Bio: Wolf, Eddie (Steady Eddie Breaks Record) Oct 1981

Contact: Kathleen E. Englebretson
Email: kathy@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Wolf

---Source: Marshfield News-Herald (26 October 1981)

Wolf, Eddie "Steady Eddie"

LOYAL -- The snow Saturday may have had Eddie Wolf, Loyal, walking in circles but it didn't stop him from breaking the world's stilt walking record.

Wolf, known in these parts as Steady Eddie, had to perform his 41-foot walk in a silo on the outskirts of Loyal after gusty winds fouled up his attempt outside.

Anticipating problems with the wind, Wolf had several cranes on hand to hold a tarp between him and the wind. The tarp idea was abandoned, however, after too much wind gave it sail effect.

It was then that the idea of the silo was suggested.

Steady Eddie and a bevy of news media representatives left the city in the afternoon, stilts packed on the back of the city's old hook and ladder fire truck.

They went about a mile south of the city to a silo where Wolf had secretly practiced for the big walk. The stilts were put through a hole in the silo and the famous stilt walker mounted them.

The silo had not been considered, according to Pat Wolf, the event's publicity chairman. "But Eddie was beat. I told him that we knew that's where he practiced and we should get it over with," she said.

Wolf, with his confidence and Keen sense of balance, walked 49 steps around the silo.

The problem, however was the film crew's tape was not rolling at the time. So Eddie tried it again-- this time 29 steps worth, still more than the 25 steps needed to make the official mark. Still no tape was rolling so he worked out another 26 steps for good measure and official ranking as the world's top stilt walker.

Part of the irony of the day was that he did not have the luxury of guide wires in case of a fall. Anyone in Loyal Saturday would say they were not needed anyway, since Steady Eddie is the world's greatest.

Wolf regained the recognition he earned when he initially broke the original record established in England, by walking on stilts about 10 feet shorter than the ones used Saturday.

But while he gained the world title, he also gained support for something he wants his children to have -- a new park for the city of Loyal. Part of the profit from selling buttons promoting the walk and concessions will go toward the park.

"We truthfully feel it was a success all the way around," Schober said.

A parade through the city of Loyal preceded Wolf's attempt. Included in the parade were floats carrying Wolf's entire family, as well as supporters of the Loyal Park.

It may have snowed on Loyal's parade, but never let it be said that Steady Eddie Wolf couldn't find a way around the problem.

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Bio: Wolf, Eddie #2 (Steady Eddie Sets Record) 1986

Contact: Kathleen E. Englebretson
Email: kathy@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Wolf, Wood, Olson

---Source: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (18 March 1986)

Wolf, Eddie "Steady Eddy"

LOYAL -- Eddie "Steady Eddie" Wolf has walked his way into Japanese television and into the Guinness Book of World Records, but he claims there is "nothing like home."

Wolf of Loyal recently returned home after nine days in Yolokama, Japan, as a guest of the Kyodo Television Co. in Tokyo. He is listed in the 1980 and the 1983 Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest stilt walker.

The television company invited Wolf and six other record holders to Japan for a chance to break their previous records. Wolf's new record is 40 feet, 6 inches.

Wolf began on 1-foot stilts when he was 12, Such stilts were easy to make, and there was plenty of slab wood around the Wolf saw Mill at Loyal, where he is now head sawyer.

His mother Monica Wood, began sewing outfits for him when he was 14 and appeared as a farmer with a cornstalk for the Loyal Corn Festival. For the Bicentennial, he dressed as Abe Lincoln and wore size 14 shoes on the end of his stilts.

Wolf has invented devices to make his stilt walking easier. he won't divulge his trade secrets but did say his stilts are aluminum.

Wolf also can ride a unicycle while using his stilts to pedal.

He taught his girlfriend, Annamarie Olson to ride a unicycle recently. After their marriage five years ago, she learned to walk on stilts and they appeared in parades together. When their son Travis, 4, walks on stilts in parades, his mother accompanies him dressed in her clown suit.

Wind can cause problems for stilt walkers and the hills in some towns can be tough, Eddie said. Brick streets also are different, he said.

Wolf has stilt-walked three miles in a Milwaukee parade, appeared in California and been a guest of Guinness company in Austria.