MEMORY LANE
Thousands pick parts at 88-acre car graveyard lined with classics dating to 1956 as owner promises ‘it’ll take you back’
1,500 classic cars draw car lovers across states and generations
A JUNKYARD full of classic cars brings automotive enthusiasts from across the nation to explore rows that take them back in time.
Most junkyards have a bad reputation for being dirty - but one holds the crown as a site of nostalgia.
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Randy Reinert, the co-owner of French Lake Auto Parts in Annandale, Minnesota, runs the yard with his wife, Tabitha.
The yard sits on 88 acres and has 1,500 cars collected over 68 years when Tabitha's family transformed the farm into a yard.
Every year, Randy and Tabitha host a "Back to the 50s" car show, that brings people from all over Texas, California, and New York.
"[Visitors] drive their classics all the way up to Minneapolis to the 'Back to the 50s,' and then they come out here and spend the day," Randy told CBS News.
Although, the yard represents more than just potential parts for those restoring an old car - it's also a blast from the glorious past.
"Junkyards can get a negative rap, but we take pride in it. We don't pigeonhole ourselves into certain years. We love the old stuff," said Tabitha.
As technology improves and the world shifts to an all-electric future, many younger restoration experts are drawn to the yard to find parts.
Especially since the yard has cars as far back as the 1920s.
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"There are some that are late 20s, there's not much left of them but we've got anything from the 20s for the classics, all the way up to the modern stuff," said Randy.
"We don't want to just go to one make or model, it's all of them."
Explore the jaw-dropping car collection sprawled over 40 acres of woodland featuring thousands of priceless classics
To bring more than restoration experts to the yard, the couple took great care to make the site more than just a yard.
They paved and created roads to lead to certain generations, makes, and models to make part-seeking easier.
And for the couple, what makes them the happiest is watching enthusiasts find the exact part they need.
Pointing to a 1965 Buick Skylark, the couple showed it nearly picked clean as people picked the parts they needed for a project.
It's nostalgia. It takes everybody back to their childhood. Cars are kind of a foothold in your memory. It'll take you back to, for me, it was Saturdays with my grandpa.
Randy Reinert
"As you can see, we've sold the seats, the interior, the console, motor and tranny are gone, the hood," said Randy.
The couple also owns a scrap metal yard, though none of the 1,500 cars will cross into that territory.
Too many eyes have gone wide with affection to justify it.
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"It's nostalgia. It takes everybody back to their childhood," said Randy.
"Cars are kind of a foothold in your memory. It'll take you back to, for me, it was Saturdays with my grandpa."