Yeah.

That's Amelia's stuff back here.

Watch it there, girl.

Amelia, this is all your stuff?

It is.

Yeah, 'fraid so.

[laughter]

My dad's things that he had collected through the years.

We really don't have any use for them.

And I want his things to go to somebody that can

enjoy them and restore them.

It's a Model 39.

[inaudible] on this one.

It's got the wheel in it.

You can see when you open the door it's got this round wheel

where all the bottles went in. It's aluminum.

Oh, yeah.

And a lot of times that's missing.

Oh.

So that's nice that it's there.

This is a desirable machine because it's upright.

It's not a cooler.

And it's original paint.

And the fountain just kicks it up a few notches

having that on it.

Yeah.

This is a Vendo Model 39, late '40s, original paint.

It's got its nicks, and its scuffs, and it's dings,

but it's complete.

When I'm looking at this, I'm looking

at it from a perspective of someone

buying it and displaying it.

I mean, I'd be interested in it the way

it sits right now for $1,000.

I think the retail on it number the way

it sits right now, 15, 16.

Yeah.

- If it ran, then-- - Yeah.

--it goes up.

The pressure is not going to last long if it does rain.

What are you guys thinking?

$1,200?

- I'm going to do it. - All right, cool.

- There you go. - Thank you.

You're welcome.

I bought something from you.

Praise God.

[laughter]

The fact that this one's been kept

inside for a number of years pushes it to the next level.

Model A door handles.

[clinking]

[grunts]

Amelia.

Yes?

Springfield.

Yeah.

Paint's nice.

1963.

Kelly Tires go back to the turn of the century.

One of their most popular signs featured a Kelly girl.

In the 1920s, women's independence

was getting a huge push, and Kelly's advertisement

was forward thinking and controversial

in a positive way.

These signs unfortunately don't feature the Kelly girl,

but they're still valuable and highly collectible.

1, 2-- $500 a piece.

- OK. - You'd do that?

- Yeah. - Oh, yeah.

- We're moving now. - Cool.

This is not a porcelain sign.

This is a painted sign.

But they're new old stock.

They've never been distributed before.

They've never been hung on a wall.

They're in great condition.

How far apart were we on the gas pump?

You know, I told you what I thought the retail number on it

was, like $1,800 to $2,000.

Yeah.

You know, but the cylinder does have a crack,

and there's some--

here's the deal.

All visible gas pumps are hard to find.

I mean, I'd like to have it.

What would be your bottom number on that?

Like how far apart were we?

I'd like to get $1,250 for it.

- We're getting closer. - Yeah.

Getting closer.

How about--

No.

[chuckling]

How about $1,200?

And $50?

[laughs] All right, $1,250.

Good job.

You got to take her to the swap meet with you.

I'm going to start letting her negotiate for me.

This is great.

I didn't know she had all this in her.

Yeah.

The negotiating side of her.

I got some of my daddy in me.

There you go.

When I was with my dad going around,

I knew how he negotiated.

And he never went for the top price.

He would always negotiate down.

Today, I negotiated up instead of down.

You know, I wanted to ask you about that bull nose.

Typically, most of the bull noses on signs--

they were always missing.

This bull nose is a neon piece that was

attached to an existing sign.

This would have been an ornamentation to the end

of the sign, basically.

It just sat like that.

JUAN: Yeah.

MAN: If you have a flat sign or a vertical sign hanging off

a building that's a square sign, this

would give the rounded edge on the end of it

just a decorator piece.

This has got great color on it.

Yeah, I like the colors.

Yeah.

It's just an unusual color.

I mean, the fact that it's not red or blue, you know?

You'd have to find that sign that this went to.

JUAN: Yeah.

Um, $375.

Uh, what about $400?

You know, it's porcelain.

It's kind of rare.

Yeah, when you find it, you buy it.

OK, all right.

All right, man. - Thanks, man.

[inaudible]

All right, one.

Look at that!

Ah!

Coat hanger!

And you got the porcelain shades on each side.

You guys want a Coke sign?

OK, you want to sell this?

No.

I don't blame you.

If you have a sweaty looking sign,

then you need something to hang it on that matches that--

the ornamentation on the front of this, the lights--

where they would have gone.

I was just imagining this in my shop already,

and he was like, no way, man.

