♪♪
mike: So where are you getting all this nautical stuff at?
You're getting some cool stuff.
Robbie: I'm telling you, this guy I introduced you to him,
you know, a few years ago,
but you probably don't even remember.
His name's chip.
Yeah, they call him "the captain."
mike: He's like a total nautical aficionado.
Robbie: He looks, yeah.
The guy looks like a barnacle off the bottom of the ship, man,
I'm telling ya.
Mike: [laughs]
robbie: It- he plays the part.
Mike: Well, how old is the guy?
Robbie: I think he's like 68 years old.
Mike: Yeah?
Robbie: Every time I stop by his house,
he's got his shirt off, and he's freakin' doing curls with-
with anchors.
Mike: [laughs] that's really weird, man.
Robbie: You should see the guy's hands.
There's cuts, nicks all over him.
He's been shucking oysters since he was like, 6.
Mike: Wow.
Robbie: He's a crusty-looking dude,
but he's a book of knowledge.
Mike: Sounds like it.
So when am I going to meet this guy?
Robbie: You've already met this guy before.
This is him right here.
This is him.
Mike: [laughs] robbie: That's him!
Mike: Why has he got his shirt off?
Robbie: Man, if you look like him when you were 70,
wouldn't you take your shirt off?
Mike: ...Yeah, I guess so.
Robbie: He looks like a badass!
Mike: Why is he um... Your screensaver?
Robbie: He's not my screensaver...
Mike: [laughs]
robbie: ...That picture comes up when he calls me. Geez!
♪♪
[phone rings]
mike: Dani d, what's up?
Robbie: What's up?
Danielle: Hey, so how's texas treating ya?
Mike: Everything big in texas, girl.
What you got going on?
Danielle: Alright. Well listen, I'm going to send you guys
to meet retro rick.
This guy has been collecting movie props,
like his entire life.
Mike: That sounds cool!
Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: That sounds really cool!
Danielle: Listen, this dude grew up on movie sets.
I mean, his mom was an actress and his dad was a photographer.
Robbie: Wow.
Danielle: But listen, he also collects coin-op stuff.
Mike: Nice!
Danielle: So this guy is so obsessed with coin-op and
specifically with jukeboxes, that he really wanted to own,
like one of those...
Neat old, super legit diners.
Robbie: Oh yeah, the- the aluminum ones.
Mike: Oh like the old-style diners?
Robbie: Yeah.
Danielle: Yes. So the dude buys a diner
and moves it to his town.
And get this, it's an actual operating diner.
Mike: Wow!
Robbie: That's some serious commitment right there.
Mike: I like him already. Alright, we're there.
Danielle: I'll send you the details.
Mike: Bye.
♪♪
mike: I wonder if this guy has ever been
to the chicago coin- op show.
If he's got that much coin-op, I bet he has.
Robbie: Look at that freakin' woodie right there.
[honks horn]
mike: Hey, he's cleaning up the garage for ya. Here get a flyer.
Ugh... Hey, you eric?
Eric: Hey, I am.
Mike: Nice to meet you, I'm mike.
Eric: Hey mike.
Mike: It's a beautiful place, man.
Eric: Well thank you, sir.
Mike: This is my brother, robbie.
Eric: Hey robbie.
Robbie: How're you doing? Nice to meet ya.
Eric: Yeah.
Mike: You talked to dani on the phone.
Eric: My name's eric.
I'm also known as retro rick.
I collect history, americana history.
Man cave items, jukeboxes, coin-op,
gas pumps, classic cars.
Mike: My brother was already geeking
out on your woodie, man.
Robbie: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Robbie: That thing's beautiful.
Mike: Now did you own it before you restored it
or did you buy it restored?
Eric: I traded for it restored.
Mike: Okay, that's the best way to do it, right?
Eric: Oh yeah. But then you always regret
what you traded. [laughs]
robbie: Yeah.
Mike: Ah yeah, you can't look back.
Look at this thing, robbie, this is killer.
This is so cool. Wow...
Robbie: It's only- it's a 2-door too.
Robbie: Not really my cup of tea 'cause it's a little too shiny,
but all the same, it's a woodie.
Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: So is this like your daily driver?
Eric: This is going to be the...
The diner advertising vehicle.
Mike: Oh yeah.
Dani was telling us you had an old diner.
Eric: Yeah.
Mike: What year is it?
Eric: Pre-war, early '40s.
Mike: Oh wow. Wow, did you have to do a lot of work to it?
Eric: The diner was a bit of a disaster when we got it.
I had to do some restoration on it.
It's basically all, you know, retrofitted and
back to normal and it's been operating as
hullabaloo diner for 15 years now.
Mike: Check these out.
I saw these right when we pulled up.
Are these from a local...?
Robbie: Spaceships.
Eric: Yeah, a carnival ride.
Well I'm doing a rocket right now with texas a&m students,
we're making it into a flight simulator.
It's a 1950s carnival rocket.
Mike: Really?
Eric: It's 8 feet wide and about 10 feet long.
Eric: I've worked for texas a&m university's
ocean discovery program.
And it's a research group.
And we have a drill ship, goes around the world,
drills core samples from the ocean floor.
Mike: What's this piece right here?
Eric: That is a mold used to make rocket rides.
You know, the kind of coin-operated machines
that are in front of grocery stores.
Mike: Oh yeah, yeah.
Robbie: Back in the day.
Eric: That was a ride that I grew up,
you know, when my mom took me to the grocery store,
you know, back in the day in the '60s.
Mike: Oh wow. Oh man!
Robbie: Wow.
Mike: Wow robbie, look at this!
Robbie: You know, we walk into eric's place.
There's movie props everywhere there.
Mike: Okay, tell me about this piece, this is insane.
Robbie: Wow.
Eric: I found this helmet.
And it's got a mgm studios, culver city,
california, which is where I grew up.
And I had to have it.
Mike: Oh wow. So you made this suit.
Eric: Yeah, I made everything from the helmet down.
This is a vietnam -era jet fuel suit.
Mike: And then this is the crown jewel. Boom.
Eric: That's right, that's what I'm displaying.
Mike: So looking at the dive suit,
you can see what eric is capable of in regards
to how he's going to display stuff.
