The Original Picker

The Original Picker History Channel has signed its television contract with the wrong crew.

Step aside American Pickers, because Allen Woodall Jr. is the real deal. Self-­‐proclaimed as “the original picker,” Woodall has been busy collecting a variety of memorabilia throughout his entire life. The Columbus, Georgia native started his quest for unique artifacts right out of college.

“I have done it all. I have collected a lot of rare things and been all over the country buying really great pieces,” Woodall said.

Beaming with joy as if he were a little kid in a candy shop, Woodall marveled over his array of treasures displayed in a three-­‐story warehouse that he rents from Columbus’s Department of Agriculture. Red concrete floors spread across the 6,000-­‐square-­‐foot facility found inside the International Marketplace on the southern edge of Columbus. The museum houses nearly a dozen antique cars and collectible knick-­‐knacks-­‐ ranging from a ceramic turtle spittoon to a 1920s rainbow-­‐feathered hat.

Near the back of the warehouse sits a dark brown stained shaving mug cabinet that spans longer than an automobile.

“Believe it or not, I have owned this piece for more than 50 years. It came out of a barber shop in a hotel in Philadelphia,” Woodall said. “They had a key where they would unlock the glass cabinet and keep individual customers’ own shaving mugs.”

To accompany the shaving mug cabinet, Woodall exhibits an ornate, tufted green leather barber chair.

Before he even received his diploma from the University of Georgia in 1955, Woodall’s collecting habits were in full-­‐ throttle. “I got into cars really early on,” Woodall said. “In the 60s I bought a 1934 two-­‐door Ford convertible Roadster that I found right here in Columbus. Back then, I bought it for $700. Now, it is estimated to be worth about $75,000.”

When it comes to automobiles, Woodall’s “greatest acquisition” was in 1969 when he landed a ‘62 Ferrari GTO that won second place at Le Mans. Since 1923, sports cars have raced annually in Le Mans, France, in pursuit of the ostentatious title of first place. Over the years, the race has inspired imitators from all over the globe, such as the Daytona in Florida.

“There was this magazine called Hemmings Motor News, which was also referred to as ‘The Bible of the Hobby,’ where I found a contact who agreed to help me locate a Ferrari GTO,” Woodall said. One week later, he received a phone call from England saying that one had been found. “And so I bought the car for $30,000, paid $5,000 to have it shipped in the belly of a 737 to Atlanta, and then went through customs and drove it home.”

Although he studied journalism, Woodall always found himself being drawn back to sales. “When I got out of high school, I wanted to go to Hollywood and become an actor,” Woodall said. However, instead he followed in his father’s footsteps and took over the family-­‐owned Columbus radio station WDAK. Back in the 70s when AM ratings were crashing, Woodall put his savvy marketing techniques to use by landing a spot on the front page of The Columbus Ledger to promote his newly re-­‐named radio station, K Country. After going on-­‐air to ask listeners if he could buy their old pickups, Woodall wound up with more than 100 trucks that he painted red and black donning his station’s name.

“We set the trucks all over-­‐ from Columbus and Phoenix City to Auburn and Opelika,” Woodall said. “To get our name out there, we had contests like ‘first person to call in with the number of K Country pickup trucks seen on Milton Road wins a dinner for two to Applebees.’ It got so big that we ended up winning the award of ‘Best Promotion of the Year.’”

Gary Fuller, mayor of Opelika, was in the radio business at the same time as Woodall until he sold his station in 1998.

Working in the same industry, Woodall and Fuller became acquaintances and occasionally still run into one another.

“Just a few years ago I spoke with Gary. He told me things were not going too well in Opelika and that he is now

working at McDonald’s,” Woodall jokes. One thing he remembered Fuller constantly saying about the radio business was, “If you can sell air, you can sell anything.”

In the midst of dabbling into collecting cars and working at K Country during the 60s and 70s, Woodall discovered a town no bigger than a hiccup just north of Columbus near Callaway Gardens called Hamilton. At the time he stumbled upon it, Hamilton was a ghost town.

Fascinated with its beautiful architectural details, Woodall purchased 11 of Hamilton’s downtown buildings and renovated them. Many of the fixtures Woodall incorporated in his renovation were from an old bookstore dating back to 1910 in Blacksburg, S.C. Among the attractions he installed in downtown Hamilton were musical and car museums and an old ice cream parlor.

Elated with each personal story he tells, Woodall’s eyes glistened as if he were living each experience over again. “Being here today is what I am most proud of,” Woodall said. “Doing something like this museum that people can see and enjoy, and like Hamilton where people can be like ‘Wow! This is great!’ is what I love. Like my automobiles, I try to reserve things from the past.”

During his years of heighted interest in foreign luxury cars, Woodall learned the ins and outs of the Bugatti family. He discovered that not only was the Bugatti family designers of automobiles, but also of trains, art deco sculptures, furniture, and other exotic things. Son of architect and sculptor Giovanni Luigi Bugatti, Carlo worked with a variety of mediums, but is best remembered for his furniture designs.

On a mission to find original Bugatti furniture, Woodall went to New York and searched the antique import houses high and low. “I walked in one building and found three pieces of Bugatti furniture. And luckily for me, being from Europe, they did not even know what it was,” Woodall said. He ended up taking back to Columbus an original Bugatti desk, chair and display cabinet. “They were black ebony wood with hand-­‐tooled copper and white, leather hide. They were really unique pieces.”

In addition to his Bugatti furniture, Woodall sought out southern stoneware. “I had one of the best collections of southern stoneware in the country,” he exclaimed. Some of the best pieces of southern pottery he owned were from South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia. Handcrafted decades ago, “They were utilitarian pieces that our forefathers had to live with,” Woodall said.

Another one of Woodall’s collections that he claims was “one of the largest collections in the world” was his German Luger collection. Known primarily for its use during World War I and World War II, a luger is a semi-­‐automatic pistol produced until 1942. He ended up selling his entire collection of Lugers to a man from California who was writing a book about them.

“I really go after it,” Woodall said. “But at 79 now, I am starting to kick back a little bit. I am going to be honest about it; this museum ought to be moved to another location where a lot more people could see it… It could be Atlanta, it could be North Carolina, it could be California, it could be in the Washington area, it could be in New York, it could be anywhere, you know? It could be in Colorado. It could be wherever there are a lot of tourist locations.”

Although his collection is not advertised as being “for sale,” Woodall knows that at some point in the future he should transplant his compilation of historic memorabilia somewhere that will get it as much exposure as possible. After all, one of the main reasons why he enjoys collecting so much is to share it with others.

Unfortunately, Woodall knows that his museum is not getting the traffic it deserves in Columbus, Ga. With his youngest son still a teenager and showing interest in computers, Woodall doubts that he is up for taking over the family business of collecting. And Bonnie, Allen’s wife, already spends many her week’s hours working at the front of the River Market Antiques Mall.

Indisputably, Allen Woodall Jr. has “done it all.” From his “world’s largest collections” of German Lugers and southern stoneware to his unique automobile and furniture finds, he is the connoisseur of all things collectable.