I love that he said, no way, because he

knows exactly what it is.

He knows that this can turn up the volume

on any original sign.

And it's not for sale.

It's a cool piece.

Do you want to sell this big bastard?

Pass, you know.

In the corner, can you see the year?

'35.

1935.

Those colors they used in the '30s, yeah.

MAN: Yeah.

The Coca-Cola sign-- everybody typically shies away

from the size of it, but these, in the last five years,

have demanded some serious dollars.

What's that-- what's the, I would style it, price?

Your comfortable price?

This one's got more hits on it.

[laughs]

This guy's got some bambo jambo.

It's been touched up.

It's been touched up.

Somebody's touched it up over the years.

They tried to save it from rusting.

I always take that stuff off.

Yeah.

I always strip it down.

Ooh, something like that?

For, like, $2,800, something like that.

$2,800?

Yeah.

$2,800?

The fact that this Coca-Cola sign says "Fountain Lunch"

on it makes it even more desirable--

where you could actually go to the drugstore

and eat a sandwich and have a fountain drink

and have ice cream and pick your prescription up,

all those things.

Everybody's looking for these signs now.

Go ahead.

Pull it.

I am.

I'm trying to--

Here, I got it. Uh.

Let me slide this down there.

Ugh.

Right there, Mike.

What else you got here?

You got--

MAN: Sinclair behind that Texaco, I think.

You got them stacked up in here like cornwood.

Sinclair HC?

MAN: Ahh!

There it is!

[sighs] 6-foot Flying A.

The double-sided.

Yeah.

One thing about collecting gas and oil-- it's

all about distribution.

This was distributed in California.

The associated brand was all over the West Coast.

So when you're in the West Coast, what do you buy?

The flying A, only if you can find it.

How about on that one?

[laughs]

Make me an offer.

I don't know.

That's a good one, double-sided.

$6,000 for the pair.

$3,200 for this, $2,800 for that.

$6,000.

$6,000?

Yeah.

All right.

All right, brother.

So we got to pull that out.

[interposing voices]

Almost.

Hold it.

Hold on.

I got it.

[inaudible]

I got it.

Let me know when you're done.

Ahh.

Oh.

Oh, no, not done.

Help.

I'm done.

All right.

I'm done.

JUAN: Push it.

[grunting]

[sighs]

I could use the money now, so I have to let it go, you know?

I just close my eyes and let it go.

Ooh!

Ooh!

Dang.

Hey, whenever I can buy a Coke sign from a guy

wearing a Coke shirt--

[laughs]

I know--

I know how hard it is for you to turn loose, man.

I know.

I love signs, you know?

Juan, do you sell Coke signs very often?

This is the first time.

It's the first time you sold a Coke sign, ever, ever?

Yeah, I don't like to sell any Coke signs.

[laughs]

[phone rings]

Mike: Dani D, what's up?

Danielle: Morning, guys. How are the backroads treating you?

Mike: Treating us well. What you got?

Danielle: I'm sending you guys to a grocery store

that was started in 1929.

Mike: Really? Rob: Really? Damn.

Mike: So, what do they got? Like, old mercantile stuff?

Danielle: It's one of those great family businesses

that's just been around forever.

I've been talking to Michele and she's amazing.

And her grandfather is actually the one

who started that business.

Just for context, Michele's father is the one

who actually started the five-and-dime.

Rob: So, he has everything in the - in the town?

Mike: Her family's been in business

since the '20s on this street, in these buildings?

Danielle: Wild, isn't it? Mike: Wow!

Danielle: The five-and-dime closed, like,

a couple years ago,

but the grocery store closed, like, twenty years ago.

Mike: They got a lot to be proud of.

They've had their business in that town that long.

Danielle: I think they're just really hopeful

to have one of these buildings used again.

Mike: Alright! Send us the address.

Danielle: Alright, bye.

Rob: Alright. What's the address?

What's the address?

Mike: What? Rob: The place.

Mike: It's up here on the right-hand side.

Right here, right here. Pull up here. Right-

Rob: I am. Mike: Where are you going?

Rob: Hey, is this Michele?

Michele (phone): Yes, this is she.

Rob: Hey, um, this is Mike and Rob Wolfe.

We're out front of your store.

Danielle, uh, talked to you about, uh,

coming down and seeing some stuff?

