‘American Pickers’ looking for local leads
WAYNESBURG — If you’ve ever tuned in to the History Channel, chances are you’re already familiar with the reality television series “American Pickers.”
The documentary show that premiered on January 18, 2010, features antique and collectible pickers, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, who travel around the country with a film crew looking for items they can resell or collect for their own personal collections.
As they hit America’s back roads and highways, they canvas private collections with leads they get beforehand or simply stop serendipitously at locations that look like they might have a fair share of the goods they’re looking for.
This summer, the pickers and their crew are coming to western Pennsylvania and are looking for likely candidates who have a trove of items worth rummaging through. The show’s staff has already contacted organizations such as the Waynesburg Area Chamber of Commerce in Greene County looking for leads.
“We were excited when the call came in, we are fans of the show,” said Melody Longstreth, chamber executive director. “We immediately went to work on getting the word out. There are locations here in the county that would make for a great ‘American Pickers’ episode. Hopefully all the pieces will fall into place to make it happen.”
If successful in their quest to find local locations, Wolfe and Fritz plan to air the filmed episodes on the History Channel next season. Two of the most skilled pickers in the business, they rummage through garages, attics, storage sheds or any place where “stuff” is stored.
The duo deal only with private collections and collectors and avoid places like museums, flea markets, businesses and retail stores. They’re especially keen on exploring people’s homes, barns, sheds, outbuildings, and other places where antiques and collectibles might be stored. They call upon casual collectors, hoarders, and occasionally people who have inherited overwhelming collections of apparent junk.
Wolfe has a particular interest in antique motorcycles, air-cooled Volkswagens and old bicycles, while Fritz has a fondness for antique toys, oil cans and old Hondas. Together they’ve purchased old advertisements and commercial signage, film posters, a rare 15-gallon visible gasoline pump and a Piaggio Ape, a three-wheeled vehicle that one of their friends told them is probably the only one of its kind in North America.
Other items of interest include unusual radios, military items, folk art, film memorabilia, early firefighting equipment, clothing, advertising mementos, and vintage musical equipment and instruments. They are especially excited to find things they’ve never seen before and learn the history behind them.
If you or someone you know in Greene County or western Pennsylvania has a large, private collection of collectibles and old items, send your name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to americanpickers@cineflix.com or call 1-855-old-rust (653-7878).
According to the American Pickers website, “This isn’t your grandmother’s antiquing. Pickers like Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz are on a mission to recycle America, even if it means diving into countless piles of grimy junk or getting chased off a gun-wielding homeowner’s land.”
Hitting back roads from coast to coast, the two men earn a living by restoring forgotten relics to their former glory, transforming one person’s trash into another’s treasure.
”American Pickers” follows them as they scour the country looking for hidden gems in junkyards, basements, garages and barns, meeting quirky characters and hearing their amazing stories. If you think the antique business is all about upscale boutiques and buttoned-up dealers, this show may change your mind and teach you a thing or two about American history along the way.
A lifelong picker, Wolfe has been combing through junk since the age of 4. Over the years, he’s earned a reputation as one of the country’s foremost foragers, traveling coast to coast in search of forgotten treasures.
Wolfe spends as much time as he can on the road, usually with Frank Fritz, his friend of 20 years and picking partner, in tow.
“A picker’s kind of like a nomad,” he explains.
Wherever they go, the two men unearth hoards of unique items and spend some quality time with the offbeat characters who own them.
Fritz worked for many years as a fire and safety inspector but always had a passion for antiques and junk. These days, he spends all his time on the road with Wolfe, digging for treasure in barns, garages and junkyards across America.
Described as even-tempered and affable, Fritz has a way with potential sellers and a knack for putting out fires: Wolfe calls him “the bearded charmer.” He does get a little carried away, however, by anything with an engine, and Wolfe often has to talk him out of buying yet another motorbike for his collection.
With their complementary personalities and shared love of picking, Wolfe and Fritz are a perfect team. Even so, since they’re both out to cash in on their finds, some healthy competition always comes into play.
As Wolfe sees it, pickers do all the dirty work, but dealers and collectors get all the credit. But that doesn’t mean he’s any less passionate about his chosen field.
”I love to find stuff,” he said.