Cobra03
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Status of the Military Salvage Yard in Rolla, Missouri
- Thread starter bbbang
- Start date
Cobra03
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- Imperial, MO
Cobra03
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- Imperial, MO
Cobra03
Member
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- Imperial, MO
Cobra03
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- Imperial, MO
Cobra03
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tommys2patrick
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I can remember going by this place when I was a kid in the fifties/60's and when my brother was going to school in Rolla and when I went to Ft Leonard Wood in basic. In fact there used to be a couple of these salvage yards in the vicinity. Like you say --more of a hoarder than a salver or restorer. Missouri is hard on metal though even just sitting. Sorry just rambling and remembering. I guess the Meramec is finally going down a bit.
Cobra03
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NO biggie. He has a yard down the street from there in a quarry. It just has old tires and junk in it. He owns a old grocery store in town, and has a bunch in there too. I was there with him in 2007. I didn't have a MV then. He is a nice guy, but I think he is not wanting to accept the reality of his age. My Grandpa is like that at 96years old so I get it. He wants to sell everything and buy an RV to go travel until he dies and spend all his money. It makes me sad, that it is too late. My dad has these same charateristics, he is retired, still working 6 days a week, and wants to do other stuff. They are workaholics. Rant over.
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Yep really sad, back in the day the M151's were cut with a fine torch and were done so the two halves could be set back together and wielded. The were also numbered so you could tell which front went with which rear. Then about 15 yr ago they got shuffled. This is the best time of the year to go there while the wasps, ticks, under brush and poison ivy are dead.
There used to be 3/4 T trailer frames, WWII 1.5 ton cargo beds, M5 high speed tractor ammo and storage boxes plus whatever in the quarry .
His brother owned Dean equipment which was a huge Caterpillar and construction equipment dealer in the Midwest and the family sold out is 2011. This is an article about him and his brother who passed in 2005.
[h=4]Surplus ambition[/h] After that “date which will live in infamy,” as FDR put it, Lester Sr. immediately left college and joined the U.S. Navy, which assigned his construction battalion to the island of Guam.
After the war, Lester Sr. and his brother, Warren, placed a successful bid on some military blankets — a soft launch into a thriving Army surplus business. By the late 1940s, it included multiple Dean’s Army Surplus Stores near the brothers’ hometown and wholesale customers in most U.S. states.
“In about 1951, Dad and Warren decided to make a big leap and go for very big durable hard goods,” Lester Jr. said, “and that meant B-52 bombers, tanks, Jeeps, ships, cranes, generators — big, huge, enormous acquisitions. They were awarded the contract, per a U.S. agreement with China and Japan, to clean up all the major islands in the Pacific, including Guam and Tinian. ... And Dad told me the magnitude of the war surplus material was so enormous that there was a period of time when they were pushing stuff into the ocean.”
The surplus enterprise was so huge that it spawned other ventures involving shipping, trucking equipment, smelting operations, gases and rock.
And the young entrepreneur behind the growing empire attracted the attention of a young Armenian-blooded woman, Myrna Martyr of Chicago, who came to Guam to work for a company providing support service to government and private businesses. Lester and Myrna fell in love and by 1956 had the first of five children, which came within 53 months — not a surprising rate of productivity considering the sources.
“Dad and Mom, the only private citizens in U.S. history to own a battleship, purchased what was left of the Oregon in 1956,” Lester Jr. said.
But by then, Lester Sr.’s entrepreneurial focus was beginning to shift to another industrial enterprise.
[h=4]Moving earth, blasting rock[/h] Around 1954, The Caterpillar Tractor Co. had decided that its ability to dominate the earth-moving-equipment market would be reliant on two things: high-quality tractors and an exclusive dealership system. Lester Sr. launched his dealership in Kansas City. (Brother Warren decided to stay in the surplus, salvage and other businesses.) Today, Dean Machinery is one of only about 100 exclusive CAT dealers around the world.
The rest of the story is here
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansasci..._continues_on_with_dads_wonderful_vision.html
There used to be 3/4 T trailer frames, WWII 1.5 ton cargo beds, M5 high speed tractor ammo and storage boxes plus whatever in the quarry .
His brother owned Dean equipment which was a huge Caterpillar and construction equipment dealer in the Midwest and the family sold out is 2011. This is an article about him and his brother who passed in 2005.
[h=4]Surplus ambition[/h] After that “date which will live in infamy,” as FDR put it, Lester Sr. immediately left college and joined the U.S. Navy, which assigned his construction battalion to the island of Guam.
After the war, Lester Sr. and his brother, Warren, placed a successful bid on some military blankets — a soft launch into a thriving Army surplus business. By the late 1940s, it included multiple Dean’s Army Surplus Stores near the brothers’ hometown and wholesale customers in most U.S. states.