Michele (phone): Yes, she did...

Rob: Okay. Alright. This way.

Mike: Okay. Rob: Okay. Alright.

Michele!

Michele: Hey! Rob: How are you?

Michele: How are y'all? Mike: Hey!

Michele: Surprised?

Rob: Rob Wolfe. Nice to see you.

Mike: Hey, I'm Mike.

Michele: My name is Michele Hiers,

and I am from the small town of Ehrhardt, South Carolina.

Jason: Jason. Mike: Sup, man.

Rob: Good to see you.

Michele: Jason, he is my stepson.

He's worked on the houses around that we have.

He's worked on the store.

He's a jack of all trades, so he does a little bit of everything.

Jason: You all have fun, I'm gonna stay here

and keep on cleaning up.

Mike: Thanks, buddy.

Michele: Alright, we're gonna head to the grocery store.

Mike: You're finally getting into, like,

just kind of removing some stuff?

Michele: Trying to figure out what we're gonna do, yep.

Michele: The past two or three years

I just became involved more with the business.

Um, my dad has dementia.

He couldn't keep up with everything.

Michele: When I was a kid, the streets were busy,

especially on Saturdays.

That's when everybody came to town.

Mike: Yeah.

Michele: Right here was the drugstore,

and this was a tack shop.

Beautiful brick buildings.

Michele: Back in '80s, '90s, the bigger stores,

they started coming in.

That did hurt.

Mike: When the big box stores started

coming in on the highway, that's how the game changed.

And the consumer was the same.

Their wants and needs were the same.

But the game had changed.

Unfortunately, that's what happened

pretty much to every small town across America.

Mike: So, when did these go away?

Michele: These went away probably about...

...15 years ago? Mike: Okay.

Mike: When a business closes,

and you can't rent that building,

the building starts to deteriorate.

That's what happened.

There was no tenant to fill that space,

there was no use for that building anymore on Main Street.

Michele: And then right across the street,

we've got Granddaddy's grocery store.

Michele: Daddy will tell you, well,

there's nothing left on Main Street,

'cause, I mean, he remembered when it was booming.

Michele: He opened the store in 1929.

Mike: You have to respect Michele and her family

for holding on as long as they did

when so many buildings and businesses

were vanishing around them.

Michele: Alright, in 2000, my Granddad passed.

When he passed, Daddy just pretty much closed the door

and left everything as is, and he went to the dime store.

Mike: The level of respect

that this family has for each other,

a lot of people maybe wouldn't understand.

It's like, why would someone want to close that place

with all that money sitting inside?

Because inventory is money.

Mike: This is cool.

Mike: But to Michele and her family,

it was done out of respect and love.

They left it exactly the way it was

because it was a reminder of how things used to be.

Just locking in time so many memories.

Mike: Oh wow, you guys got a butcher shop!

Michele: Oh yeah, Uncle Brighton, he butchered meats.

Oh gosh, ham, bologna, and liver pudding.

Mike: Liver pudding?

Rob: Liver pudding? Michele: Liver pudding.

Rob: They still serve it down here?

Michele: Mhm.

You can still get it. I'm gonna get y'all some.

Before y'all leave! Mike: [laughs]

Rob: This is the epitome

of a real southern grocery store.

This place was the hustle and bustle

back in the '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s.

These places are gone, man.

Just to be in there, you can feel the presence

of all the people that used to come here.

Mike: There's a Coke thermometer right there.

It's inside the counter.

There you go.

That one's in decent shape. That's in really nice shape.

Rob: It's made by the Donaldson company.

Mike: In the U.S.A. Rob: Yeah.

1960s. $40.

Michele: 60.

Michele: I got to bickering.

I get that from Daddy, I mean, going back and forth.

Rob: 45.

Michele: 55.

Mike: [laughs]

Michele: [laughs]

Mike: You're right, he didn't throw anything away.

Michele: No.

When Daddy closed the doors,

he would just come in here to check on things.

Mike: Being in a space like this that's that large

with this much history and this much inventory,

you really have to take time to go through everything.

Michele: And of course, it's still like canned goods.

Mike: There's still gum in here. Michele: Don't y'all want some?

Mike: Oh my gosh, for sure.

Mike: Underneath stuff, in boxes,

under the counters, in the cooler.

