A Visit Back in Time

Susan Frissell

Lee Hartung is "one of the best teachers around," says Jerry Robbin of the International Mercury Owners Association. The automotive-and other collectibles knowledge possessed by this interesting 83 yr-old just begs to be told. Young and old alike can benefit by taking a walk through time in Professor Lee's (as he is fondly referred to) Automotive Museum. Located in our own backyard, the Hartung Automotive Museum's eclectic collection is located in Glenview, Illinois and is a must see-and experience kind of adventure.

Right up my alley, I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing this testament to treasures past. It would be impossible to list here everything contained in the Hartung Automotive Museum. Mr. Hartung himself doesn't even have a written inventory. However, it's all kept in his head.

Leading the tour himself, Lee is a wealth of knowledge about things past. And he's as sharp as a tack. He keeps information on every piece he's collected, showcases it and passes the knowledge on to anyone who's interested. In fact, he possesses so much knowledge on memorabilia, much of it automotive, that people have come from all over the country, the world even, to witness his collection.

Many of the automotive collectibles in the Hartung Museum are un-restored, which makes them even more valuable. A museum of sorts, these jewels are "as is," collected and displayed with love, to be enjoyed by all who visit.   

A display of more than 100 antique autos, trucks and tractors, Hartung's Automotive Museum also has 75 antique bicycles, model cars, auto hub caps, radiator emblems, and even includes some Model T Fords (1909-1926), a 1926 Hertz Essex Terraplane (the only Hertz car that belonged to John Hertz), and other rare, classic automobiles. The tractors stretch the length of the building, all collected from local farms.            And if this wasn't enough, he says he has a building located in Wisconsin with several Cadillacs!

Many of the cars are one-owner only, and in original condition. Each has a license plate with the date of the car. Most all of the cars have objects inside them: Other memorabilia. Professor Lee is running out of space so has several more items in storage. He told us he can no longer display the license plates (one from every state, first issue to present year, and all pre-state Hawaii and all but one pre-state Alaska) from the ceiling because he can't get up there anymore, so the extras are kept, by state in a file cabinet.

Mr. Hartung shared much with our media group, not only about the collectibles but about the history of the area; such as the secret war factory located in Glenview that manufactured things during WW II. No one knew of it or where it was located.

Lee moved to Glenview in 1950 and began by collecting license plates. In the salvage/moving and general hauling business, he was paid "in kind" for hauling junk away. Everything he has collected was brought to him, collected or traded and has come from within 15 miles of his museum. He claims he has never bought anything on the Internet; never saw it or used it! Nor does he have a retail license so he can't "sell" anything.

Professor Lee agrees that there is no other museum like his anywhere, period. Some of the other collectibles inside the large steel warehouse (and on the surrounding property) include 12 model T's (a 1909 six-cylinder model T-only made six of them in aluminum), a 1986 Yugo in the front yard, a host of unusual cars: Bentley, '32 Studebaker ("for export to China" it says on it), 3 Rolls Royces, an Essence, a Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Edward sports car, which was commissioned by the Concours to be displayed at the 2000 show as Best in Show, a1941 Lincoln Continental

Edsel, 1962 Toyopet Truck, at least 3 Willys, a Drone airplane hanging from the ceiling.

1931 Ford Bus, X Paddy Wagon with pipes mounted inside to attach prisoners' handcuffs, and 50 motorcycles back to 1901: A 1937 Indian 4 cylinder, 1945 Harley Davidson, 8 side cars, a motorcycle prop used as a ride at Riverview Park,

In addition, the Museum contains an arrowhead collection Lee found on farm land in Skokie. They are perched on a wall surrounded by engine parts, military equipment, the 1931-1941 Fords, and stuffed animals. He owns the first and only car mascot with a religious connotation. It is a motorcycle/car/airplane theme, able to be mounted on any car. And there is the Tucker car memorabilia, including a stock certificate and original order blank.

Our favorite piece in the Museum is a "homemade" wooden leg! And the list goes on and on. For your own tour, visit the Hartung Museum by appointment. Call 847.724.4354, Monday-Friday.

Cars-motorcycles-stuffed animals-dog tags, car tags, fire station equipment/hats/badges/equipment, engines, bikes, motorcycles, mascots of cars (first mascot made that was religious, could be mounted on any car, had a motorcycle/car/airplane theme), hood ornaments, tools for particular car (they would give a set of tools when purchasing the car), antique spark plugs, serial tags, old style reflectors, gear knobs, toys, old poster/signs, bullet proof vest (7 lbs of lead), 1908 popcorn wagon, watch fobs with advertisements on them, horse licenses, dog licenses, license plates of various towns-all of Evanston's, 2 high-wheel bikes, 14 tandems, case full of padlocks, over 100 bikes, promotional car models in cases, Hop-along-Cassidy belt, antique auto plates, handmade wooden tools, windshield village stickers from Chicago, bikes with wooden wheels, licensed chauffer buttons,  Canadian license plates, International license plates, all of Hawaii, Alaska, old dolls-some with Bisque heads, Shirley Temple, bottles, erector set, 1920 Thomas canoe made in Wisconsin, tobacco tins, old pipes, old glasses, bullets, war equipment (canteens, belts), Reiland Bree truck made in Northbrook, hats (fire, Nazi, Chaplain, etc.), shells, (some from Mrs. John T. McCutchin's collection, wife of man who drew Injun Summer), oil cans, a full printing press, many train sets stored, clocks