Deborah Laidler sighed and thought about getting her garage back.
The Livonia mom spent the past five months helping her son, John, collect 5,713 water bottles so he could set a Guinness world record for stringing bottles together. They created a chain that measured 1.145 kilometers.
A team of 30 volunteers started at 9 a.m. today and helped them accomplished the feat.
"It feels awesome," Laidler said. "I'm glad it is done."
John was bored when he began collecting empty plastic water bottles in February.
Five months later, the 14-year-old Redford lad had 5,713 bottles, and scored a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
It wasn't an easy task. The bottles first had to be strung together to form a chain Saturday morning and measure a minimum of one kilometer, or 0.6 miles. Two city officials had to witness it, and the entire event at Bentley Field in Livonia had to be documented on video and in photographs.
That delighted John, but freaked out his mom.
Prior to the event John told The Detroit News "I'm very excited because I thought we were never going to get it done."
That's when Deborah Laidler looked it up on the Internet and discovered the mammoth task ahead.
"I was looking for a category for collecting plastic bottles on their website and there wasn't one," she said. "So I saw that you can submit an idea, and I filled out all the information. I was told they'd get back to me in four to six weeks."
Five weeks later, Laidler learned the bottles not only had to measure at least a kilometer, but they couldn't just turn them over in the dozens of plastic garbage bags in which they were stacked up in her garage. They must have holes drilled in the bottles and be strung together in one continuous line.
"That meant I had to have bottles stored all over the house -- in John's room until he could no longer walk, in the living room, basement, everywhere until we cleaned out the garage and stored them in there," Laidler said. "Then I had to call on friends, family and colleagues to give us all their empty plastic water bottles."
Another condition to setting the record is to have the bottles strung together within 24 hours, Laidler said.
John, his brother, Nick, 11, and a friend scoured the neighborhood collecting bottles from residential recycling bins. Staff and students from John's school, Hilbert Middle School, also helped out by bringing in their empties.
Transporting all those bottles to Bentley Field where they're being strung around the track surrounding the football field created another problem.
"At first, I thought about asking friends to pick them up in their trucks, but that would take too many trips, so I decided to rent a U-Haul," John said. "We also have to set up stations with drills, and another area where people can string the bottles together."
Additionally, John had to find two city officials, a videographer and a photographer.
Capt. Mark LaBerge, investigative division commander for the Livonia police department, was one of the officials.
"I've never been involved in a Guinness event before, but I think it's a great opportunity to help a young person accomplish their goal," he said. "It's for a good cause, and it's tough for kids to find someone to help them out."
Redford Township supervisor Tracey Schultz Kobylarz was the second witness to the event.
"This is an incredible event for someone from Redford to try to get into the Guinness Book of Records," she said. "I'll have to witness the entire process and then sign off and write a letter describing everything that happened."
Deborah Laidler now must send all the documentation to the Guinness folks, including edited video, photographs and the letters from the officials. She said she's not sure exactly how long it will take to find out if John makes it into the record book.
The Livonia mom spent the past five months helping her son, John, collect 5,713 water bottles so he could set a Guinness world record for stringing bottles together. They created a chain that measured 1.145 kilometers.
A team of 30 volunteers started at 9 a.m. today and helped them accomplished the feat.
"It feels awesome," Laidler said. "I'm glad it is done."
John was bored when he began collecting empty plastic water bottles in February.
Five months later, the 14-year-old Redford lad had 5,713 bottles, and scored a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
It wasn't an easy task. The bottles first had to be strung together to form a chain Saturday morning and measure a minimum of one kilometer, or 0.6 miles. Two city officials had to witness it, and the entire event at Bentley Field in Livonia had to be documented on video and in photographs.
That delighted John, but freaked out his mom.
Prior to the event John told The Detroit News "I'm very excited because I thought we were never going to get it done."
That's when Deborah Laidler looked it up on the Internet and discovered the mammoth task ahead.
"I was looking for a category for collecting plastic bottles on their website and there wasn't one," she said. "So I saw that you can submit an idea, and I filled out all the information. I was told they'd get back to me in four to six weeks."
Five weeks later, Laidler learned the bottles not only had to measure at least a kilometer, but they couldn't just turn them over in the dozens of plastic garbage bags in which they were stacked up in her garage. They must have holes drilled in the bottles and be strung together in one continuous line.
"That meant I had to have bottles stored all over the house -- in John's room until he could no longer walk, in the living room, basement, everywhere until we cleaned out the garage and stored them in there," Laidler said. "Then I had to call on friends, family and colleagues to give us all their empty plastic water bottles."
Another condition to setting the record is to have the bottles strung together within 24 hours, Laidler said.
John, his brother, Nick, 11, and a friend scoured the neighborhood collecting bottles from residential recycling bins. Staff and students from John's school, Hilbert Middle School, also helped out by bringing in their empties.
Transporting all those bottles to Bentley Field where they're being strung around the track surrounding the football field created another problem.
"At first, I thought about asking friends to pick them up in their trucks, but that would take too many trips, so I decided to rent a U-Haul," John said. "We also have to set up stations with drills, and another area where people can string the bottles together."
Additionally, John had to find two city officials, a videographer and a photographer.
Capt. Mark LaBerge, investigative division commander for the Livonia police department, was one of the officials.
"I've never been involved in a Guinness event before, but I think it's a great opportunity to help a young person accomplish their goal," he said. "It's for a good cause, and it's tough for kids to find someone to help them out."
Redford Township supervisor Tracey Schultz Kobylarz was the second witness to the event.
"This is an incredible event for someone from Redford to try to get into the Guinness Book of Records," she said. "I'll have to witness the entire process and then sign off and write a letter describing everything that happened."
Deborah Laidler now must send all the documentation to the Guinness folks, including edited video, photographs and the letters from the officials. She said she's not sure exactly how long it will take to find out if John makes it into the record book.
