ARC Members Participate in Private Showing of the LeMay Car Collection

Harold LeMay started his garbage collecting business in the 40's. While he was a one truck route, he was asked by a garbage customer, if he could pay Harold to haul off his old car. So for $20, Harold hauled away the car, which chose not to take to the wrecking yard for crushing, rather to keep the car. When his company grew to a 12 truck route, his drivers would watch out for old cars and Harold would approach the owner about paying his to haul the car away, which would then do with a long-term stop to his collection of cars.

 

By 2000, when he died, his collect was 2800 cars, the largest private car collection in the world. He and his wife had collected not only cars, but fire trucks, dolls, and household items.

The ARC was invited to a private tour of this collect on the last Sunday of September, 2001. This multi-club tour was a rare privilege being as the collection is traditionally only open to the public, one day a year, the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Additionally this was a rare visit being as the collection is downsizing, following Harold's death, with 500 cars being sold at the approximate time of our tour.

 

Oh, yes, that original car Harold was paid to haul away, in the 1940s, is still in his collection, fully restored. Once Harold was asked how many cars he had sold in his life, and he said four, but that he had later bought two of them back.

Construction plans are in full swing for a LeMay Car Museum to be built in the city of Tacoma (near the Tacoma Dome) which will house 150 cars at a time, being rotated periodically from the LeMay Car Collection at the LeMay home.

We wish to thank Mrs. LeMay for allowing us to enjoy this collection.

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