He started with a helmet.
And then the suit he made and everything else around it,
he created, you know, or he positioned in a way that you
look at it and you're like, wow, this is really cool.
Robbie: What was this out of?
Eric: That's out of that rocket mold out front.
Yeah, and I added all the jewelry to it.
Mike: Yeah, all of this stuff is added.
Eric: Yeah. Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: You got a, I love your imagination, man.
Robbie: Look at that ray gun.
Mike: This thing, I love the, do you see the dash in it, robbie?
Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: So the deeper we get into this collection,
the more I realize how creative eric is.
Mike: You made the body?
Eric: I made the body.
Mike: When I see the creature from the black lagoon,
it blows my mind, because I'm looking at it
and I'm thinking that it's a movie prop.
It's that high quality.
Eric: It's my tribute to the mov- 1954
creature of the black lagoon.
Mike: Oh my god, I love that.
What'd you make the body out of?
Eric: You want to guess?
It's something you could buy at lowe's or home depot.
Mike: It's some sort of border, I don't know, what is it?
Eric: Rubber baseboard coving.
Mike: [laughs] really!
Eric: Yeah. Trims real good with a scissor
and paints up.
Mike: How did you get the bumps on it though?
Eric: Wife's hot glue gun.
Mike: I mean, it's legit.
Eric: Well thank you.
Eric: It's all art, and it's all craftsmanship.
I enjoy dabbling with my hands,
my dad taught me how to work with my hands.
Eric: Yeah, now I got into the props,
I got about 300 props and wardrobes in the building
and the reason I got into those is I kind of grew up in it.
My, both my parents were in the industry.
Eric: Growing up in los angeles, california,
specifically culver city, which was the home of mgm studios.
I used to play on the back lots of- of mgm.
My mother in the 1960s was an actress in
television and motion pictures.
Eric: My father was a photographer with
cbs for a period of time.
But that kind of gave me the, I don't know,
the interest in the industry.
The props and wardrobes aspect has always fascinated me.
Mike: Do you remember meeting anybody,
like or being on the set?
Eric: Oh absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, I went on location in gallup, new mexico
when they filmed a movie called hallelujah trail.
Mike: Okay.
Eric: So I met burt lancaster.
Mike & robbie: Oh wow.
Eric: Donald pleasance.
Mike: Wow.
Eric: Lee remick. I was 7 or 8, right in there.
Mike: No kidding!
Eric: Yeah it was filmed in '64 and released in '65.
Mike & robbie: Wow.
Eric: I was the only kid on the set,
and they- with my age, they just had a ball with me...
Mike: Oh I bet.
Eric: ...They put- put me up on the camera boom, and...
Mike: Yeah.
Eric: ...They put a black, the makeup artist
put a black eye on me.
Mike: Oh my gosh.
Mike: Eric's mother and father being in
the industry enabled him to be on set.
And when he was on set, he was around creative people.
You know, and that resonated with him the rest of his life.
It's directly connected to what he collects.
Eric: Yeah well, the reason I called you guys is...
I'm getting old and the wife is kind of wanting
me to whittle a little down...
You might say, so.
Mike: Yeah. Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: Is she into this stuff too?
Eric: She will not set foot in this building.
Robbie: [laughs]
eric: Yeah no actually, she said, she'd better die before
I do, 'cause she didn't want to deal with it, so.
Mike: No kidding!
Robbie: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah, she- she puts up with a lot.
And I am going to try to liquidate some of it.
Eric: I've got a lot of duplicate pieces,
especially in the movie area.
Eric: If you look right in there,
you'll see a pink, big pink fish.
Mike: Yeah, this fish, yeah?
Eric: This was used in back to the future I & ii.
This was in the enchantment under the sea dance at the gym.
There was two of them that flanked him while he played
"johnny b. Goode" on the stage, so.
Robbie: Oh on stage.
Mike: Now where did you get this at?
Eric: Ah, another picker.
Robbie: Really.
Mike: I mean, so are- are you dealing with guys
that specifically deal in movie props?
Eric: Yes.
Yes, I've got- I've got people that'll let me
know when things are available.
Eric: So much of this stuff over the years has been destroyed.
In the early days, when a film wrapped up,
they looked at it as junk, got tossed.
Eric: It's hollywood history, yeah.
Mike: Yeah.
Eric: And I don't care if it was in a blockbuster
or in some podunk cult film.
Mike: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Eric: If someone took the time to make the film and
spend the money, I think it's got value, you know.
It's part of american history.
Mike: What would something like this realize?
Eric: At least 5k.
Mike: Okay. To a huge back to the future
nut that's like, I got to have it.
Eric: Oh and they're out there.
Mike: What's this sign behind you here,
did somebody make that or what's the deal with that?
Eric: Uh... That's another prop.
Robbie: Prop.
Eric: That's from a tv series called nurse jackie.
Eric: So nurse jackie was a television show on showtime.
Ran from 2009 to 2015.
Robbie: Look at the colors.
Mike: I know. No I love that, I love owls.
I'm a freak for owls.
Eric: It's a fake sign, it's made out of wood, not metal.
But it's painted to look aged.
Eric: It's a neon sign, and unfortunately,
I knocked it over one day and busted off 90% of the neon.
Here's what I broke. [chuckles]
mike: Okay, wow yeah, you did...
Robbie: No, that's not what,
yeah you're better off just making new.
Mike: Wow.
Eric: Yeah I know.
I keep that around to remind myself to be careful.
Mike: It's got everything going on, except it's not old.
But the thing is, if I put neon on this,
this is going to be a neon sign that somebody can enjoy,
that's not a ton of money.
Mike: Where did you get this at?
Eric: That came out of a prop house.
I think in el segundo, california.
Mike: It's cool, man, I like it.
I love the subject matter.
Mike: Neon is extremely hot and it's extremely expensive,
and it's directly connected to the subject matter.
Now this is a piece of plywood that's been painted,
it's a great backdrop, it's a great skin for a neon,
but it's not old.
Mike: What do you want for it?
Eric: Hooh...
I'd have to have 1,000 for that.
Mike: So what would it take, robbie,
you think to fix the neon?
Robbie: It's 3 colors, it's simple.
