By William F. Ast III
The Herald-Palladium (St. Joseph)
STEVENSVILLE, Mich. (AP) -- Tim Duensing's lifelong passion for castoff goods is going to result in an appearance on The History Channel.
Duensing for decades has been collecting and selling odds and ends in the Twin Cities area, anything from Coca-Cola and beer signs to the iron stairway from the old courthouse in St. Joseph. His collection is so extensive that the stars of "American Pickers," a documentary reality series about two men who buy antiques and collectibles, visited his warehouse to film a segment.
Duensing said a crew was here several weeks ago, then recently came again to do some follow-up filming. The show features Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, who, from their resumes, appear to be kindred spirits when it comes to finding treasures. They bought a few items, such as some old scooters, Duensing said.
His segment is supposed to be broadcast sometime in October, Duensing said.
"American Pickers" has started airing its second season at 9 p.m. on Mondays on The History Channel. Show spokesman Heather DiRubba said segments are still being compiled for later in the season, though she added October would be a likely date for the broadcast featuring Duensing.
Duensing said the segment was set up when his son, Christopher, sent e-mails to the show with an invitation to the warehouse on Jericho Road in Lincoln Township.
"They were here for six hours" for the initial visit, Duensing said. "Then they came back ... and did some more filming."
Duensing's cluttered warehouse is a treasure trove of Twin Cities history.
He has old rocket cars from the ride at the long-gone Silver Beach Amusement Park, along with rolls of tickets for rides and for the old Shadowland Ballroom at Silver Beach. He has a House of David soda fountain.
"I've got several bars in my building, the complete thing," Duensing said. He has bars from the old Michigan Hotel, the Sunset Tavern, the Shangri-La and Walt's Ideal Bar in Benton Harbor. He has the counter, chair and other things from the old Toddle Inn diner.
The warehouse also houses jukeboxes, a Hudson car, neon signs, beer signs, ornate iron gates, cabinets, advertising materials and boxes of stuff he has yet to go through. "I've got all kinds of things from the area," he said.
Sometimes his searches have resulted in rich personal rewards, such as the time he went digging into a Dumpster in Benton Harbor.
"I found a crate that had a bunch of old soda pop stuff in it, and I took it home, put it in the garage and a few months later I cleaned it up," Duensing said. "I found an old (bowling) trophy in there. When I cleaned it all up, it said, 1948-49 league champions with my dad's name, Wally Duensing, on it. That was pretty rare."
Duensing, a 1970 graduate of Lakeshore High School, grew up on Territorial Road in Benton Harbor. His late father was a detective sergeant with the Benton Harbor Police Department.
He said he found his love of collecting early on.
"I used to play in the alley," Duensing said. "There was this old junk man, Benny. I would pick up a few things and Benny would give me a nickel for the junk. I'd take it to the penny candy store. I told my mom, when I grew up, I wanted to be like Benny. I succeeded."
Duensing said his brothers, Pat and Mike, "were always busy playing ball. I played, too, but I was a junk man. I was always out in the alley talking to everyone and picking up junk."
His family didn't have much money, but it was a rich life, Duensing said.
"I had the best parents in the world," Duensing said. "I remember there was a guy down the street who put bikes together and sold them for $3. Mom said, 'We just don't have the money.' They were making $36 a month house payments. That doesn't sound like much now, but it was back then. So she said, 'If you can get half, I'll pay the other half' ... I would do little things, shovel walks and odd jobs, and I got the $1.50. It was the first bike I ever remember."
Duensing said too many people are too quick to throw things away or have old buildings demolished. The loss to local history has been staggering, he said.
Duensing, who said he "can tear anything apart, and I can put it back together," said he'll never lose his love of finding treasure where others see junk. However, his circumstances have changed -- he and his wife are raising a couple of grandchildren -- and some things will have to change, he said.
"We got dealt this hand, and we'll have to deal with it," Duensing said. "I'm thinking of having another auction here pretty soon and liquidating some stuff."
The highly rated "American Pickers" show made its debut in January. Wolfe in his resume said he's been "combing through junk since the age of 4," and Fritz "started picking early, collecting rocks and beer cans as a kid."
Published: Wed, Sep 15, 2010
