Refurbishing - a Passion!

Who hasn’t looked at something and thought, Awe I had one of those as a kid? Most of us over the age of thirty maybe?

For Don Fritch, it was a bicycle. So when he found one that was similar, he had to clean it up and add it to his collection.

Don’s first project was his Grandpa Hunzeker’s 1929 Model A. He started working on it when he was a sophomore in high school in Table Rock, NE. He brought it home to the family farm south and east of Table Rock and got it running. It sat for 15-20 years before he started working on it again. It’s all original. He likes it that way. The car was last registered in 1963.

He also refurbished a bike he bought from the gal at the flower shop. She had planned to paint it and use it for decoration. He traded her for a bike he found in the junk yard that was much more suitable for her project. The bike was a late 60s model Western Flyer Wild One. He cleaned the wheels, added new tires, purchased new decals from a company in Indiana and had it painted by the Haup Shop in Beatrice. His wife, Kathy (deKoning) said, “You should see what this man can do with steel wool.”

Don also cleaned up a Schwinn Fast Back that reminded him of a bike he had when growing up. His was a cheaper version from Sears.

In all, Don has redone four gas pumps. He has found most of them on craigslist. All of his pumps are Gilbert and Barker 176 gas pumps. They are cheaper models. He has Setzer Manufacturing do any powder coating he wants done and takes all his paint work to the Haup Shop. All of his pumps have original cylinders in them. All of his pumps are complete. They could be hooked up and used today.

His first pump was Sinclair which he purchased in 2007 in Oak Grove, Missouri. The Phillips 66 was purchased in Sedwick, Kansas and the Eagle was purchased in Ottawa, Kansas.

The last one was purchased on an auction in St. Edward, NE. He went with the intentions of buying one but found another he didn’t know was on the auction and chose to bid on it. Scott Karjala, a Pawnee City graduate, purchased the other pump at the auction.

Don likes to find all original parts but that isn’t always possible. It is difficult to find original globes so the globes are often reproductions.

Don and Kathy often travel to “Iowa Gas” each year in DesMoines, Iowa to a flea market that is nothing but gas pumps and parts. They also have found Tom Buckle in Indiana to be a great source of parts.

Depending on the condition of the pump, it takes from six months to a year to refurbish. It all depends on how much time it takes to find parts. The last one took five years by the time he found the parts. There is a company called Pump Heaven that builds reproduction pumps.

He has located another gas pump in Beatrice that he’d like to refinish because he’s never seen one like it before. His wife told him just to buy it.

In addition to the gas pumps, a car and a couple bikes, Don likes to bring home “old rusty stuff” from the junk yard to fix up for Kathy to use in her flower gardens. Don stores his treasures in his shops. The pumps are all about ten foot tall. They use one of his pumps for a yard light. The couple currently lives in Fairbury but

The couple currently lives in Fairbury but hopes to return to Table Rock, NE, maybe after Don retires from the State Patrol in three years.