American Pickers In Great Meadows 8/20/20
The American Pickers made a stop in Great Meadows today to film a segment at Genes gas station on Rt 46.
Zipp
bflat4u 
honestyseasy 
ROBBY BABY I love these guys. I always look for their van and here they are 1 mile from my house and I miss them.
Linda Bender Gene's is further west than the school, maybe a third of a mile past the school. On the right, once you go over the bridge that goes over the old RR tracks, you enter Great Meadows. There is a bigger lot that has alot of trucks in it and a building. Genes is the next building after that.
It looks like an old time gas station close to the road, he used to have many junked cars out front which have slowly gone away over time.
I believe he still does his auto repair business. With all the stuff he has behind the building, behind the fences, I would be curious to see what is back there once the show airs.
The Rhyme Animal Thank you, rhyme animal. If I’m thinking of the right lot, it’s that building with the cantilevered roof right? Looks like an old gas station close to the road like you mentioned.
For us older folks the station was Mike Billick's before Gene bought it. Wood floors in the office area. A real throw back in time.
thehazguy I remember when I was growing up, my parents were good friends with the previous owners, Bill & Brenda & their son Mikey! I used to go there all the time! It was really cool inside the station! Brenda even had a skunk that we played with! The good times! Thank you for the memories ♥️
Tammi In 1945 my Uncle Joe Sidor llived there with his family and ran the gas station. His son Joseph has the big sign that reads “Joe’s Auto Repair“ I still have a lot of memories from being there with my cousins. Too bad I didn’t know they were going to be there.
Rudy Pasko 
bob 
HHH From the photo, it looks like Mike's brother and Danielle were there.
I don't think they ever send out more than two at a time.
American Pickers is "Reality Television" which is not particularly
close to reality as the rest of us know it. Shows like this seem to
take up most of the History Channel's time these days. They
have the advantage of being cheap and easy to produce.
There are plenty of sources to check out what's real and what
isn't about these shows. It's interesting to look at the photo and
notice the camera man following the folks close behind. But
when we see the episode, everybody will be pretending the
camera (and the sound boom, and the director, etc.) aren't
there. Before the guys arrive, it will have been largely
determined what they're going to find, and what the final
price will be. It may well be that certain things are planted,
but if so, everybody knows about it ahead of time. Maybe
somebody could talk to the guys at that place and get some
good stories about how the show was made. I expect it
will be some time before that bit airs.
I know the show is somewhat faked, but I occasionally
watch it anyway. The two guys are amusing, and they
do show us some fascinating old junk. I also think it's
funny that they occasionally break the fourth wall and
address the audience directly, even though most of the
time they pretend the audience isn't there.
Jim Beckman
James Beckman 
A picture for Mr. Pasko. The Great Meadows gas station where the American Pickers stopped by last week. This picture is from 1940.
“Before the guys arrive, it will have been largely determined what they're going to find, and what the final price will be. It may well be that certain things are planted...”
I think that’s exactly how this show “works”. None of the on screen price negotiations are real. The producers know ahead of time what will sell, what won’t, and what price is acceptable, then they “script” the rest for TV drama.
You don’t think they’d actually send out the full cast and crew just to dig through boxes of junk covered in mouse poop without knowing ahead of time that there’s an antique motorcycle or some other specific item to buy...
Mark Mc. @James Beckman - Things communicated one to another [via TV, Movies, News reported, Speeches, Shows, etc.] are always meant to be tailored or edited to be a brief, concise and highlighted thought to inform, entertain, or make whatever point of view one wants to across to another ....in the certain time-slot and attention-span they have to do so.
So would you want or better prefer to see the whole unscripted, unedited 5-10 hours or a raw reel on the days it took for them to research what's there, look through the stuff, hear and see what prices they negotiated for and what's junk not worth to show?
Putting that aside, I'm just commenting or expressing my concern when someone uses the word "faked". Calling something fake is more defined as a lie (they lie/provide false information) or made up out of fiction (act as actors/in a movie).
If so, then I would have to agree with you that the show then "is not particularly close to reality". [Maybe those 'antique' things they find are plastic imitations and/or items they found or bought from elsewhere and planted in someone else's junk yard or garage]. But if it isn't and you're sour because News, TV, Shows, Movies, etc. are not direct live links as things happen, to understand or be communicated or informed of things that happen in life, then you should have your own Check on Reality.
Or kindly provide us with the channels, shows, or links that stream things more "close to reality as the rest of us know it." Thanks. [If we already know it, why would we need to see it, again?]
aol123@aol.com If your someone concerned or inclined watch the 2 most recent episodes, 8/17 & 24. Its a sort of best of the early days before the show. Mike recorded or had someone record him knock on doors, climb junk piles and etc. he mentions they used to cold call on places but now they can’t because of the film crew. Its not mentioned but I don’t believe its a secret they have someone scout the location first, even negotiate prices, but I doubt its for every item. Now Pawn Stars, thats a different story.
