By: Lindsey Schlandt
At Dick’s Classic Garage, the cars are not the only thing
being preserved, but the history of another era in America.
Located in San Marcos, Texas, this car museum contains
vehicles from as early as 1919 up to 1959, all perfectly restored. What
separates the museum from others is it’s dedication to not only the cars, but
also the history they represent.
Dick Burdick founded the museum in 1980 in an effort to use
his collection to further educate on the history of the automobile.
Thomas Fortney, museum curator and employee of Dick’s for 9
years, believes the museum exemplifies what America was in the height of
American manufacturing.
“You don’t get to see these vehicles anymore, and the
further on we go the less and less we see them,” said Fortney. “You see as the
car evolved the country evolved too.”
The collection is one of the most varied in the country,
with vehicles ranging from low-end consumer vehicles to cars such as the
Tucker, one of only 50 made.
“These were cars you actually got to drive,” said Fortney.
“What Mr. Burdick has done is actually collected a very well rounded
collection.
The Tucker is the museum’s biggest draw, a car said to be
years ahead of it’s time when it was built, and museum-goer Craig Caldwell
traveled all the way from Horn Lake, Mississippi to see it.
“I’m on a quest to see as many Tuckers as I can,” said
Caldwell. “I drove over 1000 miles to see this.”
Caldwell also believes Dick’s Classic Garage is one of the
nicer museum’s he’s visited in his trip.
“This is a very well done collection, you could almost eat
off the floor,” said Caldwell.
Dick’s also hopes to build more permanent installments to
their collection in the next couple years.
“We’re actually going to start building displays around the
vehicles, so they will be the same vehicles, but in a more historical context,”
said Fortney. Two projects we have coming up if we can raise the funds is a
1950’s gas station, and actually hopefully in the next couple months put a barn
in the lobby.”
More information on Dick’s Classic Garage can be found on
their official website: www.dicksclassicgarage.com