Transformers are there, so probably 600 bucks.
Mike: Okay. 700 bucks.
Eric: Hooh... Um...
Yeah I could, I can go 900 on it.
Mike: Man, it's amazing what people will pay for paint-
painted plywood, isn't it? [chuckles]
eric: Alright, when you put it like that,
I'll... Take it for 850.
How about that?
Mike: Alright, 850.
Eric: Alright. Mike: Alright. I love it.
Mike: And the fact that it's from a television show,
that's even better.
♪♪
mike: You got a lot of metropolitans.
Eric: Yeah.
Mike: What's your connection with these?
Eric: Eh, it's just the car that's so
cute it's ugly, or ugly it's cute.
Mike: [laughs]
eric: Now this guy's from 300.
Mike: Oh yeah.
Eric: Yeah, immortals.
Mike: How about this jukebox over here?
Eric: Yeah, that one's not for sale.
Eric: Pop culture, something everyone relates to,
is always a big factor.
You know, if you've got a collection that people
can identify with, that's always fun, you know.
Eric: Those are from dwayne johnson,
the rock, you know, the rock dwayne johnson.
Mike: Yeah.
Eric: He was in a movie called hercules.
And those are from hercules.
Robbie: Narnia.
Eric: Yeah, it was made by-
robbie: God, I love that movie.
This is so cool.
Eric: Peter jackson's weta studios made these.
I got 3 of them there, all one-of-a-kind.
Eric: They're built on metal armatures, and very detailed.
You can imagine the labor and materials
that went into each one.
Those will not probably leave the collection.
Eric: Yeah, it's one of the things I'd love to have in the
house, but the wife just draws the line at all the other stuff.
Robbie: She says no frozen dudes?
Eric: No.
♪♪
eric: [laughs]
mike: Did you see this woodie, robbie? Whoa...
Robbie: Wow.
Eric: What's cool about this car is,
according to the president of the national woodie club,
there's only 4 known to exist.
This is the fourth one.
Robbie: This is- this is, it's an oldsmobile.
Eric: 1946. Robbie: Yeah.
Eric: And during that year, general motors had a plant
strike, shut it down.
Only 400 of them made it out the door.
Robbie: Wow.
Mike: Every collector has that one piece,
that prized possession that takes their
collection to the next level.
This woodie is that piece for him.
Robbie: Man it's amazing.
So this isn't for sale, or it is?
Eric: Well, not for sale.
Mike: What year is the coin-op with the horse there?
Eric: Uh, that's a valley champion, 1950.
What's cool about that-
mike: Does that work?
Eric: Yeah, it used to be in my kids' rooms
when they were little.
Mike: Really!
Eric: Yeah, they're grown now.
Yeah, what's cool about that piece is it's got the rein
control on it, where you pull back on the rein,
it slowed it down, when you let loose it sped up.
Chicago cranked out a lot of these coin-operated machines.
Robbie: Yeah.
Eric: Originally it said "ride the champion. 10 cents."
mike: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: So with all this stuff that you have with the cars and
the rides and everything, have you been approached by
people that do, you know, prop rental from you?
Eric: Yeah, I just never got into it. Um...
With the movie wardrobes, I'd like to open up an exhibit when
I retire, that's free to the general public.
But then file everybody through the gift shop on the way out.
Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: Yeah, there you go.
Eric: So the- the t-shirts and the caps and the posters...
Mike: Keychains, coffee mugs, bumper stickers.
Eric: Yeah, yeah.
Mike: Eric's plan for his collection is the long game.
It's not about right now.
Right now, he's collecting, he's categorizing,
he's preserving, and he's building his
collection for the future.
When he retires, eric wants to take all of the clothing,
all of the props, and curate it in a museum setting,
so he can enjoy it, and others can enjoy it.
Mike: This. Longest yards, '74. Oh yeah, man...
Eric: Oh yeah. That goes back. [laughs]
mike: I know, man. I love that movie.
Eric: That may be one of my oldest pieces.
Mike: Burt reynolds. Eric: Yeah.
Mike: Movies, music, tv shows, there are certain things that
you saw that you experienced when you were younger,
that never leave you.
That was the longest yard for me, man.
Prison, football, burt reynolds.
1974, I was 10 years old, I remember this movie.
Mike: Okay, so how many's in here?
Eric: That's just one.
Mike: Is it just one?
Eric: Yeah, it's just the whole outfit.
Mike: Okay yeah, so it does have the pants with it.
Eric: Yep.
Mike: Alright, it might even fit me. [laughs]
eric: [laughs] you planning on wearing that?
Mike: Yeah...
Mike: Here I am, holding one of the uniforms.
And I'm blown away by it.
So I'm thinking this is burt reynolds', you know, uniform.
Mike: What- what is this worth, I mean,
you- you must know the value.
Eric: What's the number on there?
Mike: 64562.
Eric: No, burt reynolds wore 61394.
Mike: Oh really? Eric: Yeah.
Mike: Alright, so burt reynolds didn't wear it.
Eric: No.
Mike: He knew the number down to the science,
because he's a prop guy, he's a wardrobe guy.
He knows exactly what he has.
It's like, me looking at a 1910 harley and telling you
whether or not it's got the right cylinder.
Mike: So what's a burt reynolds one worth?
Eric: Uh... Around 650.
Mike: Okay, so if burt reynolds didn't wear this one,
what do you think this one's worth?
Eric: I don't know, I'm not real motivated to sell it,
but if I was going to sell it, I- it'd probably in the,
I don't know 450.
Mike: Yeah.
Mike: Once he said this wasn't burt reynolds,
it just kind of took the wind out of my sails.
Mike: Oh this is kind of cool.
Eric: That's the problem,
I need to alphabetize these damn things.
Mike: Yeah.
What about golden girls, you got any of that?
Eric: No, no golden girls. I wish.
Mike: [chuckles]
eric: God bless betty white, that's all I can say.
Mike: He's smart in what he's collecting,
is still part of the current culture.
So when he does this museum in the next
few years when he retires, all of this will
still be relevant in the next 10 years.
I hope that this dream can come true for him.
Eric: This one, seth rogan wore in the green hornet.
Check out those shoes.
Mike: Oh yeah.
