bringing family together in Utah County

We loved hosting the Peterson - Hadlock Family Reunion with multi generations in attendance. There was amazing music including trumpet playing by Jerry Hadlock, piano playing by Lyle Hadlock, singing by the Peterson Sisters and a Solo by GInny Critchfield. We loved bringing family together and seeing the talent that comes through generations. Food and fun visiting, laughing and singing. Reminding one another that family matters and to keep in touch with each other.

The 1957 Nash metropolitan

Sparky’s father bought a brand new Nash Metropolitan for his wife in 1957. Making this a memorable car . When he saw this car he could not pass it up and had the vision of putting in up on a sign pole. He got it from a friend in Woodscross, Utah who has a huge collection of antique cars. We actually have two of these. The second one came from New Jersey and we had it shipped here to Utah. Neither are on poles at this point but someday they may be…

the sparks sign

This sign was made in 1965 to go on a 48 unit apartment building in Provo that Sparky and his father built. This sign was on there along with the name Roman Gardens. When the building was sold they kept the Sparks sign and hung it in the garage. We, of course had to add the sign (since it is our name) to the collection.

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.

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.

Hand carved Native American indian

Our hand carved out of one tree Native American Indians came from an antique store out near Tremonton ,Utah. While Sparky was visiting an antique event near Ogden that has dealers from all over that come to show and tell as well as sell their treasures. This is where he met a dealer that had one of these beautiful carvings. After discussing price he actually had three that we could not pass up. Sparky bought two and his son bought the other. They sat at his home in Sundance out front for years until we recently relocated them to be on display in the Museum.

the “fluted” gas pump

Every collector knows the Holy Grail of gas pumps is the Roman Column Pump. Sparky looked for a Roman column for years and never was able to find one he could afford. They sell for $20-$60k at auctions. One day a manager at the Lakeside Storage called to tell Sparky that a guy stopped by and the office and left a note asking if we would be interested in a “fluted” gas pump that he had.

Sparky knew exactly what “fluted” meant and immediately called the guy. He was from Nevada but was living in Springville and when he was a kid worked at the Stateline Service Station where they had the “fluted” gas pump for pumping Kerosene. The mans father had worked at the station and he assumed his dad had actually pumped his gas from the pump so he bought the pump from the sation ages before to restore it as a family memory. Later he found out that his dad actually had never pumped gas from it so he was ready to sell.

Sparky bought it at a fair price and hauled it home to paint and assemble parts. It lacked the glass cylinder which he replaced and restored it for our collection. The hose that is on it was a new old stock original hose he got from Max Egertson who used to own the Texaco Bulk Plant in Provo and he had a few hoses he gave Sparky that he had many years ago. The pump was sold to the Stateline Serviece Station and maintained by a SLC gas pump company.

Growing up in Los Angelas

The Hancock gasoline sign came as a reminder of when Sparky was a little boy growing up in Los Angelas. Sparky used to go to the LaBrea tar pits. Hancock Oil was from LaBrea.

Perfect for al capone

The 1937 Cord gangster car belonged to a Dr in Chicago, of all the perfect places. We like to think of how this beauty would have looked back when she was brand new driving her owner around the town on a Sunday drive.

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.

What spurred the Petroliana collection?

In 2013 when Sparky and Jeannie were headed to Guatemala to serve a mission their son Tim was running the Storage Park. He suggested “dressing up the park a bit” Sparky had been mildly collecting a few gas pumps here and there and had about 11 in total. Restoring the first pump that once sat outside Sparky’s home. We put them in front of the office of the Storage Park and some of the few old signs on the walls there.

Tim restored a few more pumps while Sparky was away and when Sparky returned is when the real collecting begin to take place. Tim suggested they go hunting for more pumps and so they did. So back to “picking “ it was but new and improved with the internet and facebook in tow. They learned that gas pump collectors also collected signs and so the sign collecting was added to the search. The first sign was the Kendall Oil sign which hangs on the right upper side of one of the outdoor buildings.

This begin the new and improved hunting and picking that is what Sparks Event Center has now become!

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.