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A replica of the original
garage from Harold LeMay’s home is featured in “Lucky’s Garage,” a new exhibit
in honor of LeMay at America’s Car Museum in Tacoma. Peter Haley
Staff photographer. (Image source: Tacoma News Tribune/ thenewstribune.com)
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And the Beat goes On, as just cannot help Thyself,
as my Bimmers' invade ACM tome just kept growing & growing; turning into
Triplets...
I first became aware of the name Harold LeMay
and his yearly one-day Car Show in Spanaway, WA some twenty-plus years ago,
when scribblin' monthly for the Washington Shelby American Automobile Club's (WASAAC)
local club under the presidency 'O "BOSS BILL" and his SAACtime' created
Newsletter, as it's Motorsports Beat' writer for 6yrs, which started this
writing thingy in earnest; CRIKEYS!
Yet I never quite made I-T to the event until
just happening to attend the 30th Anniversary of said Automobilia extravaganza
with Snowbyrd MJ' Wayback in Twenty-oh-Seven.
As fast forward to this early October, when
once again Tacoma Bureau Chief Mary Ellen escorted me to the relatively new
LeMay ACM, aka America's Car Museum, an AWESOME 165,000sq ft four story museo
in Downtown Tacoma, which opened in 2012.
whilst spiraling our ways downwards, we
stopped to listen to a most enjoyable video montage of various people's
memories of Harold, as I especially enjoyed the female employee's recollections
of an extremely pissed off customer wanting to give Harold a piece of his mind,
presumably over a garbage bill.
As the lady recounted how Harold enjoyed
wearing overall's that never featured his first name, just others as mundane as
Fred, Jim, George, etc.
With Harold slipping in the office to see
what the ruckus was about and with a gleam in his eye, she told the angry customer in front of him - that
Harold was around somewheres' whilst playing along, he politely tapped upon
this angry man and calmly asked him what all the fuss was about? And Harold as
"George" quickly soothed the irate male before serenely slipping
away!
Another person interviewed on the video
montage; possibly his son? Noted how although Harold reputedly never had a
favourite car, he did own an astounding array of 41 Car's of one make. Perhaps
the '46 Cadillac? Although ran across somewheres' on Zed Intrawoods', nee
internetz that he'd amassed 60 Packard's...
as I'll see if I
can get somebody at the ACM to help fill in the blanks for Mwah? Having
forgotten to scribble down said automobile afterwards - before I-T vanished
from Yuhs know where...
NOTE
The car some
feel was Mr. LeMay’s favorite was the 1941 Chevrolet. It did not seem to matter
which model as he had coupes, sedans and convertibles.
Whilst after his death, his wife purchased
the one car Harold always wanted but refused to pay what he deemed an
exorbitant price for it, being the Tucker, for which the museo now proudly owns
one of: No. 7 of 51 produced.
And although the original LeMay Marymount Academy
Homestead in Spanaway still exists, along with holding its yearly Car Show
& Auction each August the focus has now primarily shifted to America's Car Museum (ACM) instead, which now houses a recreation of Lucky's Garage, it's first
permanent exhibit, honouring the late Harold Lucky' LeMay and a replica of his
early garage in Spanaway.
Whilst the Marymount Homestead in Spanaway is
still active, being open to the public weekly, operating under the guise of the
LeMay Family Collection, for which Y'all can visit their website by
clicking Here
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Kudos to Mr. Dale Wickel, Collections Technician of
America's Car Museum for providing answers & clarification regarding the
'41 Chevrolet possibly being Harold's favourite car.