American Pickers

LeClaire, Iowa used to be a sleepy little town on the banks of the Mississippi. Best known as the home of the "Buffalo Bill" museum -- for the last ten years, LeClaire has worked hard to reinvent itself.

There were new streets and curbs. They planted trees and did landscaping. With tax credits, they built a beautiful new library and city square -- and also attracted developers who built new retail spaces.

With lots of quirky little shops, and it's excellent location (right on Interstate #80) -- LeClaire has become a destination for antique-hunters from all over the country. The LeClaire merchants banded together and planned some really interesting annual events. When Mary Mulari comes to visit me in December, we often go to "Christmas in LeClaire"...with the horse & buggy rides, hot chocolate and homemade cookies in the Community Center..

If you are a fan of the American Pickers (and why wouldn't you be?) -- you were probably in LeClaire, Iowa on June 4. Along with 10,000 other people...

OH MY GOD...last summer, Emily had her picture taken with Mike Wolfe...



AND the whole point of this post was to show a great picture of Bert and Frank Fritz -- we ran into him at another recent "junkin" event....

But I took that picture with my cellphone camera, and it won't upload. I'm still hopeful...