Western Auto

This sign also came from Gary Phillips who got it from an auction. This is the first company that started a franchise. They sold auto parts and sold them to others to sell. They were the supplier and years ahead of there time in the franchise idea. This also came from Indianola, Iowa.

amoco

This sign came from Indianola , Iowa from a Picker named Gary. Amoco was a Standard Oil company where they went from Standard to American to Amaco. They bought out UTOCO. All gas and oil is connected somewhere as it started with ONE and branched and sold and sold again which is why we get to have so many brands and beautiful signs displaying in our Musuem.

IMPERIAL

This sign came from Ozark , Missiouri which is about an hour from Joplin. We were driving through after buying signs in other areas and found this sign from picker named Chris Walters. He always has great signs and we have purchase many from him. We love the shape of this sign. It should have prices under the sign which we have but we like the look without so left it as is.

WhIPPET AND WILLYS-KNIGHT

This is an original sign we purchased of f of Ebay. We have had it many years and found the perfect space to place it in the museum. We like almost anything old and that has something to do oikWhippet and Willys Knight was and Antique car that was made in the 20s and 30s. We just liked the sign so bought it.

Chrysler Pymouth

Plymouth sign came from our friend and picker Chuck Dudley. It was a rough sign that we needed because of the colors and look. Again it is a sign we just like:)

holy grail gas pump

Another of our “Holy Grail” items is the Canadian Clear Vision double head 700. Canada used Imperial Gallons which are bigger that American Gallons. One side of the pump is for regular gas and the other side for Ethyl, which today is Premium. these are extremely expensive and difficult to find gas pumps.

A friend in Joplin told Sparky the he had traded for the upper cast portion of a CV700 pump an dit was for sale. Sparky obviously bought it plus some of the parts that another friend had accumulated to go with it. It was lacking a lot of parts but had the beginnings. He found the cool nozzles in Indiana and the glass cylinders at the swap meet in Hershey, PA. He had the new skins made locally. Some of the smaller parts, [price glass, and a few details he found in Edmonton ,Canada. The owner refused to ship the parts so a road trip it was. Eventullay he had all the parts to restore it and put it on display next door at AAA Lakeside Storage until we build Sparks Museum and Event Center when he moved it inside. Red Indian is a Canadian gas brand and they were bought out by Texaco that that is why we have it in front of our Texaco collection.

sparkys hamburger (Copy)

Sparky’s Hamburger sign came from a picker friend in Joplin who saw it while pickin and knew Sparky had to have it. He bought it for him and let him figure out where to put it. Thats the thing about making friends that are “pickers” they look out for each other when those friendships are made and stay in contact seeing how each other are doing. I as the daughter of Sparky have been in the car many times as he will call up a “picker” friend to just see how they are doing and how they are feeling. What is happening whats new and what is the recent hot item out in the collectors world of oil and gas.

Its all about the story

Sparky learned a long time ago it is not often about the currency. Many collectors start off saying the do not want to sell the wanted treasure until…. the right thing is offered and then game on. Many collections are priceless to the owner and are thought of as a treasure not to be bought. This is where the fun begins and negotiations take place. Most owners don’t even know there is something other than cash that will entice them so creativity is a huge part of the fun. Unfortunately auction houses entered the game and almost gone are the days of negotiating or trading . Makes it so the stories are gone and it is not as fun as it once was. Sparky is all about the hunt, the game, the stories, the new friends and yes about finally getting the sign.

The man behind the Mue

The seeds of the collection at Sparks Museum and Event Center were sewn in the Summer of 1957 as Sparky (the creator) went with his friend Todd Roberts, on a trip thru old ghost towns in Nevada and found a very nice original 1929 Model A Ford pickup that he bought for $25 . They tied it to the back bumper of his 49 oldsmobile and towed it all the way over the mountains back to Bel Air where he lived and began restoration on it while still in high school. He sold it before he finished and has always been sorry. Always a dreamer and creator even int the 50s he had the eye to collect and to restore. He loved old things then and loves them even more now.

In 1979 he bought an Erskine in Helper, Utah and that spouted those seeds again . That car he restored when I was a child about 10 years old. I remember him spending hours upon hours on it. He was in need of the parts to get it all back together and would drive all over, becoming what now days is called a “picker” as that was the only way to find parts. There was no internet only your car and lots of farmland with what to many would deem as junk piles. However he would see that so called junk and find the treasure part he had been in search of. Picking was the very best source.

He was a super picker and hauled huge loads of awesome stuff home from every trip he took. Back then the signs and gas pumps he saw he thought of as “junk” The exception was the old visible gas pumps. He did haul a few of those home and restored one as a Texaco and put it in front our home when I was young. We now have that pump in our collection at Sparks Museum and Event Center . This pump is located outside across the street in front of Lakeside Storage along with two signs he picked up. The Gargoil Mobile sign and the Willis Knight sign.