Re: Barney Pollard

Posted by macuquina On 2012/6/4 10:28:08

As a young boy from Ohio in the early 50's I was very involved with my father's collecting of antique automobiles. We had at least four different cars as I remember. My father especially loved Franklins.
Sometime in the early 50's, 1952, 1953 or 1954 my Dad was searching for more cars to restore. I remember taking a trip to Detroit with a friend of his and all the boys in the two families to see Mr. Pollard. It was a long ride then from Akron to Detroit at the time. I must have been 9, 10 or 11 years old.
We went through every barn Mr. Pollard had and I remember the very distinctive way he stored the cars...up on end. My father was seaching for Franklins and Mr. Pollard knew his inventory very well and pointed them all out to us. But my father could never purchase anything from him. It was not a question of price. I remember his excuse at the time: he feared the tax consequences, because he was afraid of the capital gains (a new tax policy at the time created under Truman.)
I have had that memory for years and often wondered who that man was. It was only yesterday that I met someone who knew the name. I piece of the nostagia puzzle put together.