Retired minister tears through phone books in record quest

BRANSON, Mo. -- A retired Southwest Missouri minister passed on blowing out candles Tuesday, marking his 67th birthday instead by ripping apart 70 telephone directories for what he believes will qualify for three world records.

With a crowd of about 100 onlookers at Branson Mall, E.J. Charon tackled the record for the most telephone directories torn in three minutes by a man. Charon then went on to create what he believes will be two new records: endurance and age.

"I'm glad you all came out and helped me celebrate my birthday," Charon told the rowdy crowd before going to work on the stack of 1,110-page phone books.

Charon -- who is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds -- wore leather gloves to protect his hands, and a weight lifting belt to support his back.

He methodically grabbed each directory from the stack on a table on the stage. With a firm grip from the top, he lowered the nearly 3-inch thick book to his knee for support and made the initial, vertical tear.

He grimaced as his razor-sharp hands split the book into two pieces. Within one minute, he had split 10 phone books.

The 12th one brought a loud grunt.

When the whistle sounded at the three-minute mark, Charon had ripped apart 19 books -- an apparent new record.

Guinness World Records lists the current title holder as 30-year-old James P. Newland, who ripped in half 12 Ameritech telephone directories (1,034 pages each) in three minutes on June 7, 2001, in Willoughby, Ohio.

Back to work

But it wasn't enough for the birthday boy. Charon wanted to set a record for endurance.

After a two-minute break, he went back to work.

One-by-one, Charon tore into the stack of phone directories with vengeance. His brother used paper towels to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The brother also massaged Charon's shoulders and fed him a mixture of Mountain Dew and powdered vitamins to keep up his strength.

His wife Betty quietly went to the stage and suggested he stop as he neared the 50-book mark. She later said she was worried because he had undergone a quadruple bypass in 1994.

But the crowd kept encouraging him with shouts of "Go E.J."

He did.

Finally, after 35 minutes, 45 seconds -- including 24 minutes in breaks -- Charon had finished off 70 books and laid claim to a new record for endurance. Charon also believed he set a third record for being the oldest man to complete such a task.

A grand finale

But Charon still wasn't done.

For his grand finale and to simply wow the crowd, Charon split a 1,498-page Kansas City area phone book.

Charon's hair was soaked with sweat as he proudly put on his white hat declaring himself "King of Phone Book Ripping."

"I just can't believe it," said 60-year-old Jimmy Phillips. "He doesn't look like he's nearly that strong."

Phillips, who was visiting from Kentucky, admitted he would probably try it when he got back to his motel.

Charon said it doesn't hurt that he has large hands -- he wears a size 16 1/2 ring. But he credits his Christian lifestyle for his success.

"My biggest influence was religion -- clean living, being Christian centered and making a commitment to be energized," said Charon.

, who moved to the Ozarks after retiring in 1993 as pastor of Umpqua Trinity Fellowship in Roseburg, Ore.

The publishers of Guinness World Records, based in London, don't supervise such record attempts. But Charon followed their guidelines for making his record authentic. He planned to send them photos and videotape as evidence of his feat.

In keeping with the guidelines, Charon hand-picked a group of witnesses to oversee the challenge. They included Branson's mayor and fire chief, as well as Charon's doctor and minister.

"I'm happy for him," said son William Charon, 48. "He's a very strong individual. It's a good hobby for him."

Charon had been preparing for Tuesday's event since he first saw a man shred a telephone directory on television in May 2000. Charon even trained by ripping apart five to 40 books a day at his home in nearby Walnut Shade.

After Tuesday's event, Charon estimated he had split more than 3,600 phone books in 23 months.

His ripping days are far from over, though. Only now he will do it for school children and civic groups for entertainment.

Meanwhile, Newland has said he likely will challenge Charon's three minute record.