‘American Pickers’: Mike Wolfe & Jersey Jon Spend Thousands on Italian Ice Empire Owner’s Items

Mike Wolfe and “Jersey Jon” Szalay set out to California during the March 15 episode of American Pickers. It’s there they connect with Joe, who owns an Italian Ice empire. The father of 10 and grandfather of 33 opened up his eclectic collection to the guys. His kids pushed him to get rid of some stuff as they were creeping into the stock space for their business warehouses. The History Channel personalities certainly had plenty to look at during their visit.

Read on to see what they uncovered. 

While Joe enjoyed acquiring a little bit of everything, his main passion starting at age 10 was signs, specifically related to transportation. It’s why he leaned into this love for the theme of his business where “all roads lead to Joe.” The 67-year-old has been so hardcore about collecting that he mentioned pulling from outlets across 35 states that look for him. He had about four full storage units on top of what Mike and Jon saw. 

Mike eyed a light-up Ford sign Joe got out of Arizona from a dealership. Mike paid $3,000 for it. He also shelled out another $2,000 for a Husky Hi Power sign. Mike and Joe bonded over their amateur wrestling backgrounds. Joe continued to coach wrestlers today. With his dad leaving at age 2, Mike spoke about how his own wrestling coach was his first real mentor he listened to. Jon liked a salesman sample for fencing that could have been a hundred years old. After some back-and-forth negotiation, they agreed on $550. Jon really wanted a unique Riker Electric Motor Company motor from the 1800s. Knowing the rarity of the find, he came up to $6,000 for Joe. The big hits kept coming with Mike picking up a GMC sign for $3,000. 

Joe next took the guys to his bicycle room. They saw Victor bikes, a Liberty cycle, and a Pierce Bike worth upwards of $15,000. Mike and Jon’s eyes lit up when Joe revealed he bought a 1916 model G Indian bike Joe from the Dave “Huggy Beahr” Hansen for $30,000. Hansen was a beloved member of the collecting community. This was a nice end for the two’s visit. 

Glenn with Mike Wolfe (History Channel)

Mike and Jon hit the road and headed to Ohio to meet up with Navy veteran Glenn. The 92-year-old had been collecting for much of the almost century He had been collecting since age 13 with his home organized from wall to ceiling in the same vein as a private museum. Glenn remains dedicated to adding to his collection. His criteria for what interests him is he’ll buy what he has never seen before. Glenn picked up items while in the Navy and on world travels. Glenn specialized in guns, especially before 1895. Mike overpaid what Glenn offered as a price by double with $200. Glenn also did well on his World War I Doughboy doll as Mike paid $200. Jon gave him $110 for a Winchester fishing advertisement. 

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Glenn also loved hunting, which even took him to the Arctic Circle for an adventurous trip at age 65. Mike appreciated what he identified as wooden “dead hangs,” and paid $600 for the pair of wooden pieces. Jon left with an Orange Crush syrup dispenser for $1,100 and a 22-caliber pocket gun from the 1880s for $375. Their last stop was Glenn’s game room, and I’m not talking about Scrabble. Mike got him to sell his fiberglass rhino head for $500. Also bought was an old toy car for $250, wooden owls for $210, and a crow decoy set in the original box for $150. Age is but a number was proven once more to witness with Glenn’s youthful spirit when it comes to collecting.

American Pickers, Sundays, 8/7c, History Channel

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