It's still a cool collection, but it lost some of it's uniqueness when Harold and his wife passed, they were both class acts. Back when it the collection was only shown one weekend a year and you got invited to their house, the school, etc it was really a cool experience. Briefly did some volunteer work a few years before Harold passed. Harold once said something to the effect he had only sold 3 cars in his life and he bought back 2 of them.
As cool as the collection is, the parts barns were really something to behold!
So, what did he do to afford this massive collection. Do you know?
Always wonder how some amass enough simoleans to buy up so, so many car and trucks? Am also amazed how many pass away and the kids have near zero knowledge of what they inherited, let alone how to dispose of it. Sadly, with parts in particular, often a dumpster is the end of valuable castings and more as nothing is cataloged.
A great pal passed some years ago and I did partially go through his all GM parts with his widow. Tagged the best stuff. Best advice was to have her beg his old GM car buds to help sell it all off. By George, they did and she left it to them to sell it all off and they left her with a large pile of hard cash.
He owned a garbage company (LeMay enterprises), which is still in operation to this day around the Pierce County area in Washington. From what I gather in the early years he just bought stuff whenever he was on vacation, or saw stuff locally. As his collection grew people started giving him stuff or offering to sell to him. And it wasn't just cars and trucks, he had big trucks, Ag tractors, equipment and his wife had a HUGE doll collection. When the barns on at his house were full, he and his wife purchased a military school not far from his house. Marymount as a school shut down I think in the 70's and by the 80's the Sister's couldn't afford to maintain it and it was sold to Harold because, from what he told me, he was the only one who agreed to preserve the property and buildings. It's pretty cool going into the gym and seeing nothing but model A's on the top row of bleachers! There are also several parts barns that were build at Marymount which are impressive. Again, just row after row of mostly restorable stuff stack on shelfs 2 or 3 rows high.
Surprisingly the family seems pretty interested in preserving most of the collection. I haven't been involved in a number of years so not sure exactly what is going on but I did hear they have bought and sold some items but the collection largely remains intact.
On his own dime Harold used to shuttle guests invited to the open house between Marymount and his house all day on several old buses. He had a Leyland double decker imported from London and several buses retired from Seattle Metro. It was a pretty cool deal back then. I'm not sure, but I don't think they open up the house or Marymount to the public like that anymore.