Okay, so these are pierre hardy's shoes.
So these can be big money, I mean,
if they're just like a one-off.
Robbie: Man, I freakin' loved him as a kid...
I loved it.
Mike: You were a green hornet, when we were
kids he collected all green hornet comic books.
Robbie: Growing up as a kid, I was a huge comic book nerd.
And green hornet was my comic.
I loved it.
Robbie: Ugh...
Mike: Rip it, don't rip it!
There you go.
Robbie: I think I could wear this whole thing.
Eric: I hear ya.
Robbie: This is... I mean...
You got to have it.
Eric: [laughs]
robbie: And I look good in white.
Eric: Well...
Robbie: Hit me with a number.
Eric: Oh the shoes got to be worth at least 500. 600.
Robbie: 450.
Eric: Nooo... [chuckles] no.
I'll tell you what, I'll go 550 on it.
Just 'cause you look so damn good in that coat.
Mike: [laughs] you do look good in that, robbie.
Robbie: 500. Make the deal.
Eric: Ho... Did he teach you all this?
Robbie: No. Mike: No.
Eric: 500. Robbie: 500.
Eric: Alright, 500.
Mike: Alright, there you go.
♪♪
mike: I haven't seen one of these in a while.
Eric: Alright.
Mike: This is good stuff.
Eric: I think I got it.
Mike: There it is! [laughing]
eric: Is that freaky or what?
Mike: But I think that's why people love it,
is just because it's so bizarre.
So what do you value this at?
Eric: I've seen them go for about 4,500,
believe it or not.
Mike: Really! Eric: Yep.
Mike: Well what do you want for this one then?
Eric: It's not for sale.
It's too freaky to sell. [laughs]
mike: It's all happening in this little box.
♪♪
eric: That's a 1940s, 48-incher.
Robbie: I know. They make great sleds.
Eric: [laughs] sleds.
Robbie: And they spin you around as you're going down the snow.
Eric: That's a 2-man button.
Robbie: Yeah.
I think it's a porcelain one, looks like it.
Eric: Yeah it is, that is porcelain.
Robbie: 850. Alright.
Eric: Alright. Robbie: Thanks.
Eric: Guys, I got some stuff I want to show you in this place.
Mike: Oh wow... Robbie: Wow.
Mike: ...This is a different vibe.
Eric: Yeah, this is my diner-home-away-from-home.
Mike: We walk into the next room, and it's legit.
I mean, you feel like you're in a diner.
You know, he really nailed it.
Robbie: So wait a second, you own a diner,
but then you come home to the diner.
Eric: That's basically the idea, yes.
Eric: This is my game room.
I've got a lot of my nicer pieces in this room.
Mike: So is this restored? This was restored.
Eric: Yeah, you're looking at a...
A rebuilt band box on a custom base.
Mike: The band box was made from 1950 to 1952,
by chicago coin.
The ones that we bought before were pretty wore out,
and the figures themselves are rubber,
and that stuff gets hard and it starts to break.
It's really hard to find one of these in really good condition.
Mike: So do they reproduce everything for this piece?
Eric: They do.
A gentleman has bought the rights to
the chicago coin band box,
and he makes everything factory, for these things.
Mike: Really.
Eric: You can buy one of those done.
Mike: How much are those?
Eric: They- they run about... 6 grand.
Mike: Really? Eric: Yeah
mike: Fire it up, man.
Eric: Alright, I'll crank this baby up.
Mike: Originally this piece was meant to hang on the wall,
away from the jukebox.
So you had the stereophonic sound going on.
Mike: Oh yeah... Check out the drummer. [laughs]
robbie: I know, he's just bouncing away.
Mike: This thing was like a party in a box.
It was theatrical, it was robotic,
it was animated, it was entertaining.
Mike: I like the stand-up bass player.
Mike: When you put a coin in the jukebox,
all of a sudden, you had the front row seat to the band.
Mike: Alright.
How about any of your jukeboxes, do any of your jukeboxes work?
Mike: All of the jukeboxes are incredible.
Mike: So are any of these for sale,
like is this one for sale?
Eric: No, those at this time are part of a collection.
Eric: In the game room is where I primarily display some
of the best coin-op, jukeboxes, props.
Eric: This one's '41, that one's '49.
Mike: Okay.
Eric: These are not for sale because you won't
want to pay what I want for them. [laughs]
mike: I got to ask about this, man. This is real?
Eric: Yeah, absolutely.
Mike: You didn't make this?
Eric: No.
Mike: "receive your fortune below."
so this is all original paint.
Eric: Yeah.
Mike: And it was made in the '50s?
Eric: Yeah, late '50s. This is serial number 4.
And I haven't seen any others.
Mike: So what's the value of something like this?
Eric: Probably at 10,000.
Mike: So as far as coin-op goes, this is one of the holy grails.
It was colorful, it was breathtaking.
Mike: How much for the model 44, what are you thinking on that?
Eric: Oh the vendo? Yeah, it's for sale.
Mike: Ooh...
Eric: It works. And it's complete,
and it's about as nice original as you can find.
Mike: It works.
Mike: The original paint, model 44 coke machine,
upright, doesn't take up a lot of space,
incredible machine, very rare. 10, 15 years ago,
that was the biggest heavy-hitter machine
that you could find.
Mike: What do you got on this one?
Eric: Uh, I'd have to be at 3,950 on it, just under 4,000.
Mike: Eric's price on the model 44 wasn't bad.
I can't pay that.
Mike: 3,000 bucks.
Eric: Ohh... I'd have to look at my books,
but I think I can go 3,800.
Mike: Yeah. [sighs]
I think you're going to sell it for that,
to be honest with you.
I think you're going to get the 3,950.
That's where I needed to be to make something...
Eric: Yeah, yeah.
I know there's no room for you, yeah sure.
Mike: ...And messing around, moving it,
moving it around and stuff.
Mike: I got to make a little bit on it,
and- but he realizes how hard they are to find,
especially in that condition.
So he's willing to wait and get the back end of it.
Mike: 1, 2, 3...
Eric: Mike and robbie didn't buy a whole lot
while they were here, 3 items.
Yeah it's okay.
But you know what, I love showing
my stuff to people, you know.