Roywhite "Now Pawn Stars, thats a different story."
And Storage Wars is even worse.
I remember the days when the History Channel was new,
and it was mostly about actual history. They did tend to
concentrate on WWII, and somebody called it the "All
Hitler All the Time" channel.
I enjoy watching American Pickers with my husband. I'm sure they do go through things ahead of time and have a camera crew but it's fun to see what they find. That's all real. And it also brings things to both of their stores where you can buy merchandise online.
dcp Before Gene, Mike Billick owned the garage and sold Texico gas --- Used to have a big round tall Texico sign on the side
Looks like you can see that Texaco sign in zipps good pic he attached above.
"I remember the days when the History Channel was new, and it was mostly about actual history"
The Science Channel appears to be following a similar career-arc...
ianimal Ian and Roy
Well they are owned mostly by the same conglomerate, so I guess, "as goes one, so goes them all".
Phil D. dcp wrote:
I enjoy watching American Pickers with my husband. I'm sure they do go through things ahead of time and have a camera crew but it's fun to see what they find. That's all real. And it also brings things to both of their stores where you can buy merchandise online.
--------------------
The show itself also pays rather well for the main characters.
Sources vary a bit, but it seems that Mike gets paid around
$500,000 per year, and Frank pulls down $300,000. It hardly
matters if they make any money off their antique finds.
Yesterday I drove past that place on 46. My first reaction is that
it's awfully small to make it worthwhile for the Pickers to visit. But
then I saw that there are several semi trailers parked around the
place, and who knows what sort of accumulated stuff might be
in those trailers? Eventually we'll find out, I hope.
Love this program. It must take alot for them to do to get an episode going.
I, once, saw their van out on Rt 80 several years ago.
Bernie James, those numbers seem low for History’s highest rated show. Are you sure it’s not 300k$ and $500k per episode?
A quick Google search produced the following. It's online, it MUST be true! LOL
"According to Looper, the salary of the cast members is more than one may think. Wolfe is paid an impressive $500,000 per season of the show, while his partner Fritz makes $300,000 per season. Colby, who is not as featured as Wolfe and Fitz, is paid $15,000 per episode.Jul 9, 2020"
Greg There are over 100 episodes. At a half mill each, they would have made $50 mill. Similar sources quote their net work more like single digits of $ mill.
If it were per episode, what are the chances they've both blown through $45 mill and someone hasn't made a story out of that.
GC Drove past this today on my way to Washington love looking at my gps that sees the old railroad tracks. this whole area is so rich in history it seems. Always wonder what if was like back in island adventure days and even before there was lots of train action. Sad most of 46 is a mess so much potential.
Drew @GC, I was thinking that too...scratching my head. ~where $50mill is orbit-level to be paid for a show [However, Jay Leno was making $30mill per year doing the Tonight Show...with 4-5mill viewers per night, having/producing a new show each time - No reruns]
So after re-reading the statement, it is saying they [Wolfe & Fritz] are being paid $500,000 / $300,000 per *season*. While Colby gets paid $15,000 per *episode*.
Zipp, thank you for the 1940 picture. It was very nice. It was before my Uncle Joe took over the station, I was 6 years old in 1940. It brought back beautiful memories of my life.
Yesterday (Sept. 9) I drove past the place, and noticed that the early Thunderbird that always sat under cover is gone. Also it seems like some of the other derelict cars aren't there anymore. So maybe the pickers sent haulers to take them away. This should be fun to watch whenever it finally shows up.
The Gene’s garage episode was on last night. (1/25/21) Pretty interesting. Anyone see it?
Indie I did watch that episode, it actually aired last week also. If you do on demand, it is S22, EP1.
Gene did pretty good on camera, came across well. I would have loved to seen it maybe 20 years ago when he had alot more cars on the back of the property, that would have been interesting.
I do wonder if when the Pickers first showed up, and Gene was on the ladder and acted sort of put off that they were there, if that was a staged scene. I cannot believe he would have no advance notice of them coming, being that it was filmed during the pandemic last summer. Wonder if they told all involved before they shot the footage to get a CoVid test before the Pickers showed up.
He did well on camera, and he did say they were looking to sell the property in the future and he hopes whomever buys it wont tear it down.
Lets hope he can get a good price in the future from someone that has some artistic vision to leave the integrity of the building as it.
TRA, I’m watching s22 ep1 now. I’m halfway through it and don’t think I’m watching the right ep. first stop was R66 In, i think Texas. I’m on sling TV’s on demand so maybe it’s different?
Comcast On Demand, S22 Ep1, Episode is called Pumps, Prints and Picks.