“In about 1951, Dad and Warren decided to make a big leap and go for very big durable hard goods,” Lester Jr. said, “and that meant B-52 bombers, tanks, Jeeps, ships, cranes, generators — big, huge, enormous acquisitions. They were awarded the contract, per a U.S. agreement with China and Japan, to clean up all the major islands in the Pacific, including Guam and Tinian. ... And Dad told me the magnitude of the war surplus material was so enormous that there was a period of time when they were pushing stuff into the ocean.”
The surplus enterprise was so huge that it spawned other ventures involving shipping, trucking equipment, smelting operations, gases and rock.
And the young entrepreneur behind the growing empire attracted the attention of a young Armenian-blooded woman, Myrna Martyr of Chicago, who came to Guam to work for a company providing support service to government and private businesses. Lester and Myrna fell in love and by 1956 had the first of five children, which came within 53 months — not a surprising rate of productivity considering the sources.
“Dad and Mom, the only private citizens in U.S. history to own a battleship, purchased what was left of the Oregon in 1956,” Lester Jr. said.
But by then, Lester Sr.’s entrepreneurial focus was beginning to shift to another industrial enterprise.
[h=4]Moving earth, blasting rock[/h] Around 1954, The Caterpillar Tractor Co. had decided that its ability to dominate the earth-moving-equipment market would be reliant on two things: high-quality tractors and an exclusive dealership system. Lester Sr. launched his dealership in Kansas City. (Brother Warren decided to stay in the surplus, salvage and other businesses.) Today, Dean Machinery is one of only about 100 exclusive CAT dealers around the world.
The rest of the story is here
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansasci..._continues_on_with_dads_wonderful_vision.html
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profo
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Glad to see Dean still alive last time I was there about 7 years ago he was in his recliner in his house with a umbrella cause it was raining on him. I see he still has the bomber drop fuel tanks he cut in half for transportation, he was gonna sell them for pontoons for houseboats for the Lake of the Ozarks.
99mrpc
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Sad to see all this sitting outside. Sure wish I lived closer, some good stuff in that yard.
Stein12501
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- Tebbetts, MO.
I'm not sure of the details but some of the guys with the chapter of the MVPA that I'm in knew him pretty good and the last meeting had said that Dean's kids had put him in a nursing home. If anyone is interested I can find out more.
STLZombieHunter
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- TROY, MO
We stopped by there on our way back from Springfield over Thanksgiving 2015. We brought him an apple pie and visited with him for a while. His outlook changed on selling things when my wife walked in, he's a big flirt LOL, my 12yr old son and I went thru just the front yard stuff and was able to buy my corner bow / staves and a few tow straps. But it took my wife convincing him of it. I need to get back out there soon!
STLZombieHunter
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- TROY, MO
I'd be interested in knowing how he is doing and if he is still there, not mainly for access to buy some of his vehicles, but he's a great guy with tons of stories to tell. We brought him an apple pie when we passed thru over Thanksgiving 2015 (and then he sold me a few parts too, lol).
I was wanting to go back down there this summer with my son and see what we could come home with, as he only wanted to sell full vehicles.
I was wanting to go back down there this summer with my son and see what we could come home with, as he only wanted to sell full vehicles.
If someone has a contact with the kids, see if the local MVPA wants to get involved to try to sell some of the stuff. Lots of good stuff there, hopefully it doesn't meet a said end. I could sit there all day parting out the chopped M151s
Stein12501
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- Tebbetts, MO.
I will ask the guys at the next meeting.
STLZombieHunter
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- TROY, MO
Just following up to see if there is any other news about Warren.
pigpen60
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Cobra03 the engine in post #60 looks to be a V8 Detroit.
rwoody
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555 cummins
i used to help Warren and sold 3 of his GOERS for him
we used to go to ft hood and buy duces for a 100 a piece in 100-200 pc lots chop them up and stuff in container s and send over to nam for parts. heck of a nice guy we all get old!
under the walmart and other businesses were lots of engines trucks and other cool stuff dozers ect ..nobody knew it was there for years but him and i did.
i bet there was 40 big cat engines and trans hangin off the beams under there like hanging beef!!!!!!
i used to help Warren and sold 3 of his GOERS for him
we used to go to ft hood and buy duces for a 100 a piece in 100-200 pc lots chop them up and stuff in container s and send over to nam for parts. heck of a nice guy we all get old!
under the walmart and other businesses were lots of engines trucks and other cool stuff dozers ect ..nobody knew it was there for years but him and i did.
i bet there was 40 big cat engines and trans hangin off the beams under there like hanging beef!!!!!!
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