So that made it all worthwhile.
Mike: Hey, we tried. [laughs]
I tried to buy more.
Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: Hey, thank you man, appreciate ya.
Eric: Alright, you bet.
Mike: Eric is a jukebox guy, he's a coin-op guy,
he's a diner guy, he's a preservationist.
And soon to be the curator of his own museum.
[honks horn]
robbie: See you at the coin- op, buddy!
Eric: Bye-bye!
Robbie: Thank you!
Eric: Safe travels.
♪♪
mike: Dude, this town is cool. Old rip.
Let's go around the square one time.
Robbie: Hey listen, we got about 10 minutes.
Mike: Just let me look around, you know how
I love this kind of stuff.
Wait, go that way.
Robbie: Whoa...
Mike: Wait yeah wait, wait stop. Alright.
Go this way.
Robbie: Look at that.
Mike: Go this way.
Look at that little place up lyric...
Stop right here.
Robbie: Alright, hold on, hold on,
hold on, hold on...
Mike: Is there anybody behind you?
Alright, I want to take a picture of this place.
Robbie: We're in the middle of the road!
Mike: I'm going to take a picture.
Mike: When I roll into any small town,
the first place I want to go is the main street.
The businesses, the architecture,
the old buildings.
They all connect you to the original vision
of the community.
Mike: You see this place on the left...
Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: ...The majestic?
We're going to get that next.
Robbie: Dude.
We got about 7 minutes, come on.
Mike: Today dani's sending us to eastland,
texas, to meet terry, the curator of
the local history history museum. They've decided-
robbie: Let's go!
Mike: ...To sell off items that aren't directly connected
to the town's history in order
to maintain the building they're in.
Robbie: Look at this old gas station!
Mike: That is pretty cool.
Robbie: Now that I like.
Mike: See, now you're getting it.
Robbie: Yeah. We got about 6 minutes.
Mike: See that one's like 1930s, like it's got that parapet wall
in the front and real prominent columns
on the side. Imagine the storefront on this building.
Look at the brick work on that.
Robbie: Oh, look at the brick work on it.
Mike: Okay, look at that, that's the old jail.
Oh it's a museum now.
Pretty gothic, huh.
I get jacked up on all this stuff, man.
Robbie: We're almost late because of you.
Mike: I know, but you just said the word "almost."
you know what I want to know, what's this old rip?
Robbie: I noticed that on a couple of buildings.
Mike: Looks like an armadillo or something.
Robbie: It's on that building over there too. Old rip.
Mike: Here pull up here.
Here it is, right here.
Robbie: Right here.
Look at that gigantic building.
Mike: Look at the size of that.
Robbie: Look at it.
Mike: Dude, that is huge.
Robbie: 4 floors, 5 floors?
Mike: 5 floors, my god. Get a flyer.
Mike: Alright.
Mike: The inspiration for a lot of these small town
museums starts with individuals that have passion and pride.
Mike: Hey-hey.
Robbie: Whoa...
Mike: Hello.
Mike: It's people that want to move that narrative forward
and preserve their community's story.
Terry: Hello.
Robbie: You terry?
Terry: Yes.
Mike: Hey, I'm mike.
Terry: Hey mike, nice to meet you.
Mike: My brother, robbie.
You talked to dani on the phone.
Terry: Yeah absolutely.
Robbie: Good to see ya.
Mike: Hey, here's a flyer of ours.
Terry: We're excited to have you here to look at what we have...
Mike: Yeah, what's got, what's do you got going on here?
Terry: It- it's a county museum that's been in
operation for about 10 years.
The previous director was a collector
to the point of being a hoarder.
Mike: Okay. [laughs] alright.
Robbie: Yeah.
Terry: And this was- this was kind of his storage building.
The reason we're wanting to sell things is because
we have multiples of a lot of things.
We have items that have no relevance to the county
or the history or to the museum.
Mike: Okay.
Terry: The eastland county museum started in about 1995.
We basically took possession of the building in 2012.
We're a non-profit, it's all volunteer-run.
This area grew up with cotton, and then it went to oil.
In 1917, oil was struck in ranger.
In about 3 months, ranger went from 700 people
to about 50,000 people.
Mike: [chuckles] really.
Robbie: Wow. In 1917.
Terry: In just a few months. In '17, yes.
Mike: Wow. Robbie: Wow, wow.
Terry: And so we had a big boom.
That's how all the buildings you see around the square,
this building...
Mike: Yeah. Robbie: Yeah.
Terry: ...Was all built on that kind of money.
Mike: Yeah. Robbie: Wow.
Terry: You know, this building was started in 1919.
Mike: And this was a bank, I saw the sign when I came in here.
Terry: This was a bank.
Mike: What were the other floors being utilized for?
Terry: Offices. Oil men would have had offices.
Robbie: Yeah. Mike: Yeah.
Terry: Lots of lawyers, when you got oil.
Terry: We have a little rental income off of the third floor,
we have office space for rent.
But all of our other funding is through donations,
grants, special events, things like that.
Mike: So I mean, obviously texas,
oil, you guys have a lot of gas and oil stuff?
Terry: Uh... A gas pump globe.
Mike: Okay where is that... At?
Robbie: Is that local to this area?
Terry: Um, I'm not really for sure,
but it was donated by a local family.
Robbie: Okay. Terry: So...
Mike: Is that out here on display?
Terry: No, it's over here in the office,
because it's cracked and we don't have it on display
'cause we don't want it to get broken anymore.
But I can bring it out-
mike: Okay, can- can we... Yeah absolutely.
Robbie: Let's see it.
♪♪
terry: It's in the office because it's cracked
and we don't have it on display 'cause we don't
want it to get broken anymore.
Mike: Oh no you got...
Robbie: There it is.
Mike: There you go.
Robbie: Arab. Arab aviation.
Mike: Have you seen that one before?
Robbie: I've never seen it.
Mike: Where's it broke at?
Terry: On top.
Robbie: It's the globe that's broke.
Mike: Oh okay.
Robbie: The globe.
The lens isn't broke.
Terry: No, no.
Robbie: That's the most important piece.
Mike: Do you have the other lens for it?
Terry: Supposedly it's in the building,
but I have never seen it.
