American Picker’s Mike Wolfe paid tribute to Elmers Auto & Toy Museum’s founder, Elmer Duellman, whom he considered a close friend and mentor, on the recent American Pickers episode that was also featured on the website Popculture. Duellman passed away in 2019 and in 2022 Wolfe and his team were invited by Duellman’s family to go through the museum’s collection of toys, pedal cars, cars and automotive memorabilia before they were auctioned off to the public. Wolfe told the story of Elmer through the collection of items that Elmer accumulated and the way he was inspired by sharing those stories with others. As a new “picker,” Wolfe shared that Duellman was “always there support to me and answer my questions. I believe as collectors, we have the responsibility to honor the items and pass along their stories to the next generation. Elmer lived a similar truth.”
