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Frenchy is a great guy and his talent at restoring cars is remarkable. He is always willing to lend a hand to anyone who asks for his
help and is highly regarded among the Volkswagen community. However, here is something you may not know about him: He is a
pack-rat. We have been married 25+ years and his VW collection continues to grow and grow and grow. He has been in the hobby
since the early 1970's and has been collecting from the beginning. He has never thrown away a Volkswagen magazine and he has them
all. At the Bug-In, he would go around afterwards and pick up tickets, programs, dash plaques, entry forms and anything else
someone had thrown away or left behind. He converted one of the stalls in the garage into a home for his '52 Split and filled it with
lots of the memorabilia he has collected over the years. This is the original Shrine and it looks great, but he still had a lot of VW
memorabilia. We had talked about converting the downstairs bedroom into a toy/magazine/collectible room. One day in September
of 2005 I decided now was the time to start on that room. He and our friend, George Meyer, were in California for a weekend trip and
I emptied out the room. Soon after their return, they started working on the room. We all worked hard on it, but the end result is
wonderful. Come on in and I'll give you a tour....... (Click on the thumbnails for a larger view)
help and is highly regarded among the Volkswagen community. However, here is something you may not know about him: He is a
pack-rat. We have been married 25+ years and his VW collection continues to grow and grow and grow. He has been in the hobby
since the early 1970's and has been collecting from the beginning. He has never thrown away a Volkswagen magazine and he has them
all. At the Bug-In, he would go around afterwards and pick up tickets, programs, dash plaques, entry forms and anything else
someone had thrown away or left behind. He converted one of the stalls in the garage into a home for his '52 Split and filled it with
lots of the memorabilia he has collected over the years. This is the original Shrine and it looks great, but he still had a lot of VW
memorabilia. We had talked about converting the downstairs bedroom into a toy/magazine/collectible room. One day in September
of 2005 I decided now was the time to start on that room. He and our friend, George Meyer, were in California for a weekend trip and
I emptied out the room. Soon after their return, they started working on the room. We all worked hard on it, but the end result is
wonderful. Come on in and I'll give you a tour....... (Click on the thumbnails for a larger view)
The first thing we needed to do was decide on a paint color. Frenchy's favorite Volkswagen color is Bahama blue, so we decided that
would be the wall color. For the floor, he has always wanted a black and white checkerboard 1950's style one. We needed a home for
all his magazines and toys, so it was off to Ikea for some bookcases. These are just their standard Billy bookcases. As you walk into
the room, the bookcases on the left hold his vast magazine collection. I told him I didn't think the three bookcases would hold them,
but they fit just fine (Picture #1). Picture 2 shows a view of the bookcases from the other side of the room. See those magazine
holders? I sorted all the magazines and put them into the holders by year. They are all labeled on the outside, so when he needs to
find the Hot VWs February 1975 issue he can do so. The middle shelf in picture #4 has all the magazines that his cars are featured
in. In addition to his vast magazine collection, he also has dozens of Volkswagen books. These are displayed throughout the shelves
and it is nice to know just where they are instead of digging for them as he has had to do in the past. He had a lot of old Volkswagen
post cards and we wanted to display those. To keep the cost of the frames down, I came across some great ones at the dollar store. If
the card didn't fit in the frame I scanned it and printed out the size we needed. If you look at pictures 5 & 6 you can see several of
the postcards. At the top of the shelves we displayed the largest of the toys along with some Volkswagen mugs and if you look at
picture 6 those bottles you see are Type II Brew and Y2K Ale. In picture 11 we have a little "Herbie" vignette. I found the Dynamite
magazine at a used book sale at the library for just .25. What a deal! Herbie is such a beloved character that if you are going to do a
memorabilia room Herbie has to be in there, right? I came across a 1986 Bugs For You calendar (picture 8) and knew we had to find a
place for it in the room. We pay homage to buses in picture 9. The toy looks just like the '61 bus we had when our kids were little.