Rob: There we go.

Mike: There we go.

Michele: You can tell that's been in there.

Rob: Coca-Cola.

Michele: The round Coca-Cola thermometer.

When I'd go in there to get stuff, it'd be so cold,

I'd be looking at the thermometer.

Michele: What are you thinking? Rob: 150.

Michele: You know you can go to 2.

Rob: 165.

Michele: 180.

Mike: [laughs]

Mike: You know, it's like you never know

where you're going to find something

because they were stashing stuff everywhere.

Mike: Okay, what about the mirror here?

This is really cool.

Michele: That has been there forever.

Mike: I can tell it's been there forever. Look at that.

It's for bread, it's sliced bread.

Michele: Claussen's. Mike: 90 bucks.

Michele: 125. Got a star, wow.

Mike: 100 bucks.

Michele: 115.

Mike: I got - I got to have a little bit of a margin.

Michele: Alright, 110.

Mike: Michelle must have been on the wholesale side of things.

She's got her negotiation game down.

Michele: 105.

Mike: Alright. Rob: 102.

Michele: 105...

Mike: God, you're getting me every time!

[all laughing]

Rob: Hey, Michele. Michele: Yep?

Rob: The old Lance Peanuts jars.

Rob: Lance is one of those companies that had

a variety of products.

Peanut brittle, crackers, peanuts themselves.

They date anywhere from 1929 all the way up to 1960s.

Rob: Yeah, these are the older ones.

The ones that have the arrows on them.

These have no arrows on them.

But they're all the same lids.

250.

Michele: 3? Rob: 275.

Michele: 290.

Rob: Let me ask you this. How about-

Michele: You got something

going through your mind right now?

Rob: Well, I actually fell in love with that fan

when I came in.

Rob: It looks like it's a 1940s-type fan.

If you can hang this up in a shop now,

it would move air with style.

Rob: 4 and a quarter for the pair.

Michele: 450.

Rob: I'm gonna do what you did to me earlier to me today.

435.

Michele: 440.

Rob: [laughs]

I'm doing it. Michele: Okay.

Mike: Every once in a while,

we are finding a small piece of advertising hanging on the wall.

Mike: Here's one in rough shape. Michele: Yeah, I know that.

Mike: Right here, look at this one.

This one here is not in the best shape either, but...

Rob: What's that one say, Mike?

Mike: It's Royal Crown, but it's all peeling but it's still cool.

And then you got this one but there's no advertising on it.

Mike: Whether it's advertising on a mirror or a thermometer,

there's like little pieces that are left.

Mike: So, you've got these three.

Michele: Three. Ok.

Mike: I think - am I missing anything else here?

This was - was this the office?

Michele: Yes. That was the desk, yep.

Rob: This was the desk?

Mike: I love the filing system.

Michele: They knew where everything was though.

They knew where everything was.

Mike: These three. 50 bucks.

Rob: Condition is everything.

Michele: I'll go about on that because they are in bad shape.

I'd rather go 60- Mike: Wow.

Rob: Man, I was- Mike: Wow.

Rob: I was waiting for her to-

Michele: No, they're in bad shape.

Mike: I can't believe that just happened!

Michele: We have talked a lot about what to do

with the buildings.

We've talked about a beauty salon,

kind of a thrift store,

and just open it up so people can come in

and enjoy what they remember.

Michele: Well, Jason...

Mike: Oh yeah, we met earlier. Michele: Yeah.

Mike: Okay. Michele: Right, right. Yeah.

So, he's interested. He even talked-

Mike: So, he's interested in doing a store in here?

Michele: A store, he's even talking about butchering.

You know...

Mike: Really? Michele: Just getting that back.

Mike: It sounds like they have a plan

and I love that it's generational.

Main Street will never be what it was,

but the history is the foundation

of what it could be in the future.

A lot of these small towns are finding their feet again.

They're embracing their roots

and they're telling their stories.

Michele: Let's go in the back.

Michele: Alright, we got the barn right over here.

Rob: Yeah.

Michele: And Jason. You got those bolt cutters.

Jason: I'm back.

Rob: He's back with the bolt cutters.

So, was this like the meat house?

Jason: This is just an old storage barn.

Rob: There you go.

Mike: Shopping carts. Rob: Holy [bleep].

