There is a giant hole in this junkyard! Once filled by a 30-foot-tall Paul Bunyan. Take a junkyard tour of Bud's Salvage in Aline, Oklahoma to see thousands of classic cars and trucks with me! The weeds are tall but we aren't gonna quit until we see it all! (video below)
Junkyard is born
Bud's Salvage opened in Aline, Oklahoma in 1954 by Bud Anthony. What started in Bud's backyard grew into 60-acres, with thousands of old cars and trucks. Bud was a doer, worked on stuff, fixed cars. Neighbors brought their broken cars to him. Eventually Bud had a yard full of cars and soon realized that he could sell parts off the cars for more money than selling a whole, non-running car. A junkyard was born in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma.
The fact that it existed so far off the beaten path probably saved it from extinction like so many other junkyards that became victims of progress. Increased property values, and complaints from new neighborhood associations that never came did not factor in to the Anthony family’s plans. The junkyard expanded to its current location around 1967. As long as there was somebody in the family available to work the yard, Bud’s Salvage has remained open.
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| Paul Bunyan was sold and no longer watches over the junkyard. |
Giant in the junkyard?
Somewhere along the way, Bud bought a giant Paul Bunyan from a lumber yard auction in Enid, Oklahoma. The 30-foot-tall Paul Bunyan made Bud’s Salvage a roadside attraction, no doubt helping bring in traffic. Bud handed over the yard to two of his sons, Rocky and Cary, in the 1980s. Those sons were named after the famous actors Rock Hudson and Cary Grant because Bud was a movie buff and at one time also owned the town’s movie theater.
I visited Bud’s and found Kyle Anthony, Bud’s grandson, behind the front counter. A cantankerous old chihuahua named Dexter barked at me from atop a blanket on the countertop. Kyle told me that business is slowing down. Maybe less people building old cars or unwilling to make the trek to Aline, Oklahoma?
Kyle took me on a tour of the large warehouse area with hundreds of shelves overflowing with parts cataloged and organized 30 years ago. I gathered from Kyle that the best days may be behind the salvage yard. It is possible that when, Kyle’s dad, Rocky, now 72, retires, they could scrap out the yard and keep a small section of whole cars to sell, ending the junkyard parts business that Bud’s Salvage launched. I sensed that this plan may happen sooner rather than later.
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Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust
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