In picture 15 you will see a Volkswagen Greats sticker in front of the holders for that magazine. Frenchy has a collection of Bug-In
dash plaques and these can be seen in picture 17. The box in picture 18 was given to him by Toyota and it has a picture of the
Toyopet on it and this is one of his current projects. So, we have made it through the bookshelves. Now on to the next part of the
tour......
would be the wall color. For the floor, he has always wanted a black and white checkerboard 1950's style one. We needed a home for
all his magazines and toys, so it was off to Ikea for some bookcases. These are just their standard Billy bookcases. As you walk into
the room, the bookcases on the left hold his vast magazine collection. I told him I didn't think the three bookcases would hold them,
but they fit just fine (Picture #1). Picture 2 shows a view of the bookcases from the other side of the room. See those magazine
holders? I sorted all the magazines and put them into the holders by year. They are all labeled on the outside, so when he needs to
find the Hot VWs February 1975 issue he can do so. The middle shelf in picture #4 has all the magazines that his cars are featured
in. In addition to his vast magazine collection, he also has dozens of Volkswagen books. These are displayed throughout the shelves
and it is nice to know just where they are instead of digging for them as he has had to do in the past. He had a lot of old Volkswagen
post cards and we wanted to display those. To keep the cost of the frames down, I came across some great ones at the dollar store. If
the card didn't fit in the frame I scanned it and printed out the size we needed. If you look at pictures 5 & 6 you can see several of
the postcards. At the top of the shelves we displayed the largest of the toys along with some Volkswagen mugs and if you look at
picture 6 those bottles you see are Type II Brew and Y2K Ale. In picture 11 we have a little "Herbie" vignette. I found the Dynamite
magazine at a used book sale at the library for just .25. What a deal! Herbie is such a beloved character that if you are going to do a
memorabilia room Herbie has to be in there, right? I came across a 1986 Bugs For You calendar (picture 8) and knew we had to find a
place for it in the room. We pay homage to buses in picture 9. The toy looks just like the '61 bus we had when our kids were little.
In picture 15 you will see a Volkswagen Greats sticker in front of the holders for that magazine. Frenchy has a collection of Bug-In
dash plaques and these can be seen in picture 17. The box in picture 18 was given to him by Toyota and it has a picture of the
Toyopet on it and this is one of his current projects. So, we have made it through the bookshelves. Now on to the next part of the
tour......
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Picture 19 is a view from the doorway of the back of the room. We wanted a sitting area where someone could browse through a
magazine or a book. Frenchy liked the retro look of the folding chairs. How do you like our VW Camlamp seen in picture 20? Isn't it
cool? I bought it from ebay. The next two pictures are Frenchy's very own wall of fame. How many guys have one of those in their
house? These are all the cars he has owned. If you look at the very last picture on the wall, next to it is a nail because I know he's
not done yet! In Picture 22 the pictures above the fame wall are prints from original photographs of the Wolfsburg factory. Frenchy
acquired them from Bill & Steve many years ago. They are wonderful vintage photos and we wanted to use them in the room.
However, at 11 x 17 they were simply too big because as you can see our wall space is very limited. We picked out the ones we
liked and I took them to an office supply store and had them make 8 x 10 prints. On to the next phase of the tour.......
magazine or a book. Frenchy liked the retro look of the folding chairs. How do you like our VW Camlamp seen in picture 20? Isn't it
cool? I bought it from ebay. The next two pictures are Frenchy's very own wall of fame. How many guys have one of those in their
house? These are all the cars he has owned. If you look at the very last picture on the wall, next to it is a nail because I know he's
not done yet! In Picture 22 the pictures above the fame wall are prints from original photographs of the Wolfsburg factory. Frenchy
acquired them from Bill & Steve many years ago. They are wonderful vintage photos and we wanted to use them in the room.
However, at 11 x 17 they were simply too big because as you can see our wall space is very limited. We picked out the ones we
liked and I took them to an office supply store and had them make 8 x 10 prints. On to the next phase of the tour.......
| 32 33 34 35 36 |
| 6 7 8 9 10 |
Picture 23 shows the shelves that hold the toys from the doorway. He has been collecting toys since the year met, 1979, and he has
many rare pieces. Picture 24 shows some of the collection. Our friend Larry Boileau is into scale models and he made Frenchy
models of the '67 Beetle and the '67 Ghia (picture 25). They are beautiful and the detail in them is just amazing. We had to display
some of his Bug-In stuff (pictures 26 & 27). I took some programs and photos and framed them. You can also see some dash plaques,
pins and other Bug-In items. Picture 28 is the Hot VWs shelf. I took two covers, scanned them and put them into frames. The white
Beetle you see below the February 1975 cover is the car that they used in the shoot before it became a Cal Looker. The VW Classic
shelf can be seen in picture 29. Again, I scanned and framed two of the postcards. We put in some pins, VIP passes, VW Classic toy
vehicles and other Classic memorabilia pieces. On the top of the shelf (picture 30) Frenchy put his CalLook license plate that was on
the '67 Beetle and the MY67KG plate that was on the Ghia. The last picture (31) is a view of the shelf from across the room. On to
the final phase of the tour...