On Sling TV, no idea how you would get it, but with that info above, should be able to find it. Make sure you are on the right season.
Great episode filled with lots of local history and great stuff ... worth watching for those that are interested ...
LibertyThinker Saw it on the History Channel website by clicking on Xfinity as the cable provider , unfortunately with the full load of commercials . It's showing live again on the History Channel at 11:05 PM Monday night for those who want to DVR it and FF through the irrelevant parts .
97XBAM Thanks TRA I found it on sling. For some reason it’s season 22 ep 3 on sling. Great episode. When they pulled up ole Gene seemed pretty ticked off. I always thought the show was 100% staged but he looked quite surprised to see them.
Philliesman Nathan and Gloria are only committed to emptying that building and turning a profit.
Robbie is a cheapskate.
Gene married a unicorn. Most women way to snobby to appreciate a man like him.
callitlikeIseeit 
Had Enough 
Quiet one Did it not drive anyone else mad that early in the episode they are shown driving on Rt46 in Buttzville the OPPOSITE direction of where they were going?
Also, they will never get a decent price for that property. The building looks ready to fall apart and I'm sure the EPA would have a field day if they tested the soil. No one is going to buy that unless a full remediation is done to it.
youngen For anyone who’s interested and hasn’t seen the episode, it is being shown tonight at 8 PM on the History Channel (channel 36 or 875 on Comcast).
Watched it last week. Gene didn't seem worried at all about the cameras and he drove a hard bargain for everything they wanted. It was interesting to hear some of the history.
hktownie 
Blackcat I just watched season 22 episode one on AT&T now it was located in Florida what Is the name of the episode? It wasn’t pumps etc
Mr 4paws Mr 4paws
I just checked & it's on there
Press the Xfinity button
Arrow over to "On Demand" and hit enter
Go down to "Free new episodes - Just added",
Left Arrow to highlight "View All" and "Days of the Week" will appear below it, hit enter
You can either hit "View All" to find "American Pickers", or just Right arrow until you get to the last entry, which is "American Pickers" and hit enter.
It will Highlight "Play Next S22 Ep2"
From there you can either right arrow and select "Episodes", or even easier, down arrow, and you can see it one box to the right.
I gave complete instructions, in case others aren't sure how to navigate to that point.
Even faster is to hit the mic button and say "American Pickers 'S' 22"
When it comes up, down arrow to the episodes and right arrow to S22 Ep1
Also available online after you pick Xfinity or whoever you have as your provider as long as they carry History Channel .
https://play.history.com/shows/american-pickers/season-22/episode-1
We have tried to find the episode we watched episode 1 it wasn’t that. We tried 2 which flashed the the gold top at centenary but wasn’t that episode either. Are we missing something ?
Gs
Yes, you somehow missed something. Episode 2 has a gold top shown at 1:16 into the episode, but it's NOT the Centenary University dome. It's one in Southern New Hampshire as you can see on the lower left section of the screen right before the dome appears onscreen.
It's Episode 1, which starts out as little clips of the show, then shows Mike meeting up with "Jersey Jon" at Barnegat around 1:35. They show him in "Jersey Jon's" shop where he was working on a motorized bike for them. His brother Robbie and Danielle are the ones that they show in this neck of the woods a bit later, about at 4:30. They show the segment where they pull up on the Station starting about 10:35, where it shows them in Northern NJ.
Perhaps you took the plain "S22" for S22, episode 1? That one (plain S22) is a compilation of "humorous" clips.
I just checked on them now to get the times I put up as markers, so they are there and available for free!
Hi Phil D. Thank you for the information, but my box does not even list season 22 yet. I have complained to Comcast about my service to no avail. Guess I need to take out the box and deliver it to them.
Mr 4paws
Have you tried resetting the box, besides of course rebooting? I'm guessing you have, especially because that's what they'd tell you to do also. Maybe leaving it unplugged for a longer length of time before replugging it may help, say several minutes.
Also, I'd check the times when you're supposed to get updates. Mine normally gets updates at 3:30AM or thereabouts, when I'm not too likely to be watching. Perhaps you need to check your settings to make sure that's done. If none of that works, then perhaps you can swap it directly at their office. I know when I had issues last year that just kept getting worse, the office wasn't open to do that and they had to schedule a service appointment for me.
The Samsung box must have taken a power surge, since my power strip showed one had occurred (likely through the cable line portion, since I didn't have that line protected, and it just wasn't quite "right" anymore. The tech never came inside, but checked everything line-wise from outside, then handed me a new box to put in and hand him back the old one when I was done about 5 min. later.
The new "Xfinity" branded box is noisier but hasn't had an issue so far. Best of luck!
Thanks for all the comments and insights Folks! Anyone know if the property is for sale, or if Gene sells items to the public coming through? Thanks and Semper Fi! - RAD
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