A Special Pick for Dolly Parton | American Pickers

Okay, exciting news. Focus on me. Eyes over here. So I get this email from Lauren that HFE Creative Studios called. They want you to pick for them. What do they do? Dollywood. Dollywood is the theme park owned by the legendary country music singer Dolly Parton. And I'm kind of shaking in my boots right now. They need stuff for a ride. It's a new ride that they're opening up. It's going to be a roller coaster called the Fire Chaser Express. And it's a tribute to the Smoky Mountain Fire Patrol of the 30s and 40s. And they need, like, Petroliana. They need fire-related stuff. They sent me a whole entire list. The biggest hurdle I can see is finding the specific sign they want. It has to be gas and oil, and it also has to be mounted on a pole. It's going to be a tough one. When do they need this stuff? We have, like, two weeks to get everything they need. I mean, I know it's a really limited time frame, but it's Dolly. So Frank and I have picked for clients before. Usually there's a budget. Usually there's a time frame. This time it's a style cramper because it's two weeks, okay? But the only thing that's really going to save us is they're looking for gas and oil stuff, and they're looking for firefighter equipment, which Frankie buys all the time. I think it's a big deal that they came to us. I know. But do you want that pressure? I want it. Frank and Dave are on the road. They can at least look for stuff while they're there. Can we do it, please? We've picked for Civil War museums. We've picked for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We don't always make a lot of money doing it. But when you make a high-profile client happy, you get referrals. We're going to blow this out of the water. Let's do what you say. Under-promise and over-deliver. I know, that's the motto of my life. Okay, I'm going to go call him. I'll be back. We're talking about freaking Dollywood. Do you understand? Maiden voyage with the van. Mike and I have been working the phones while the boys are in Florida, and we finally came up with a lead. We're going to go see Mike's friend, Carl. He may have a sign and a pole that would be perfect for Dollywood. Hopefully, we can stay under budget. Here we are, sister. It is freezing. He's back here, isn't he? Did you call him, tell him to meet us, didn't you? Yeah, I did. All right, we just go in. No, I know him. Carl. Hey. What's up, buddy? Hey, what are you doing? I've known Carl for over 20 years. And when I first met the guy, I was a young picker. He helped me take my passion and turn it into a business. You never got heat in this place, huh? No, never. You don't need it. I was going to say, he doesn't even need it. The guy has been a friend, a mentor, and a hell of a picker. I've learned a lot from him. So I see you're still in the chair business, huh? Yeah. Very cool. No, I don't need any. I don't need any. 69 when I got married, I started rebuilding stoves. And then I started buying stoves and antiques both. And through the years, it built up to what I got today. Ooh, look at that. What's that? All of a sudden, I see it, man. This sign fits Dollywood's criteria. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Look at that. Whoa, Carl. I know. It's kind of rough. I'm looking for a sign that's double-sided, goes on a pole, and has the right subject matter. This thing is roached, but we're in a pinch. Here, what about that right there? The biggie here is that Carl has a bracket, OK? That's the money shot. Now, if we find a pole, we can mount the sign to the pole. What do you want for it? Uh, I got to get three out of it, as bad as it is. And I know it's not pretty, but. You know what? It's freezing. Three is fine. Yeah. All right. Good? Three OK? Three. Let's do it. Thanks, buddy. All right. I can't tell you how hard it's been to find a sign like this. I just pray that Carl has a pole to go with it. Well, Danny said you had a couple of pools. Yeah. Yeah, I do, right out here. Carl told me he has the perfect one for our tidal sign. I'm really hoping he can hook us up. It's a little bit covered up. Oh, god. That's it right there? Yeah. There is a pole, but it's buried under six feet of ice and snow. So it's exactly what we need, but I have no idea how we're going to get it out. Shoot. I can get it out of there, no problem. He says he can get it out of there, no problem. This thing is frozen solid. Mike's got a bad back. I have no idea how we're going to get this thing out. But we still have to try to buy it. How much is this