many rare pieces. Picture 24 shows some of the collection. Our friend Larry Boileau is into scale models and he made Frenchy
models of the '67 Beetle and the '67 Ghia (picture 25). They are beautiful and the detail in them is just amazing. We had to display
some of his Bug-In stuff (pictures 26 & 27). I took some programs and photos and framed them. You can also see some dash plaques,
pins and other Bug-In items. Picture 28 is the Hot VWs shelf. I took two covers, scanned them and put them into frames. The white
Beetle you see below the February 1975 cover is the car that they used in the shoot before it became a Cal Looker. The VW Classic
shelf can be seen in picture 29. Again, I scanned and framed two of the postcards. We put in some pins, VIP passes, VW Classic toy
vehicles and other Classic memorabilia pieces. On the top of the shelf (picture 30) Frenchy put his CalLook license plate that was on
the '67 Beetle and the MY67KG plate that was on the Ghia. The last picture (31) is a view of the shelf from across the room. On to
the final phase of the tour...
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In addition to this being Frenchy's toy/magazine/collectible room, it is also our downstairs office. George removed the closet so we
could have a nice area for our desk (picture 32). We took our albums with Volkswagens on them, framed them and hung them up
(picture 33). Everyone knows about the yellow Beetle on the Abbey Road album and of course Herbie, but who the heck are The
Letterman? Next to the albums is a clock we picked up at a VW dealership in Tucson when we went down there for the Chirco show
and Frenchy's very own calendar. For Christmas, I picked out 13 of Frenchy's cars and had them made into a calendar. He was so
surprised when he opened it and must have looked at it at least a dozen times. He had this (picture 35) as part of the display of the '67
at the World of Wheels. I took pictures of two of his cars, had them laminated and enlarged to11 x 17 (pictures 37 & 38). It is a great
place to set your beverage or snack when working on the computer. One side is the Ghia, seen in picture 37 with our Samba and
VVWCA mousepads and the other is a cool shot of the '32 Hot Rod with the '65 Beetle in the background. Here is a shot of our desk
(picture 39). We bought this lamp at a swap meet for our son's room when he was a little guy (picture 40). Right behind the lamp is a
magazine rack. The current issue goes in the rack and the previous one is put on the shelf in the corresponding magazine holder. No
more throwing them in the corner or whatever surface is handy! So there you have it. Pretty neat, huh? Oh, one more picture to show
you: just outside the window the Ghia waits patiently for its makeover.
could have a nice area for our desk (picture 32). We took our albums with Volkswagens on them, framed them and hung them up
(picture 33). Everyone knows about the yellow Beetle on the Abbey Road album and of course Herbie, but who the heck are The
Letterman? Next to the albums is a clock we picked up at a VW dealership in Tucson when we went down there for the Chirco show
and Frenchy's very own calendar. For Christmas, I picked out 13 of Frenchy's cars and had them made into a calendar. He was so
surprised when he opened it and must have looked at it at least a dozen times. He had this (picture 35) as part of the display of the '67
at the World of Wheels. I took pictures of two of his cars, had them laminated and enlarged to11 x 17 (pictures 37 & 38). It is a great
place to set your beverage or snack when working on the computer. One side is the Ghia, seen in picture 37 with our Samba and
VVWCA mousepads and the other is a cool shot of the '32 Hot Rod with the '65 Beetle in the background. Here is a shot of our desk
(picture 39). We bought this lamp at a swap meet for our son's room when he was a little guy (picture 40). Right behind the lamp is a
magazine rack. The current issue goes in the rack and the previous one is put on the shelf in the corresponding magazine holder. No
more throwing them in the corner or whatever surface is handy! So there you have it. Pretty neat, huh? Oh, one more picture to show
you: just outside the window the Ghia waits patiently for its makeover.
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