A day at the museum.

[cavalierguy73]

Shortly after Christmas in 1973 I was heading west toward the Air Force language school at the Presidio of Monterey in California with a fellow airmen from Iowa. Since the 68' Olds Vista Cruiser was mine I insisted we go through Reno to see Harrah's Automobile Museum. My co-pilot was a varsity Iowa Hawkeye wrestler who was older and tougher and not happy about the route deviation but it was my car. lol We arrived in Reno late Friday night and go to Harrahs early Saturday morning and discover it is closed. Undeterred we walk behind the building to look at the cars inside a chain link fence. There were around 40 cars there with 8 or 9 being Corvairs. After about 15 minutes a security guard approaches from inside the fence and asks us, "what do you guys think you're doing?". I tell him the story and he repeated it to the voice on his 2-way radio. Then he tells us to head over to the gate and he will let us in. Somewhat bewildered we comply. Instead of letting us look at the cars outside he waves us over to a door and lets us in! Waiting inside is a gray haired man in coveralls, who I think is a custodian. He just says, "what do you want to see?". I tell him that we wanted to see the Corvairs but that we didn't want to get anyone in trouble. He says, "you won't" and "follow me". We introduce ourselves and his name was Bill. On the way he asked, "why Corvairs?" and I briefly outline my history with the cars and he says, "yeah I like them a lot too, was disappointed when they stopped making them". There were 20 or so Corvairs and he let us look them over while we swapped car stories. I said that the Corvair was like the Chrysler Airflow, being ahead of its time, and he smiled and said that he liked the Airflow when it was new and took us over to see one. He said that like the Corvair the Airflow drove unlike the cars Detroit was building at the time. He said that Chevy should have built the 8 cylinder Corvair instead of the Camaro. I'd never heard of that proposal but years later saw the drawings and a picture of the engine. He was surprised that I knew about Harry Miller and Etore Bugatti and the Duesenberg brothers and took us over to look at cars I'd only seen in books. All the while telling us stories about the cars and the men who made them. About that time a man came up to Bill and asked him a question. After receiving an answer he says, "yes sir Mr. Harrah". Stunned I say that we have imposed long enough and that He has been very kind and we should leave. He says, "nonsense I'm having fun what else do you want to see?". Then he proceeded to spend another 3 hours or so showing us his cars and the stories on each one. It was amazing. When we left he told me to look him up when I got out of the Air Force and he would give me a job! I agreed on the spot. At the time I thought his kindness was motivated by disgust at how servicemen were being treated in the country at large, (which he had voiced). But now I think it was 3 Americans who loved America and were proud of what Americans had achieved just swapping stories. I didn't get back to Reno until the early 80"s and by then Big Bill Harrah had died (1978) and his family had sold off many of his cars. My Iowan friend (who was not a car guy) later told me that he had planned to go gamble while I looked at cars but was glad he didn.t.

[gbullman]

Great story, that has to be some memory!

[bbodie52]

I really enjoyed your very unique and special story.

I started my 24 year Air Force career around the same time period, and was in Basic Training at Lackland AFB, Texas during Christmas, 1972 and was in electronics training at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi in 1973, followed by my first assignment to Robins AFB, Georgia with the 5th Combat Communications Group.





William Fisk Harrah, 2 Sep 1911 - 30 Jun 1978 (aged 66)

I thought that these extracts from Bill Harrah's Wikipedia biography provides some further insight as to the nature of the man you met around early 1974...

William Fisk Harrah was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos.

Harrah was born in South Pasadena, California, the son of attorney and politician John Harrah.

Harrah studied mechanical engineering at UCLA where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Harrah was forced to drop out when the Great Depression of the late 1920s hit. He worked at various family businesses including a pool hall, a hot dog stand, a shooting gallery, and a bingo-style operation called the "Circle" or "Reno Game."

Harrah was known for his relations with both his customers and employees. The main theater in Harrah's Reno, originally called the Headliner Room, was renamed Sammy's Showroom after entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. (whose Duesenberg replica now resides in the museum that bears Harrah's name),and actor-comedian Bill Cosby recalls Harrah as a good friend.

Harrah died at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, at the age of 66, during a cardiac surgery operation to repair an aortic aneurysm. He left an estate valued at $138 million which was split into two trusts; one for his wife Verna and one for his sons.

When the car his father bought him was stolen and stripped, Harrah vowed to his sister that one day he would own a duplicate of every automobile the family had ever owned.

Harrah had an extensive collection of cars. Many of his cars enjoyed 'best' or 'one-of-a kind' status. Some notable items of his collection were the two Bugatti Type 41s, a Phantom Corsair, two Ferraris and a pair of Jerrari Wagoneers. In 1966 his Bugatti Type 41 Coupe de Ville won Best of Show at Pebble Beach.

After Bill Harrah's death, Holiday Inn acquired Harrah's, including the car collection. The bulk of the collection was sold at several auctions between 1984-1986, garnering more than $100 million. An outcry by the people of Reno and Sparks led to Holiday Inn donating 175 vehicles to establish the William F. Harrah Automobile Museum in downtown Reno, Nevada. Some of the cars were donated to form the Imperial Palace Auto Collection in Las Vegas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Harrah




I remembered the "1968 Olds Vista Cruiser" you mentioned in the story. A neighbor who lived across the street from me
when I was a young teen had one...

1968 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser

[flat6_musik]

Thank you for sharing those wonderful memories!

[tommyboy]

Thank you for sharing, and thank you all for your service.

[erco]

What a great story, thank you for sharing and thanks for your service.