JERRY’S JUNK
IN KENTUCKY
G'day folks,
Here is another hoarder story.
Staring out
at you from behind those rusty gates; thousands of tightly packed, unwanted
objects from the past sit in an eerie silence, almost as if they might
just come alive as soon as you turn your back. Each and every single one has
been collected by Kentucky’s King of Junk, who has made a temporary
home for them in his wild and tangled fortress.
Most people have heard of Louisville, Kentucky for hosting
“the most exciting two-minutes in sports”, aka, The Kentucky Derby. The first
Saturday in May, locals and celebrities alike sip on mint juleps and watch the
best horses in the world race. But most people don’t venture around Kentucky’s
biggest city to find its quirky gems.
Louisville’s Clifton neighbourhood is eclectic. Antique
shops, used bookstores, and vintage clothing boutiques line the street along
with some of the best restaurants in town. As the road dips down towards the
Ohio River, a technicolor junk yard sits on the corner of Frankfort Avenue and
Williams Street. Most people don’t actually notice while driving by. Even the
locals have become blind to the sight of Jerry’s junk yard of weird and whacky
memorabilia.
Jerry Lotz is a retired machinist and iron worker who
started his collection in 1946 at the age of eight. Along with his main
“display,” he owns four other houses in the neighbourhood, all equally filled
with “junk”.
Driving his 1951 Studebaker, he visits flea markets to
collect items for his “buy/ sell/ trade” business, though he tends to buy more
than sell. “I can’t sell it,” he said. “I wouldn’t know where to get more.”
Jerry is somewhat elusive, and lives on the upper floor of
the house; though if you do happen to catch him, he’s friendly and approachable
and he can talk for hours. Visitors have reported that this zany old man
has approached them while they gawked at his collection and taken them on tours
that lasted anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours. One commented
that the funniest part of their tour was that he dragged around a rake the
entire time, making it almost impossible to hear him!
If you do happen to catch Jerry and he gives you the tour,
you may end up with a souvenir like a lucky horse shoe. If you don’t see him
hanging around, give a yell, “Hey Jerry!” Chances are, he’ll soon appear,
ready to share his story.
Clancy's comment: I often wonder what will happen to all this stuff when Jerry passes away.
I'm ...
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