In July 2023, Leo Champlin finally revved the engine of the 1980s Volkswagen Dune Buggy he had been refurbishing for years. But for Leo and his family, it was much more than a vehicle.
Leo lives in Westerville just down the road from his mother, Lenora, who turns 101 this November. Although Lenora is known and loved by all in the Westerville community, her roots lie in Nelsonville in southeast Ohio.
In 1941, Lenora married Leo Ernest Champlin and moved to German Village in 1951, where they would raise their three children.
Leo Ernest spent his time as a mechanic while Lenora babysat much of the neighborhood. In fact, the couple even adopted one of the children she looked after, Dean Wesley Champlin.
Although the couple loved Columbus, Lenora couldn’t help but miss her family in Nelsonville. Thankfully, Leo Ernest had a solution.
In the early ’80s, dune buggies were a hot commodity in Athens, Ohio. So, he picked one up for $1,000 so the couple could take joyrides to and from southeast Ohio.
For about three years, Lenora and her husband spent free weekends with the wind in their hair cruising back and forth between the towns.
Unfortunately, the dune buggy craze died down in Athens, and without a place to travel, the Champlin buggy was left in the driveway for many years.
Shortly after, Leo Ernest was diagnosed with lung cancer and his health began to decline. As his health waned, the couple relocated to Westerville where they could be closer to their son Leo.
Sadly, in 1991, doctors told the Champlins that Leo Ernest’s condition was terminal. Before his death, he signed over the beloved dune buggy to Leo. Although it was just a vehicle, Leo knew how many memories the buggy represented.
“I said, ‘Dad, I’ll redo that, and we’ll ride in it again,’” Leo says.
His father passed away that year, and the dune buggy remained parked in Leo’s driveway. Although Leo was eager to fulfill his promise, he had three kids to take care of and a full-time job to uphold.
For 27 years, the dune buggy waited patiently for its renewal, and Leo and his family never forgot about it.
“All along my mom and all my kids were saying, ‘Hey, when are you gonna restore that? Let’s get it going again!’” Leo says.
Finally, in 2018, a recently retired Leo decided it was time to complete his long-time goal. However, this would be no simple task. As an engineer, Leo was familiar with the restoration’s intricacies, but he still ran into quite a few unexpected roadblocks.
Notably, Leo discovered that the chassis was completely rusted. So, he bought a welding machine and learned to weld. He performed little tasks for years, turning to YouTube when his engineering expertise failed him.
In 2022, the internal parts of the buggy were finished. However, he wanted every part to be perfect, and to do this, he needed it to be painted with metal fleck, the way authentic dune buggies were. He searched long and hard for a painter and eventually found one to fulfill his vision.
After years of hard work, he parked the purple, fully-refurbished dune buggy in his driveway this July. His kids were ecstatic to see the final project, but they were even more excited to see their grandmother’s reaction.
When Leo showed her the buggy restored, as if it had driven right out of her glory days, her reaction did not disappoint.
“Boy, her eyes lit up,” Leo says. “She went right over, stepped right into that dune buggy and said, ‘Let’s go.’”
Leo and Lenora drove around the block, her hair flowing in the wind just as it did in the ’80s. For Leo, it isn’t the fancy new parts or glistening purple paint job that makes him proud of his work. It’s the connection it has to his family.
“I don’t have a lot of use for a dune buggy,” Leo says, “but it’s for the family more than anything.”
Lenora was clearly a driving force behind Leo’s motivation to finish his project, but he never forgot the promise he made to his father.
“Every time I look at it, I think about my dad,” Leo says. “He’d be proud.”
The same month they took their dune buggy ride, Lenora took a fall on her way to a doctor’s appointment and fractured her hip. Although her recovery has had bumps in the road, she is working to regain her strength at a rehabilitation center.
However, Leo is not worried about her resilience. Lenora has lived 100 years, survived breast cancer and still remains eager for dune buggy joyrides. A fractured hip cannot dull her infectious spirit, and Leo is sure she’ll be back in the dune buggy again.
“I told her, ‘We still haven’t taken that ride,’” Leo says, “She (said), ‘I’ll be ready.’”
Megan Brokamp is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