Alright, here Mike.

Pepsi sign right off the bat.

There.

Mike: Might be one underneath it.

Michele: What in the world could these be? I mean, I was curious.

I was like, okay, what is in here?

Rob: There we go.

Up all the way. And I'll take that end out.

Right there, I got it. I got it, right here.

Let me see.

[grunting]

There.

Rob: It has original wax paper on them,

like they were never even put out.

Mike: There's another one.

Rob: Yeah, this one's got a little rust on it right there.

The fact that they were stacked,

that was the top one and that was the one

that got most of the moisture on it.

Rob: It's typical of any sign that you find

that's been in a barn or a building like this,

the bottom edge was laying in some type of moisture.

Mike: That's not gonna come back.

Rob: The first one had the most on it,

but then the second one didn't have that much.

Then the third one actually looked cleaner.

Mike: Are they dated?

Rob: It says 162, it's out of St. Louis.

It's not dated though. Self-framed-

Mike: Yeah, it is. Right there.

Rob: '66. Mike: '66. Yeah.

Michele: The color on the Pepsi-Cola signs, it was unreal.

Especially on the two of them

that were inside and had that paper over them.

Rob: So, in varying conditions right here,

you got about $2000 in retail.

Michele: Okay. Rob: I'm saying 1400 bucks.

Mike: I was gonna say 1300. Rob: Yeah.

Well, I already knew - here's how that works, Michele.

I knew that he was gonna say 1300.

I knew I better come in at 14 because you're gonna say 1450.

Mike: No. Rob: Or you're gonna say 1500.

Mike: No, that's now how you deal, little brother.

If you would've said the 13, she would've hit you at 1450.

Rob: Right, so that's why I'm already at 14.

Michele: 16.

Mike: Now she's gonna say that. Rob: 16...

Mike: 1500 bucks.

Michele: 1550. Mike: 1520.

Michele: 1530. Rob: 15.

Mike: 1525. Rob: 15. 15!

Michele: 1530.

Mike: $1525.

Michele: No. 1530.

[laughs]

Mike: Ah!

Alright, I'm tapping out. I'm tapping out.

Michele: Okay. Mike: Okay.

Mike: Sometimes, when you do something for so long,

for decades, it really becomes a part of who you are.

Mike: Alright, here we go.

Mike: Now, imagine connecting that to your community.

Mike: You got the brooms? Michele: Of course!

Rob: You guys found the brooms? Mike: [laughs]

Mike: Michele's family continued to be there

for the community even when so much of it

was disappearing around them.

Physically disappearing, buildings gone,

and businesses gone, her family has stuck it out.

Mike: Thank you so much. Michele: That's very nice.

Mike: You're awesome. Thank you.

Michele: Thank you. Mike: Had a great time.

Dang.

That's so cool.

That is bad to bone.

OK-- what's-- you're in it to win it.

Show us around which building we're going to go in.

This one over here.

HOST (VOICEOVER): I love this guy.

He's into historic preservation.

He's into old signs.

He's into bicycles.

He's into taxidermy.

He's got a 27-foot-long counter.

He's awesome.

What do these say?

Those are Coca-Cola signs.

And they are-- this Army-Navy surplus store got them all

and painted them out in black and then lettered

them with his store name.

Now I've got a picture of one that has been stripped.

They look pretty doggone nice.

Once they're done.

Really?

The full body Coca-Cola signs that are painted over in black

paint are pretty interesting.

I've got a friend that has one of them.

He stripped the paint off of it, and it

restored into a beautiful Coca-Cola sign.

And I think it has a date stamp on it of 1948 or '49.

Let me see.

That's what it looks like.

Wow.

Wow.

Now it looks cool.

It looks really cool.

What I've got are eight of the same signs,

but they still have the black paint on them.

Would you be interested in selling all of them?

I don't know.

If you want them all, you just make me a price.

HOST (VOICEOVER): It's worth taking the gamble because

of the age of these signs, the size of them, and the fact

that they're in the original wood frame.

Some of them look like it's maybe not

going to be that big a deal.

That one's not bad there.

That's from heat.

That's looking pretty good.

HOST: Others look like it's really going to be a journey.

That is bare metal, so you're not going

to get anything with that.

I think they've got tremendous potential.

A lot of bullet holes in that one.