Mike: Okay.
Robbie: Arab aviation.
Too many independents back then,
but just to have aviation in general with the big a.
Terry: Right.
Robbie: It's kind of cool.
Robbie: I've been collecting gas and oil for over 35 years.
Any time you can put "aviation" on a globe,
and the word "texas", it means the number's going up.
Robbie: Is this something you'd sell?
Terry: Uh sure, I have no idea what it would be worth, but...
Robbie: I've never seen it before.
If you don't mind, can I take a picture of it?
I got a guy that I deal with, that-
that would know more about it.
Terry: Sure.
Mike: Yeah, I mean, we want to be able to give
you as much as we can for stuff, because I feel
like it's going to a great cause.
Terry: Sure absolutely.
Mike: You know, I- I really believe in a lot
of these small town museums.
You know, this is hands -on history for kids
when they come in here.
Mike: Gas and oil collectibles, or what we call "petroliana,"
has been hot for a very long time.
So imagine all of these years, people that collect this stuff,
been on the back roads, shaking the bushes,
trying to find anything related to it.
You would think that by now, all of it had been found.
Robbie: It'll take a little while for this guy
to get back to me.
What else you got to...
Mike: Oh wait, I- okay, look it, there it is again.
What's old rip?
'cause we see it on the buildings around town.
Terry: You'll see the original old rip in
a casket in front of the courthouse over there.
Mike: What is it?
Terry: That is an interesting story.
In 1897, eastland county built a new courthouse.
Terry: They put a bible, a bottle of whiskey,
some newspapers and some other stuff in the cornerstone.
And a kid was playing with a horned frog...
Mike: Uh-huh.
Terry: And his dad took the horned frog
and dropped it in the cornerstone.
31 years later, when they opened up the cornerstone
to build a new courthouse.
Mike: Yeah.
Terry: Old rip was still alive.
Mike: He was still live.
Terry: Still alive.
Terry: Gentleman reached in, and pulls something up,
and it was a flat horned frog, dusty,
looked like he was a carcass basically.
And as everybody was looking, it took a breath.
Mike: [laughs] robbie: Okay. So...
Terry: And he became...
Mike: So this is way better than groundhog day.
Terry: Yeah absolutely.
Mike: This guy was in there 31 years.
Terry: He became famous and named old rip
after rip van winkle.
He went to washington d.C.
To see the president, traveled around the country.
Somebody took him home for the weekend and a norther blew in.
And they left him sitting in the window,
and he caught pneumonia and died.
And so the local undertaker embalmed him,
had this casket specially made,
and he's now on display at the county courthouse.
Terry: And this was the picture of him in
his casket at one time.
Here's a...
Robbie: What?
Mike: Oh wow, that's a nice casket.
Robbie: Wow.
Mike: So whatever you want to call it,
local folklore, local history.
Bottom line - old rip is a huge part of this town's history.
Mike: Can we look around a little bit?
Terry: Sure.
Mike: Did you send those pictures off?
Robbie: I did.
Terry: Pretty much anything within reason would be for sale.
Mike: Okay.
Terry: There's a few items on the carpeted area over here
that wouldn't be for sale because it all came
from eastland or eastland county.
Mike: Yeah, yeah.
Mike: A small town museum is just like
any other small business.
There's challenges and hurdles just to keep the doors open.
Mike: Over the years, we have bought stuff from a lot of these
museums, that faced the same challenges.
Mike: Alright, so you got some medical stuff here.
This is medical stuff.
Mike: The director of any small town museum
and its volunteers have to wear a lot of different hats.
Anything from inventorying pieces that come in,
to doing the research.
But to me, the most important thing is the displays.
Mike: Yeah, you got a lot of medical stuff in here.
Mike: Because that's what's keeping people
interested in the story.
So the displays have to be on point.
Terry: This is all optometry stuff.
Terry: The medical items came from a medical museum in ranger.
Mike: Man, you guys do have a lot of lenses.
Mike: Unfortunately, a lot of these small town museums close.
And then the stuff is sent to another small town museum.
And they're kind of just trying to find their way of like,
how can we represent this, but also stay on
point with what our message is.
Mike: This is kind of cool.
Yeah, look at that.
No way.
Robbie: Wonders if that magnifies out, let's see here.
Mike: Is that like early bifocals?
Terry: [laughs] yeah.
Robbie: Actually, it does magnify it out.
Mike: Well yeah, look at what you got on your face!
Terry: [laughs] robbie: Yeah.
Mike: Look at you, man.
You look like dustin hoffman from papillon.
Robbie: These things are cool.
Mike: So terry is showing us all of this medical stuff and
he says, "a lot of this is for sale,
because we have an abundance of it."
terry: Looks like something a jeweler would wear.
Robbie: 100 bucks for the pair.
Terry: That works for me.
Robbie: Okay.
Mike: Here's a piece of vertebrae.
That's interesting...
It's on an iron pedestal.
I don't know, 20 bucks.
Terry: That works.
Mike: [chuckles] alright. Terry: [laughs]
♪♪
terry: This piece gets the most questions by school kids.
Mike: Oh I know what this is.
Robbie: Yeah. Terry: Yeah.
Mike: This is for chicken feathers.
Terry: Chicken plucker.
Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: Yeah, I used to use one of these.
We worked at a, a butcher shop in chicago.
And they boiled the chicken first...
Terry: Right. Robbie: Yep.
Mike: Because they wanted the pores to open up.
And then they go... Bblllrrtt...
They knock all the feathers off.
Terry: Yep.
Robbie: Yeah, feathers off.
Terry: The number one question the little kids ask,
when we tell them what it was for...
Robbie: Yeah.
Terry: Were the chickens dead?
Mike: [laughs] robbie: Heh.
Mike: They were when we were dealing with them.
Robbie: They were, yeah.
Terry: They were, they were...
Mike: I don't know in texas here.
Mike: Keep your eye open, robbie, for that panel.
Robbie: Wow.
Terry: There's stuff here, there's stuff everywhere.
Robbie: The basement has basically become
the catch- all for the whole city.
Mike: Man, you guys got some square footage down here.
Terry: Watch out for all the junky books.
They used to have a book sale here for money.
