This weekend I lost a friend.
Some of you may know Steve Wolken. He was a huge crane collector for years and an avid train buff. His collection at one time rivaled that of some of the larger collectors in the world. He had an entire basement full of items that he had collected and he had a soft spot especially for Tower Cranes. I have photos of his collection somewhere - will find them and post them soon.
But Steve was first and foremost a train guy. He loved the GG1 (his license plate read ISWGG1) and the Big Boy Locomotives best of all. He even had some Fine Art models in his collection as well as some other fantastic locomotive replicas which I know little or nothing about.
I met Steve originally when I worked for a software company. He and I worked for competitive companies and we ran into each other at trade shows, etc. One day, Dave Frank (Dave's Model Toys) told me he was going to introduce me to a "big collector" and in walked Steve-O.
It was a strange coincidence and we kept in contact ever since. For awhile he was a good customer and then he and an old business partner of mine came to me with an idea to start American Diecast Models (ADM) ADM Website. We originally were each equal partners in the venture which specialized in buying and selling collections. Over time, I bought out the other two guys and ADM became part of DHS Diecast. Steve and I kept in touch.
Steve is probably best known for buying the original version of the Kevin Anderson collection. He purchased the collection in November of 2004 which was reportedly valued at over $1.3 million. I wrote an article which was printed in the January 2005 edition of the Toy Trucker magazine about the Anderson Collection.
One day about 6 years ago, Steve, a bunch of local guys (including Curtis from Turtle Models and Jim McCormick) and myself were having lunch at "The Station" restaurant which is located where the Norfolk Southern Railroad and CSX cross in Berea, Ohio. (2nd busiest railroad junction in the USA). Berea Ohio Railroad Junction. There were 6-7 of us talking about all the historical transportation and related industries that were in our area. Companies like Bucyrus Corporation, Terex Corporation, Lincoln Electric, Parker-Hannifin, Goodyear, Lorain Shovel Company, Huber Corporation and so many others had started in our area and our kids would never know about all the history surrounding Northeastern Ohio. Berea Union Depot Restaurant.
Someone said "we should build a museum" and that is where the concept of the Ohio Museum of Transportation and Industry started (OMTI). The organization operates under the name "Celebrating American in Motion" nowadays. See the website for details of what we are trying to do at Celebrating America in Motion Website.
Steve went full-throttle into this venture as a Founding Director and our resident internet researcher. Without Steve's involvement, this tiny idea would have never taken shape. Steve, along with his cohort in crime, John Shephard, visited over 30 museums and provided a report on each one to help us understand what we were getting into. He was always available for a conversation and we lived through the ups and downs of trying to start something in a very difficult time period.
Steve also provided many hours of free consulting to me as I started up this business. We met for lunch (one of his favorite things to do) for hours at a time working on strategy and concepts for building my own business. I will miss those times.
At times, Steve could be classified as a "know it all". There were times when he could not hold himself back and he had an answer for everything and an experience to share for every situation. But that was just Steve. He once told me on the sly that if he did not have information about a conversation we were having, he would just make it up. I guess that is what made him a great salesman and it certainly made for some fun conversations.
I will personally miss Steve and his love of life. He will be missed by his family (son, daughter and two grandchildren) of course, but he will also be missed by his friends.
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| Here is a photo of Steve (lower left) along with John Shephard (upper right), Tom Marsh (lower right) and me (upper left) when we visited the Nickleplate Class S3 Berkshire Number 765 in Indiana a few years back. |
Thanks for listening.
Chuck
