American Pickers: Who Is Ted Willis, Who's Property Was Picked In Season 15
It's pretty easy to get wrapped up in how much money Mike Wolfe and company might potentially make on flipping one artifact or another in any given episode of History's long-running reality series "American Pickers." Wolfe has always had an admirable penchant for exploring the history behind the items he buys. Quite often, he'll spend a little time talking about the people, and the places being picked, too — as was the case in bonus footage from a Season 15 episode that found Wolfe and Frank Fritz scouring the property of the late Ted Willis.
Titled "Another Brick in the Wall," said episode eventually saw Wolfe and Fritz traveling to the sleepy town of Poplar Bluff, Missouri where they were led to an eight-acre plot of wooded land by a local police officer named Jeff. There they find the remains of Willis Brick, where Ted made his living casting bricks for locals. While exploring the property, however, the land and operation are talked about a little more than Willis himself. If you're interested in learning a little more about Willis, you can find a brief history of his life on the Ancient Faces website.
Per that friend and family populated site, Willis was born in Poplar Bluff in 1930, graduating from the local high school in 1949, and immediately enlisting in the U.S. Air Force. He achieved the rank of Airman First Class prior to his 1955 discharge, at which point he returned home to run Willis Brick until his 1993 death.
The American Pickers crew picked up some intriguing pieces at the Willis property
It's unclear how, or when Ted Willis' brick operation ended, though Officer Jeff tells the "American Pickers" crew he came across the location when responding to reports of a break-in. It seems as if the mill had been abandoned for some time before that fateful encounter, and the historical significance of the mill was not lost on Jeff, who set out to preserve the grounds as a local landmark. And yes, that involves selling a handful of artifacts to Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz to bolster his preservation fund.
Wolfe is more than happy to help out, seizing on a set of solid oak drying racks he had big plans for. Impressed with their sturdy craftsmanship, and their stylish potential as display racks in his Antique Archeology store, Wolfe opts to buy eight of the racks for $40 a piece, which is well above Jeff's asking price. From there, Wolfe and Fritz set about picking one of the sheds on the property, where the latter stumbles upon an antique teddy bear whose movable appendages appear to be in proper working order.
The item catches his eye thanks to the hand-made dress adorning it. And that dress provides a little more history of the Willis family, with Jeff positing that Ted's mother Helen likely made it herself. Wolfe promptly ponies up $100 for the bear, believing he can get twice that on the back end. Aside from the likelihood of turning such a profit, the history-loving Wolfe almost certainly felt even better about the pick as the money was going to preserve a small bit of Missouri's own history.