Robbie: Someone dies, they think it's worth something,
it goes to the museum, where does it go?
Into the basement.
Terry: Right.
Mike: That's a cool thing.
Put shelving in it or something.
Terry: Yeah.
Mike: What are all the leather bound ledgers,
what are those?
Terry: Those are all from a title company.
'course all that's on digital now, so...
Mike: So these are canvas?
Those are neat.
Mike: A lot of these leather books and ledgers are
being sought after by decorators and designers.
Mike: It's not about the documentation,
it's more about the appearance of...
Robbie: ... Of that.
Mike: ...This side of it.
Terry: Right.
Mike: People are using these to decorate,
and they're stacking them so they'd use this big base,
they'd go smaller, smaller, smaller...
Top, and then they put something on top.
Mike: These have become so popular,
that they're actually starting to reproduce them.
And what they're reproducing basically is a leather bound
book, with that killer edge, nothing on the pages.
Mike: I'm interested in, in more than one of these,
I can tell you that right now for sure, you know.
Robbie: Hey, it's that guy, mike.
Mike: Alright, that's the guy that...
Robbie: Ed.
Mike: ...He sent pictures to for the globe.
Ed (on phone): Hey robbie.
I got those pictures that you sent.
Robbie: Yeah?
Ed (on phone): It's a pretty interesting lens
you got on that globe.
I've not seen that one before, I've not even
heard of the company.
I really like the fact that that's an aviation globe,
you know, it makes it worth quite a bit more.
Robbie: I've known ed for about 5 years now.
He's the biggest gas globe guy in the country.
For him to tell me that he's never seen this globe,
that knocks the rarity level to top 10.
Ed (on phone): How many lenses have you got there,
is it just the one lens?
Robbie: Just the one lens on a cracked body.
Ed (on phone): One lens.
I would say about $3,500 for that one lens.
It'd be nice if you could find the second lens,
but if so, I would say, I'll shoot for complete,
I'd give 8,000 for that, probably.
Robbie: Okay.
Ed (on phone): In good shape too.
Robbie: Correct.
Ed (on phone): We'll cross for that.
Robbie: Alright.
Sounds good, buddy, I'll be talking to you soon.
Ed (on phone): Alright.
Robbie: What really is going to make this globe
valuable is if we can find the other lens.
That's 2 sides.
You complete the puzzle.
Terry: I think these look like that,
and then they were recovered at some point.
Mike: You think so?
I got to be delicate.
Oh yeah, I see the words.
Terry: See?
Mike: This canvas is a really elaborate way
to preserve these books.
Because these books were being used over and over again,
pulled off the shelf, opened up.
You know, the binding's were getting bad.
And in order for them to keep them together,
this canvas is wrapped super tight.
Mike: Yeah. Terry: Yeah.
Mike: See it is, you're right.
Terry: Yeah, yeah.
Mike: Their preservation efforts back in the day,
made these more interesting,
and different, which is awesome.
Terry: Some of these books started in about 1880.
Mike: This one is roached.
Alright, there's another one. Oh yeah...
Alright, here's what I'm thinking.
I found that pile there...
Terry: Okay.
Mike: ...That one, and I already had these. So...
I'm thinking we should do 500?
And then I- then I'm interested in this.
Terry: So how about... 550 including the rack?
Mike: Alright, I'm going to do that, because...
I need the rack, man.
That'll save my back, let me tell ya.
Alright, we're doing it.
♪♪
mike: Terry! Terry: Yes.
Mike: Look at that. That's old.
It's got some age to it, look at the frame on that.
Mike: You know, this is a perfect example of
everything back in the day having style,
class, and artistry.
This is an exit sign.
But it's stained glass, it's leaded, it's beautiful.
Mike: And then I found all this in like, one box.
This is boy scouts, look at that.
Terry: Oh cool. Yeah.
Mike: "be prepared."
this is the best piece.
Terry: Oh wow.
Mike: Yeah, that's a little zeppelin toy,
this was a pull toy, there would have been a string on that.
Terry: Yeah.
Mike: And they would pull that around.
Terry: Is that cast or is it...? Wow.
Mike: Yeah, I mean, it's basically new-old stock.
Here's one of the things I think is the coolest,
those are all charms.
Terry: Wow.
Mike: Yeah, there's elephants, horses, camels.
Terry: Right.
Mike: Here's just some spectacles.
Terry: Right.
Mike: I mean, this is the kind of stuff I can sell in my
shop for, you know, 5 bucks, 10 bucks.
Mike: All of these smalls are tiny moments from the past,
that someone thought enough of, to send them to the museum.
They may not connect with the story here,
but in my store, when someone picks them up,
they might connect with their story.
That's what's cool about them.
Mike: How about... For this stuff...
Like 120 bucks.
Terry: That's fine.
Mike: This is the money.
Terry: That works.
Mike: Oh, and this. Um... 40 bucks on this.
Terry: That'll work.
Mike: Okay.
Terry: That works.
Terry: So what did you find out on the phone?
Robbie: Here's the deal.
It's a great piece,
but if we find the other panel, it's like... Mega. So...
Terry: Alright. So get to looking.
Robbie: We're trying to find the needle in the haystack.
So we're going to have to do some due diligence and
actually dig through every one of these boxes.
Hopefully we can find the other lens.
♪♪
mike: There's a lot of stuff in this basement,
but not a lot of stuff that has value.
Mike: Little red riding hood right there.
Terry: We'd probably keep this.
Robbie: Okay.
♪♪
mike: Here... Look at that, that's cool!
"motion pictures machine operaters[sic] local union."
wow...
Mike: As soon as I see this sign,
I'm going all the way back to the golden age of hollywood.
And how the motion picture machine
operators were steering that ship.
This is really cool, awesome subject matter.
Mike: Here look at this, robbie.
Robbie: It's masonite, yeah.
Mike: It's masonite, yeah.
Okay, so I got the motion picture machine operators,
how many reels have we got over there,
the film reels?
Terry: 4, 4.
Mike: People use those in their tv rooms, you know...
Robbie: Yeah.
Mike: Movie rooms. Got 4 of those...
Terry: Yeah, yeah.
Mike: 200.
Terry: I think that'll work.
