The Weekly 3

Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles was founded by Paul and Erminie Hafer in 1965. Interestingly enough, the museum has been around 19 years longer than I’ve been alive.

The museum is located in the former home of the Boyertown Auto Body Works, which operated from 1872 to 1990. There is something about old buildings that is more appealing. I think they add a ton more character, especially to a museum.

It’s museums like the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles that have been around for 60 years that I strive to ensure the museum I founded will follow suite. So many “car” museums come and go. I have no interest in pursuing a museum that won’t outlast my lifetime.

The museum I founded, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum, is celebrating its 10th Annual Car Show next month. I opened the museum with a car show and gave away free custom-designed “Car Show Shirts,” and have continued to do the same thing every year. 

You can check out this year’s T-Shirt design HERE. All of our shirts are paid for by sponsors. The more money we raise from sponsors, the more T-shirts we can give away.

It’s amazing to think this will be the 10th time we’ve done this show, but in the scheme of things, the museum is still so young. There is so much we still need to do, both to make the museum better, and to ensure it can last forever.

The Branson Auto & Farm Museum used to be the Branson Auto Museum when it originally opened in 2009, eight years before I opened Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. A man named Maurice Wilder fell in love with a car in the museum and only one year after the museum was opened, Maurice Wilder purchased the entire museum.

I don’t know what the museum was like in 2009, but I assume it was a relatively small private collection and at least some of the cars were available for purchase. It’s actually not too different from how Miles Through Time started.

Maurice was a man with a vision, a passion and a bank account to match. Maurice not only had an automotive passion, but he also had a farming passion and when he took over the museum, he incorporated his love for farming. 

Today, the museum is known as the Branson Auto & Farm Museum and is housed in a 90,000 square foot facility. You’ll still see some vehicles for sale in the museum, but there is a lot to see. 

It’s amazing what one person can do to take a museum to the next level. The museum I founded is a 501c3 nonprofit, which means someone like Maurice couldn’t purchase Miles Through Time. Which is good because that wouldn’t interest me. 

What I need is someone to partner with me on the for-profit side, with a passion to see the museum become one of the best in the country. It’s only a matter of time. You can see the future vision HERE.

The Texas Transportation Museum sounds like it would be a huge, well-funded state-run museum, but on the contrary, this museum is run entirely by volunteers. For over 60 years!

This museum has locomotives, vintage cars, and all kinds of transportation equipment that has been donated to the museum. It is amazing how many people have an automotive passion and are willing and able to help ensure future generations have the ability to see and learn about our past.

Check the MAP, and you’ll see there is probably at least one automotive museum within a day’s drive to where you live. You can get involved and support that museum however it fits you best. 

Or if you find a museum you really connect with, even if it’s on the other side of the country, you can still get involved and make a difference. I’m in Georgia, but I’ve gone as far as Paso Robles, CA to meet a donor family and I drove their car back to Georgia to add to the story of their donation.

Visit as many museums as you can. Volunteer if possible. Become an advocate. If you have a collection or even just one car or priceless knowledge, share it. We are all just temporary caretakers of everything we love. If we want future generations to love it as well, we have to show them why it’s worth loving.

If you want to see more, visit the Weekly 3.

Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum

 Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum

P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.