wow,One of Earl's more interesting acquisitions came from Stanley Hadley. Mr. Hadley owned a fine fantail bird, which he intended to keep and could not be persuaded to the contrary. Finally, Earl offered him fifty dollars to lease the bird for one year. At the end of the year, the bird was returned, but Mr. Hadley decided he would rather keep the money, so Earl returned home with the bird, where it still resides today.
Without hesitation, Earl's favorite artifact is "Old Ringneck," no doubt the most prestigious relic in existence. It was found in 1939 by a ditcher and was purchased by a Dr. Carrie for $50. He would later sell it to Dr. Bunch for $100. After Dr. Bunch died, Joe Geringer, who was helping with the Bunch estate, offered Ringneck to Earl for $350. Earl turned him down, and the bird was placed in the Bunch sale and was purchased by Frank Burdette for $500. Earl bought the bird from Frank Burdette two years later in 1951 for $1,100.
