A church in Minnesota has discovered itself the not likely owner of a collection of some 30,000 automobiles. A few of them are fullsize, some so small they could fit on the suggestion of your finger– or the head of a pin, if only the angels would quit dancing and make room. And they were all generated by one guy.
That guy was Dennis Erickson of Lakeville, MN. He was a churchgoer, and worked as an usher at Celebration Church– however he was a single child, an orphan, and did not have any kids. So when the trained civil engineer passed away just recently at the age of 69, he left his assets to his Pentecostal congregation. Much to their surprise, that included what could be counted among the biggest collection of toy automobiles in the world.
Erickson had gathered more than one car for every single day of his life. Not only that, however he had many sales brochures– all carefully cataloged– and a few full-size classics also. There’s a Ford Design T, a ’59 Edsel, and a ’66 Rambler in the garage. He had a ’77 Bonneville, too, but that he delegated his pal Glenn Lindell, with whom he took a journey in the Pontiac years earlier. From the sale of the toys alone, the church anticipates to raise thousands, which it plans to make use of to remodel its youth facilities.
