Rosanky’s museum’s classic car collection to be auctioned

SMITHVILLE, TX - Classic car collectors and enthusiasts from around the world will converge on Rosanky in a few weeks to bid on some of the world’s rarest automobiles – many with ties to famous personalities and historical events – in one of the biggest classic car auctions to come along in a very long time, according to Daniel Kruse of Dan Kruse Classics, the auctioneer overseeing the event at the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History, located at 2502 Hwy 304.

The auction, which heralds the closing of the museum in Rosanky, will be held on Saturday, March 3, at 10 a.m. and will include a 1903 Stanley Steamer Runabout, 1970 Silver Shadow Rolls Royce owned by Johnny Cash, Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Silver Ghost Town Car and Countess Porceri’s 1933 Duesenberg Model J Sports Sedan.

The Rosanky museum has long been cherished by classic car enthusiasts in the area who have spent a Saturday afternoon with friends and family talking about the rare, the cool and the thoroughly historic collection owned by Dick Burdick, who’s passion for automobiles led him to build the facility, which opened in 1981.

Kruse, a friend of 83-year-old Burdick, said the venerable car collector has put a lot of time, energy and funding into his new museum in San Marcos, which opened in 2009 and is called Dick’s Classic Garage. The sale of vehicles from the Rosanky facility will help fund the new museum, which specializes in cars made in the U.S. from 1929 to 1959. The museums were created as non-profit organizations dedicated to an educational and entertaining experience of automotive history.

“I know it will be a sad day for Dick. He loves Rosanky and spent many years there in the home he built and in the museum and he still has many friends there,” Kruse said. “He has mixed emotions about the move, but it’s what’s right for his life right now.”

Burdick founded Thermon Manufacturing Company in 1954 and made his fortune with the instruments they made that were used in the oil, gas, engineering and power industries. His business success fueled his passion for cars, which led him to build the museum in Rosanky next to his ranch along Hwy 304. He also raced classic cars and won “The History Channel Great Race 2000,” a vintage car race from Houston to Sacramento, Calif., in a 1916 Hudson Speedster along with his partner Wayne Bell and mechanic Ray Terry. Burdick also won the race in 1989, 1990 and 1992.

Kruse said the San Marcos museum will be a showcase for almost 200 of the best cars in the world. About 20 of the vehicles from Rosanky have been moved there.

END OF AN ERA

On a recent weekday afternoon, two longtime caretakers of the museum ambled along with a photographer as he took in the large collection, often stopping to gawk at one amazing piece of history after another. The only sounds in the cavernous hall were footsteps and the caretakers running commentary as they answered questions before they were asked.

“That’s the 1934 Duesenberg,” said Ken West, a mechanic and classic automobile restorer. “Dual cowl, SJ Pheaton. That’s about one million dollars sitting there.”

West asks the photographer how to use the camera and then tells him to climb into an immaculately restored 1930 Cadillac.

“I’ll take your picture. Anybody ever do that? This is a real gem here, a V-16,” he explains as he snaps the picture.

As the photographer grins and gets his picture taken West notices the door handle is loose.

“Screws on from the inside,” he says nonchalantly. “I’ve got a dozen of those back in the shop.”

Museum curator Kurt McCowan has been at the museum in Rosanky for 15 years. As keeper of the cars he’s still trying to come to grips with the closing.

“It’s sad to see it close but I understand why Dick’s doing it,” McCowan said. “The museum will be open for free this month so people can come by and see these classics before they’re gone.”

Several of the cars have already been moved, either to the San Marcos museum or by private owners coming to collect their vehicles before the auction.

“We will be selling everything between the paint on the floor to the paint on the ceiling,” West said pointing out display cases of historical items ranging from hood ornaments to a vast array of vintage gas pumps.

West takes a picture frame holding documents from a Rolls Royce limo for the photographer.

“Can you get a shot of this? June Carter Cash signed the bill of sale on this,” West said. “I heard it was one of Johnny’s favorite cars.”

The sale document with Carter’s signature said the Rolls Royce Four Door costs $35,000 and was bought in October of 1977. Johnny Cash signed the temporary license plate for the car.

For Jim Backus, who lives just a few miles down Hwy 304, the loss of the museum is emotional because of personal history. Jim and his wife Vicki, who passed away in 2007, visited the museum to view the classic cars and memorabilia dozens of times.

“She had a 1964 Rambler convertible when I met her,” Backus said. “She was also working on a 1948 five-window Chevy truck, which was really nice.”

Backus also brought family and friends to the museum over the years, which he has visited over 50 times.

“These are the cars you heard about from your grandparents and parents,” Backus said. “You saw them in the old black and white movies, the Packards, the DeSoto’s – and you walk in and they’re right in front of you.”

One of his favorites is the 1964 Lincoln Continental Convertible with the suicide doors, once owned by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The vehicle is being auctioned with proceeds to benefit the LBJ Foundation, which provides funds to the LBJ Library at the University of Texas.

“LBJ drove around his ranch with it. It’s got a welded plate on the bottom so he wouldn’t do too much damage driving through the cow pastures,” Backus said.

He plans on being at the auction and maybe bidding on some of the memorabilia items, although he said if he wins the lottery before then, he will be buying something bigger.

Kruse said the sale, as sad as it is, is part of Burdick’s long-term museum strategy.

“The museum in Rosanky has been a very rich and proud part of Dick’s history, but he’s going to fulfill his dream at the new museum In San Marcos, which is really just 30 minutes down the road,” Kruse said. “He wants to leave a legacy, something that’s going to last long after he’s gone. Consolidating his cars and selling his interests in Rosanky will provide a fund to run the new museum long after Dick’s gone.”

Kruse said there would be standing room for the public to view the auction as 500 or so collectors from around the world fill the seats to bid on a truly remarkable collection – some of the rarest cars in the world.

To see a list of car for auction along with a detailed history of the automobiles, visit www.kruseclassics.com.

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