DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — As a special tradition, an Ohio family has been passing down the same customized license plate since at least 1936.

According to Barberton resident Ryan Wilzoch, when specialized license plates were first introduced in Ohio, his great grandfather went to the DMV and requested to have the lowest number, which happened to be 7.

Ryan’s great grandfather also asked for the letters MV, which stood for McVay, Ryan’s mother’s maiden name, which created the 7 MV combination. Little did he know, this license plate would result in a family tradition spanning over eighty years.

When Ryan’s great grandfather passed away in 1963, the plates were then passed down to Ryan’s great uncle.

“My Great Uncle Bob, my great grandfather’s oldest son, was gifted the plates, and when Bob passed, my grandpa was next in line to sport 7 MV,” Ryan said.

In June 2019, Ryan’s grandpa suffered from a stroke that affected his speech, vision and mobility.

“Just before my grandpa passed, he requested one thing: That we keep the tradition of passing the plate on to another family member. I was lucky enough to be gifted the plates for years to come.”

Ryan said his grandfather believed that the plates may be the longest running ones in Ohio.

Pam Wilzoch, Ryan’s mother, thanked her son, expressing how proud she is that he is carrying on the tradition. She added that in just a few years, the special license plate will have continued to grace a family member’s vehicle for 100 years.

“When you see a vanity plate, you may laugh along with it, scratch your head at what it means, or you may just think, ‘Well that’s a dumb plate!’. To 99% of drivers, these three characters, 7 MV, don’t mean anything,” Ryan said. “But to me, they mean everything.”

Additional information about specialty plates in the state of Ohio can be found at the Bureau of Motor Vehicle’s website.