Museums

A Zeal for Wheels Car Museum

Posted at July 26, 2006 14:46

When Fulton’s Kmart closed its doors in 1994, Bill Backer saw his opening. An avid car collector with more than 100 vehicles, he lacked the space to store them in one location. So he bought the 37,000-square-foot building and set about opening a car museum to share his collection with others.

Bill, 75, had wanted to open a car museum for years. His collection was stored in garages and barns around Fulton. To help with the project, Bill hired Carmen McIntire to be the director of the museum. Carmen, 79, had retired from her job as a chairwoman at the Fulton Chamber of Commerce but was excited to go back to work. She, along with Bill, Bill’s wife, Marge, and Harris Lee Wallace, a friend of Bill’s, all worked on cleaning cars and preparing the displays.

“None of us had any experience with running or setting up museums,” Carmen says. “We were learning as we went along.” They learned well. Now the museum is filled with 90 vehicles, ranging from an 1895 Haynes to a 1987 Jaguar. Amid all the cars Bill has collected over 44 years, one car stands out as his favorite. It’s a 1926 Pierce Arrow, which has classic straight lines. Bill prefers straight lines to aerodynamically styled cars.

“Starting in 1933 and ’34, cars were restyled,” he says. “Instead of straight lines, they used curves and streamlined cosmetics.” All but one of the cars in the museum have been restored to working condition. “What’s the use of having a car if it doesn’t run?” Bill asks.

His hobby is expensive, yet he didn’t open the museum to make money. In fact, Bill says the museum doesn’t generate enough profit to pay the bills. “I didn’t expect to make money off of it,” he says. “It’s my contribution to the community.” His business, Backer Potato Chips, employs about 45 people at the plant in Fulton and allows him to indulge in his hobby.

Bill would like to build an addition onto the museum to house the cars that still aren’t on display and for future purchases. Bill also wants to create a reference library inside the museum for visitors who want to learn more about the cars. One car that usually intrigues visitors is one of Bill’s most prized possessions: the 1895 Haynes automobile. It is the oldest privately owned vehicle in the United States. Only three of these vehicles, which resemble buggies, were made in 1895. One is in the Smithsonian, and another was wrecked.

Bill became the owner of the third Haynes by accident, he says. The car was found in a demolished building in Boston. After being restored, the car was offered to Haynes collectors in Kokomo, Ind., where the cars were built. A faulty answering machine prevented that offer from reaching the collectors. An advertisement was then placed in a magazine for car collectors. Bill told his wife, “This is something we’ve got to have,” and answered the ad. While the Haynes is the oldest car in his collection, Bill also displays cars of the future.

The College of Engineering at the University of Missouri at Columbia loaned its Sun Tiger I and Sun Tiger II for display. Both cars operate on solar energy. The two cars are squeezed in between the 1895 Haynes and a Studebaker farm wagon. With a slight turn of the head, visitors can view both the past and the future of personal transportation.

For more information, contact the museum at:

Auto World Car Museum 1920 N. Bluff, Fulton, MO 65251 (573) 642-2080, or visit www.automuseumbybacker.com.

Admission is $5.50 for adults, $4.50 for seniors, $2 for children.

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