'American Pickers' TV show checking us out

The popular History Channel show “American Pickers” contacted this newspaper last week and asked us to let our readers know they’re planning to be in the region soon.

That means if you have a barn to clean, this might be your opportunity to cash in on what pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz call “rusty gold.”

They plan to film episodes of “American Pickers” throughout Washington for the documentary series on their antique hunting and buying exploits.

The show features Mike and Frank on the road, with “leads” provided by phone from Danielle Colby Cushman, who holds down the fort at their Antique Archaeology store in Iowa. They are interested only in large, private collections — no stores or malls.

People whose places they “pick” are featured in the show, generally giving historical perspective on the items in their collections.

The pickers like old motorcycles, fishing gear, oil cans, toys, bicycles, and even weird stuff like old mouse traps, bottles, old Halloween decorations and things they’ve never seen or heard of before — just about anything that could be stuffed in the back of a barn or big garage or maybe even a shipyard.

So, as promised, we’re letting you know how to get in touch with “American Pickers” if you have a big collection or know someone who does. They want people to email their name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to: [email protected] or call 855-old-rust.