one? Two and a half. What's the base look like? Normal, just a normal base. I got a text from Frankie. This is the last thing on the list. We need this pole. Well, I'll tell you what. If you can get it out of here, we'd love to give you two and a half for it. Sold. You got a shovel, or what do you got? I got a bad back. And he's like, listen, let me do this. Let me handle it, OK? Work smarter, not harder. So Mike and I start freeing this thing up, and it's perfect. We scored. All right. I can't believe we actually got everything on the list. We worked hard, and we crushed it. I appreciate all the knowledge you ever shared with me. God bless you. This wasn't just a job for Danielle. It was a major passion project. She took the lead. She nailed it. We under-promised. We over-delivered. Mission accomplished. See you later. Today is a special day, because the good people at Dollywood have invited us to check out the new Fire Chaser Express Roller Coaster. This is absolutely everything I thought it would be. You've got the mountains. You've got the rides. It's just absolutely awesome. Wow. The title sign. Beautiful. I love it. Oh, hi. Hi, Danielle. I spoke with you about all of this lovely stuff, like these right here. Oh, yeah. This is Lauren here. How are you? Ralph is a senior art director who's been building this ride. And this is a great opportunity to see it all come together. Is this it? Is this the ride right here? This is the beginning of the ride. The pumps look beautiful. There you are. This is the one that you sent that was already painted. Yes. And then we painted this other one to match. So you think you could take a look around, maybe? Sure, let's go look. The items that we picked just fit beautifully into the aesthetic of Dollywood. Here's some of the fire extinguishers you guys got us. The beautiful thing about picking items for an amusement park is it introduces children to history. And these kids are going to appreciate these items. I think that's great. Is that Dolly over there? Sure, sure. That's Dolly. Oh, my gosh. She's so tiny. Would you like to meet her? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, come on, come on. You don't think she's too busy? Oh, she's wonderful. Come on. Oh, my gosh. You know, we get a lot of interesting clients. I mean, we have picked for Shatner, Jack White. But there's something about Dolly. She just is the epitome. I don't know. She just takes the cake. So it's all day, but they're all locked up. Excuse me. Hello. I want to introduce these people from Antique Archeology. Oh, hi. How are you? I'm Danielle. This is Lauren. Good morning. So nice to meet you. Some of the lovely props for the ride. The tie doll sign is something that I particularly picked out. I love that. Dollywood is very emotional to me because I grew up over in Holler in a family of 12 kids. And when we were little, any chance we got to go out and maybe go to the county fair was great. And I thought early on, it'd be great if I could have my own theme park. And my family and my friends could not only come visit there, have fun, might even work there. A lot of them do. And that's one of the things I'm proudest of in my whole career. A huge, huge hero to both of us. And I wore my rhinestones for you. Well, you certainly did. You got a few other stuff to go along with it. I do. We could be twins. We could be. That's good. I'm glad you got that off your chest. I love Lauren and Danielle. I mean, I totally related to them because they love to wear a lot of makeup. They like to be flashy. And I completely understood that. And it's a good thing we're girls. We've been drag queens. But anyway, so we love the ride. So you girls are going to ride. Well, I mean, I mean, I don't. Are you chicken? I'm not chicken. Yeah, a little. You have to. The Fire Chaser Express ride is just a perfect fit for Dollywood. Because, of course, we have all those volunteer firefighters. And Tennessee, of course, is the volunteer state. And I think people love roller coasters because I think it gets your adrenaline going. So jump on it. You can't come all the way to Dollywood and not get on the ride. Because that's where you're going to get the best view of it. I will skinny dip in the shark infested ocean. And I'm scared for roller coaster. But how do you say no when Dolly asks you to do something you don't want to do? You definitely don't say no. Why is there a siren? I don't think I like this part. What a kid's ride! Is it done? I feel like I'm going to crap myself. I kind of like that feeling. But that's just me.