That got pepper shot, bird shot.

That got bird shot, man.

But it's going to take some elbow

grease and some paint stripper to clean

them up and put them back.

I do 4,000 for all of them.

That's 500 apiece.

Some are probably going to turn out maybe good,

and some are going to turn out maybe not so good, you know.

I think the risk of the $4,000 purchase is all on Mike.

I think the potential is tremendous.

But if I'm wrong, he's got a 4 by 8 sheet of tin.

I'll do that. I'll do that.

And I understand, I understand, the risk

I've started to do them 100 times,

and I just never taken the time to do it.

OK, so you have started to do one?

- No, I meant like started-- - Like in your mind?

- In my mind, yeah. - How you're going to do it?

Yeah.

That's where I start stuff.

This is wow.

Jersey, you need that stove man.

Negative.

All right.

This place is huge.

There's some more bicycles.

It's all about square footage when you come to like antiques.

See the tank on the front of that lady's bike?

Wow. That's a Colson?

Yeah it's called a Clipper.

The more room you got, the more stuff you can buy.

The more money you can make.

Look at this, Jersey.

This is heavy duty back here.

Holy crapola.

That's all that iron there.

There's a movie theater worth of seats in there.

Man, you're in the architectural salvage business.

You're in the commercial property business here.

You're in the restoration preservation

of historic property business.

Let me get that on recording for my wife.

She calls me something else.

[laughter]

HOST (VOICEOVER): Walking back into this room is like walking

into a large jigsaw puzzle.

There's a part for this over there.

There's a part for that over there.

You have to kind of really be able to put some of this stuff

together in your mind.

Oh my gosh, look at this, Jersey.

Wow, god, you are Mr Railroad.

This is amazing.

You've got to Memphis, from Memphis,

to Louisville, to Nashville.

HOST (VOICEOVER): The LNN railway

ran from Louisville to Nashville and eventually

spanned from New Orleans all the way to Cincinnati.

Got the train names on there, too.

Hummingbird. - Oh, the Hummingbird.

Yeah, look at that. - The Pan American.

Yeah and the Pan American.

Yep.

Didn't the Hummingbird go all the way to New Orleans?

Yeah, man.

HOST (VOICEOVER): This was one of the most

important signs in the depot.

It's all hand-lettered, Mike.

This is telling you when your train is leaving,

where it's going, and what train you're riding on.

And a lot of those details would have been written

in chalk by the station master.

$1,200 bucks for that.

I need 1,500 out of this one.

It's the only one I've ever even seen.

It's a big piece.

It's an incredible piece.

Tremendous amount of history.

Self-serve luggage carts.

You literally cannot be in this room without standing

on a sign most of the time.

There's so many signs all over the place.

And these are the different towns.

Look at the gilding on that.

What does that say? That's rail Chehaw.

I

Think that's up in north Alabama.

From the restroom sign to the baggage sign.

US mail room.

(TOGETHER) No admittance.

HOST (VOICEOVER): It's incredible

the amount of signage here.

Cannonville.

HOST (VOICEOVER): And the condition

that it's in for its age.

When he got in there and they read the subject

matter on these signs, I could tell the excitement was rising.

Union City.

Union City.

Rising every minute.

Montgomery, Alabama.

Ooh, that's pretty cool. - That's cool.

There's more over here.

HOST (VOICEOVER): Every one of these signs represents a depot.

It represents a town.

Madras.

HOST (VOICEOVER): And a lot of these towns

existed because of the railroad.

- Fairburn. - Fairburn.

HOST (VOICEOVER): The railroad connected this country

from coast to coast.

Another Union City, same one.

And then that's it.

HOST (VOICEOVER): This is Southern railroad history.

The collection is really incredible.

I've had a guy look at these signs, these wooden signs.

They're around $700 apiece retail, on average.

Yeah.

I'm not an expert.

I'm not certain the value on some of these signs.

I did have what I consider an expert come in

and help advise me.

This stuff is pretty rare.

How many are there, Mike?

Eight.

I got-- there's eight signs would

you do $400 a piece if your guy's saying $700 retail?

Well, I'll do that.

OK, shake his hand, Jersey. $3,200.

Thank you, sir.

Yes sir.

I think between us we came to a fair price for both of us.

I think they'll be great in someone's home or in a museum.