Truckload of trucks: Joplin man keeps large collection

Globe Life

Related Photos

Discussion

March 12, 2010

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Fri Mar 12, 2010, 06:12 PM CST

By Scott Meeker

smeeker@joplinglobe.com

It’s probably safe to say that Larry Kelly knows more about trucks than the average 78-year-old.

It helps that he keeps some visual reminders around his room at the Silver Creek Assisted Living Center — nearly 300, actually.

Of course, Kelly is more specific than that.

“I have 295,” Kelly says as he walks around the room, where model trucks and cars are lined up on shelves, sometimes three deep. On one wall, the shelves are stacked from nearly floor to ceiling.

Kelly points out some of his favorites, often noting the make and model, how much he paid for it, or who gave it to him and when.

“That’s a 1955 Chevy Nomad station wagon. I’ve got two of them,” he says, pointing to a spot on one of his shelves. “That’s a ‘41 Chevy pickup, and that one down there is an ‘84 Peterbilt. I have three of those.”

There is the occasional car here and there among his collection — a 1917 Model T here, a 1969 GTO convertible there, and even a small Budweiser cart being pulled along by Clydesdales.

But most of his acquisitions have been trucks, from the four-wheeled variety to those with 18 wheels. Many of the trucks are emblazoned with corporate logos, from Braum’s and McDonald’s to Fed-Ex and Coca-Cola.

Kelly can pick out the truck that began his collection: a Wal-Mart tractor trailer that he purchased 10 years ago.

“I paid $25 for it at Wal-Mart,” he says. “Now, my family, they buy me a truck or two every year at Christmas and on my birthday. Different friends of mine have bought them for me. I just get ‘em one at a time.”

Kelly was born in Cassville in 1932. His father was Thurmond Kelly, who preached at Calvary Baptist Church and Forest Park Baptist Church after moving the family to the Joplin area. Kelly, who never married but has three sisters, says that he has spent most of his life around trucks.

“I worked at a filling station up there on 11th and Range Line,” he says. “It was called Wilkerson’s. I started there in 1955, pumping gas and changing the oil. We had started out at 7th and Range Line but had to move.”

While trucks are his primary interest, he doesn’t drive one. Instead, he gets around in style in a red 2002 Camaro.

“I got it in May of 2002,” Kelly says, pointing to a picture of himself behind the wheel that hangs on one wall. “It was sitting in the showroom when I bought it.”

He works two days a week, picking up and delivering death certificates for the Mason-Woodard and Hedge-Lewis funeral homes. It’s a job that he’s had for 26 years.

“I only do it two days a week, but sometimes three if it’s busy,” he says.

Kelly has been named the Resident of the Month for March at Silver Creek Assisted Living Center.

“Larry is a very nice guy,” said Lucy Strickland, activities director for the assisted living center. “He always comes up and gives hugs and kisses to the staff and lets us know that he loves us and appreciates all that we do.”

Strickland says that the residents of Silver Creek usually vote on the Resident of the Month award, but the staff recently started honoring those who have been there the longest. Kelly, she says, has lived there for about 10 years.

Kelly enjoys spending time with the friends that he’s made at the center, and hardly ever misses reruns of “The Andy Griffith Show” when they’re on. But there’s no mistaking the pride in his voice when he talks about his truck collection.

He can tell visitors a little something about each one — all 295 of them.

“It’ll be 297 by the end of the week,” he says. “I’ve got two more coming. I just keep getting them.”

Text Only

Globe Life

Students add vision to collaborative exhibit
In a “secret room” upstairs at Spiva Center for the Arts, an art project began last week that won’t be finished for 18 more days. That’s because it is being created by more than 1,100 artists.

February 6, 2012 1 Photo
Cari Rerat: Pair of graphic novels tell tales of heroism
Witty banter, blood-soaked violence, and old-school sound effects make this one of the most fun graphic novels I’ve read in a long time.

February 6, 2012
Frankie Meyer: Celebrity genealogy hunt makes return to TV
At last, my favorite series is returning for its third season. “Who Do You Think You Are?” is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Fridays.

February 6, 2012
Frankie Meyer: Church minutes can provide details about ancestors
As you compile your family history, you will often learn the name of the church that an ancestor attended. Novice researchers sometimes ignore that type of detail, not realizing that church records can provide details that blast through the brick walls of research.

January 31, 2012
Phyllis Seesengood: Prequel takes Jack Reacher book series back in time
“The Affair,” by Lee Child, is the 16th book in the series of Jack Reacher thrillers and is a prequel to the other books. It takes us back in time to March 1997, where we learn valuable information about Reacher’s background and his reasons for leaving the military.

January 31, 2012
B-easy does it
Chris Watson, a Pittsburg State University graduate and Kansas native, was visiting a local video store when he stumbled across three horror movies he’d either produced, directed, directly written or co-written over the last eight years.

January 31, 2012 3 Photos
Book highlights opposites in animal kingdom
Even in science opposite attract. It’s the opposite ends of a magnet that attract. Don’t try to connect the south poles on two magnets, because it’s not going to work. Opposites attract.

January 23, 2012
Cemetery research can yield details about family
Through cemetery research, family history researchers can learn details such as names of spouses and children, military service, hobbies and religious preference, as well as the date and location of birth, marriages and death.

January 23, 2012
Art class helps kids deal with feelings from tornado
And while this innovative program received national attention -- thanks to the Joplin-based episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on Jan. 13 -- Bourne’s mobile arts center, dedicated to the growth and healing of children through art, had been up and running long before the EF-5 tornado suddenly spiraled out of the clouds.

January 23, 2012 1 Photo
Danya Walker: Non-fiction work examines history’s infamous mistresses
Many times, the cover and title of a book promises a much more risque read than is actually delivered. “Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman” by Elizabeth Abbott is one such book.

January 16, 2012
More Globe Life Headlines

Water company cites reconnections

Globe Life

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Truckload of trucks: Joplin man keeps large collection

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Site Map

Contact Us