Mike: Ohh look at that, it's a crusty davy crockett coat.
Mike: Davy crockett was a soldier,
a folk hero, a politician.
Biggest of all, king of the wild frontier.
Mike: It's a little winter coat, look it's got the bear on it.
It's vinyl.
Mike: In the 1950s, davy crockett
became a television star.
Walt disney put out a television show and then all of a sudden,
there was all this merch, big coonskin caps, lunch boxes.
There was a lot of merch made.
That's what this jacket is.
It's a petrified davy crockett vinyl jacket.
Mike: Look at this. Oh yeah.
Is this the local team?
Terry: No. No idea where that came from.
Mike: Alright, how about the jersey and the crusty coat...
40 bucks.
Terry: Sure.
♪♪
mike: The basement of this place is an accumulation of a lot
of different families with nowhere else to go with
some of this stuff, so it ended up here.
They've got everything from, you know,
broken popeye statues to empty scrapbooks,
to mickey mouse comics, you know,
it's- it's all over the place.
Mike: Terry. Terry: Yes.
Mike: He was all wrapped in plastic.
Look it, his foot's gone, half of his neck's gone.
Terry: Wow.
Mike: His pipe is gone, look, look it...
Terry: A little popeye. Yeah.
Mike: He's still so cool.
Um... All of this, 70 bucks.
Terry: How about 85?
Mike: Alright, 85. Thank you,
my friend, I appreciate ya.
Terry: Okay, I'm going to leave you guys here for a little
bit to dig, and I'm going to run upstairs
and check on some things and I'll be back.
♪♪
mike: Danielle would love that, a box of dresses.
Robbie: Ha-ha- ha-ha! Hoo...
Robbie: My heart is pounding so fast when I uncovered that lens.
I'm just hoping that I don't break it.
I can't stand touching glass.
Robbie: I found it. I found it!
Mike: What shape's it in?
Robbie: It's not broke.
Mike: Where was it?
Robbie: It was underneath the books over here.
Mike: God dang, good job.
Robbie: Look at that.
Mike: Finding the lens, all of a sudden, is a game-changer.
Not just for us, but for the museum.
Mike: Here's what I think.
I don't think we need to be the middle man on this deal.
Robbie: I'm thinking the same thing.
Mike: Okay you are.
Robbie: Yeah, let ed, we'll just connect ed and him together.
Mike: Alright. Robbie: Yeah. Seriously.
Mike: Robbie and I already got our fix.
Finding something that we've never seen before,
especially petroliana, especially
transportation-related, because that's the
kind of stuff we love.
Mike: Woo! Guess what!?
Robbie: Terry.
Mike: Where are you at? Look!
Terry: Holy, holy crap, you found it!
Mike: I know! [laughs]
terry: I've been with the museum for, for 8 years.
And I don't remember ever seeing it.
Mike: Yeah...
Terry: It's pretty cool.
Mike: It's like cinderella gas globe.
Robbie: Yeah. Terry: Yep.
Mike: Fits perfectly.
Mike: This is another part of american gas and oil history.
Mike: Oh my gosh...
Robbie: You better hold onto it.
Mike: It does exist! Okay, you got it?
Robbie: Yeah I got it. Mike: Okay.
Robbie: Yeah. I hate glass.
Mike: The reason terry called us,
is because he's got to keep this museum going.
He's got to keep this building up.
These lenses can be an integral part of making that happen.
We don't need to be the middleman on this.
We just need to connect the dots.
That's the right thing to do.
Robbie: So I called my guy, ed, he lives here in texas.
He said if we could find the extra lens,
which we did, he said he would pay $8,000 for these 2 lenses.
Terry: Really.
Robbie: Yeah.
He's probably the biggest gas globe collector...
Terry: Serious? Robbie: Yes.
Terry: To find out that it was valued at $8,000 for the pair,
it was... Pretty surprising...
Um, or shocking, maybe even.
Robbie: But here's the kicker - mike and I talked about
it downstairs, it's not about us making money here, okay.
This is about you guys surviving in this economy that's going on.
Terry: Right, right.
Mike: We've bought enough stuff here to where
we feel like we can make some money.
This is something that we don't feel like we have to make any
money on, because this guy's in texas,
he's passionate about these.
Terry: Because it has a connection to a family here,
would there be a way to reproduce this,
so we would have one of these here at the museum,
to keep on display?
Mike: So we can have something like this reproduced,
we'll photograph it.
Robbie: Yep.
Mike: You know, and then there's a company that does that.
Robbie and I will take care of that.
Robbie: Yeah.
Terry: Okay.
Mike: And um, and then the other guy's
going to come here and pay...
Robbie: He's going to come here and pay.
Terry: I say let's go for it.
Mike: You want to do it?
Terry: I want to do it.
Robbie: Alright, awesome.
That's awesome.
Terry: Sounds great. That's great.
Mike: God bless texas, my friend.
Terry: Yeah.
Mike: Alright, let's load some stuff up.
Robbie: Let's load up.
Terry: I really appreciated what they did.
Mike talks about the museum in his hometown,
and he knows how museums struggle.
So for them to do that for us, just meant a lot to us.
Mike: Alright, this is the last of them!
Robbie: Yeah, there we go.
Mike: Small town museums preserve
more than just the items inside.
They are essential in cultivating pride for a
community, passing on local culture,
and sharing heritage.
Mike: Woo!
Robbie: Man, it's been a great day.
Mike: These museums need to be moved
into the future, and not left behind.
On the lenses, there was no decision to be made.
It was simply the right thing to do.
Mike: See you, buddy!
Terry: See ya! Mike: Awoo!
Mike: Man, you know what that place reminded me of?
Robbie: Buffalo bill museum.
Mike: Yeah, it reminded me of the little
museum we have in leclaire.
Didn't it remind you of that?
Robbie: Both small towns, small towns.
Mike: Exactly, exactly.
Mike: The only thing that I can't believe,
is that you found it, and not me!
Robbie: I learned from the best.
I learned from you.
Mike: I love you too.
Robbie: Love you too, man. Seriously.
Mike: Love you too.
Robbie: That was a good day, man.
Mike: I know. I feel good about that.
Robbie: Look at that sunset.
Mike: Alright.