage to attest to the fete in the submission to the Guinness World Records, said he was confident Charon would snap the record.
"I wasn't surprised," Rich said. "He had the motivation and desire. You could see that in his eyes."
Roseburg residents Jane and Paul Jarvis were among those who watched Charon break the record. They said they were impressed.
"It was wonderful, wasn't it," said Jane Jarvis, who noted she only wears a size 4 ring. "I knew he could do it."
"He's mighty tough for an old man," Paul Jarvis said, laughing.
This was the first time Charon has set the record in Oregon. The retired pastor of Umpqua Trinity Fellowship set the other two marks in Branson, Mo., where he and his wife Betty were living at the time. They returned to Douglas County about a year ago.
His earlier world's records helped land Charon on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" in early 1993. Another guest on the program, comedian Robin Williams, dubbed Charon "the Rev. Shredder."
For his record-setting try Saturday, Charon specifically chose the Portland directory, which includes listings for Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. The paper used in those phone books seems a little thinner than those in other directories, he said.
"Of all the phone books I've torn, I've found that the Portland ones tear better," Charon said.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
