Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Pump Pick'in in Mayberry Land

What makes this hobby fun for me is the adventures along the way and the people you meet. Sure, getting a load of pumps is fun but the journey is what makes memories. I was fortunate enough to get a good load of pumps bought from Thorton Beroth (the American Pickers did not get to see the semi trailers where these were stored). You can imagine my surprise when I arrived on the hill top to a "final fairwell" display, Thornton had them all lined up for a good photo op with Pilot Mountain in the background.




With pump camp all set up it was time to get to gut'um out. As luck would have it the rain set in a good portion of the first afternoon, work continued....we were soaked.



The hospitality of Thornton and his wife Pam was out of this world. A home cooked dinner the first night and lunch each day. Where else in the world can you get hotdogs cooked on a vintage hotdog cooler.


If stainless pumps ever get to the price of a Wayne 60 I just junked a fortune....not! To make this deal work for me I could only make one trip back to Indiana so Thornton had a dumpster dropped off. Hope the scrap pays some of the travel costs.



This was a back saver...my back. Worked slick as a whistle and never dropped or damaged one.



I got to thank my friend John Springman for help on this trip. I could not have done it without him. I told him it would be like a vacation in the mountains with beautiful views and clean mountain air...I was right...I just did not tell him about all the work involved till we got there.

I'm drooling already! I want to see the final loaded picture before you left!

Tom, by far you are my new hero,WOW that's a load and a half.see ya in two weeks.
Rock

Great story Tom glad you got them

Nice! Thanks for the pics.

Tom does it again! Great story and pics!

I, too, can attest to the great hospitality from Thornton and Pam. I went up to Pilot Mountain on the Saturday afternoon before the pumps were loaded and had a great time taking pictures for PCM, seeing the museum again, and sharing a great meal. Thanks again, to Thornton and Pam

Wayne Henderson
PCM
Kernersville, NC

Nice haul Tom... Looks like you had a good time and met some good people... Tom

OMG !!! I love it... great catch..

Nice haul but the tractor and loader makes me cringe. I have had to many pumps damaged by farmers thinking they were doing me a favor. Thornton I'm sure was much more careful.

Tom,
That the TALLEST Oil Dispenser I've ever seen [behind cut down Wayne 70 in 2nd picture]. Tank alone must be close to 9' tall!

Nice load. I spy a Tok 34 and Tok 36BDP clockface.

like a kid in a candy store- good haul..

Nice haul. What was the total count of pumps?

Looks like you had a great time ,thanks for the pictures!

Nice haul there. I cringe at those stainless pumps getting crushed as I have been looking for two of the Bennett 30xx series.

Great find,but I'd of taken the S/S pumps in the dumpster too.
Were they all the same maker & model# in there?
People keep saying they're not worth much,when compared to other pumps prices today.Think about that statement..
That doesn't mean they're not sought after or worth money to us.
I have a list of 6 people asking me to find them a solid S/S pump.

Goober says hey..

I am jealous, I get stoked when I find one pump so wow!!!

I also agree that those s/s pumps have their place, if done up nicely I think they have a nice appeal

Wow! Looks like a GREAT time!

Nice!

If your going to scrap them, I would buy them. They are neat little pump to set outside next to your signs.

Sweet Tom!

Ya could have sold the Lead signs on ebay for more than Scrap!

Tom:

I sent you a private message this morning.

Thanks Doug

I ended up with somewhere around 60 + pumps, there were several curb pumps and then there was a cut down to 3' tall National A1 with a gas boy meter where the ad glass goes, I did not count those.
As far as the stainless pumps goes...yes, I hated to scrap them all but I would have had to rent another Penske truck at $500 plus and then all the associated costs that goes with it, then storage space, then.....the costs add up and I just could not justify the ride home for them.

I was also on a time schedule, I had to be back to my day job on Wednesday. It was 1PM on Tuesday and the trucks where not completely loaded. Thornton loaded about 6 of them with his tractor with all the guts inside and we were on the road by 3PM. Got home and in bed at 2:30 AM and up for work at 4 AM. There just was not enough time nor space to deal with anymore pumps.

In the future I have to take some more time to enjoy the local scene. I did get to visit Thornton's collection, a must see stop. Also I noticed all the Mayberry style police cars around the area. They were Squad Car Tours of the area...go figure! That would have been a fun tour to take.

Squad Car Tours; Even better would have Thorten dressed as Barney Fife [they were related, correct?] driving one.
[My Grand Dad was born in that area]

It still amazes me when I see a few of you guys run upon a stash of pumps like these....totally mind blowing!

This looks like a good place to share this link. I am sure it has been posted somewhere on the site before but for those who have not seen it.

http://youtu.be/MTAq-sg0Lns

That was a great hall , I will have to go check that place out.