I’m sure many of you, like me, have fond memories of wondering around salvage yards, looking at all the rusty relics. Sadly, many of these yards have closed and what ever was left over was simply crushed and sent off to be recycled. Well our buddies over at Grandinetti’s Metal Recycling in Iowa recently reached out to us about a yard that they have been tasked with clearing out. Rather than just crushing everything, they have decided to try and find good homes for as many of these cars as possible! There’s at least a thousand cars here (likely more), many of which are still buried deep in the forest that has grown up around them over the past 20 years. You can find more information about what they are calling Putnam’s Last Stand
So how did this salvage yard come to be? At the end of WWII a young Lee Putnam returned home from the European theater. He saw a need for a wrecking and auto body business in the area, so he started the Auto Body Company. As we’ve seen with many wrecking businesses, his yard became the resting place for abandoned and broke down cars that had no where else to go. He managed to accumulated vehicles from the 1930s all the way up to the ’70s.
Some cars were completely parted out, while others are still intact. While sitting outside in Iowa wasn’t the best thing, I see quite a few cars that could still be restored. Most are just parts donors at this point, that’s alright though, at least they will be helping keep other cars on the road. There’s a lot of parts here, which will be sold by the pound. So if you need trim pieces or hard to find bits, this might be a great chance to pick them up cheap!
I want to thank our friends at Grandinetti’s for taking on the monumental task. It would be much easier and quicker to just crush and scrap everything, but they want to see Mr. Putnam’s collection put to good use. So if you happen to be in the Burlington area from November 5th through the 20th, be sure to stop by 2640 Florence Avenue to see if they have anything you need. Heck, just stop by to take a look around! I could easily spend an entire day here taking in all the sights.
Also, be sure to keep an eye on Grandinetti’s Facebook wall for new photos of the most recent cars to be uncovered! Just be aware that nothing will be sold before the 5th. So who’s going to be making a trip to Burlington to see Putnam’s Last Stand in person?