Have you ever seen a full-size wood car?

Gary Russeth and his wife Jean are huge Laurel and Hardy fans and it’s those old films that led Gary to have the life he has had, full of inspiration and art. Gary and Jean moved to Harlem, GA, and started The Ollie Also and Stanie Too Fine Mess Old Car Museum to showcase their collection and passion.

Gary has created 7 full-size vehicles all built completely from scratch with wood.  Each car takes Gary about 2 years to build and he creates the entire car using a small model as a reference point. Gary has created a 1919 Model T as a tribute to Laurel and Hardy.  He’s also created a 1910 Studebaker Electric, 1903 Model A, 1907 Buick G, and a Stanley Steamer.

As of October 2020 Miles Through Time Automotive Museum has 2 of Gary’s creations on display. A 1908 Maxwell which was completed in 2008 and is varnished instead of painted and a 1902 Curved dash Oldsmobile. MTT hopes to have the rest of Gary’s collection on display soon.

In addition to the wood cars and replicas of Laurel and Hardy themselves, Gary also took on a huge project to recreate “The General” from the movie the Great Locomotive Chase.  Gary’s version is a half-scale replica of the original and yet still measures out to about 25 feet long and is completely made of wood, even the wood.

The General is also on display in the museum which is a half-scale version of The General from the movie The Great Locomotive Chase.  The movie was filmed in Habersham and Clayton Counties where MTT calls home.

To be able to showcase all of Gary’s wooden creations under one roof will be an honor and a privilege and MTT cannot wait to be able to share the entire collection with visitors.  You can still visit the museum today though and see a few of Gary’s pieces of art, which is exactly what they are.  You have to see the detail in person to really appreciate the amount of skill and effort that went into creating each car.

Come see these cars and everything else the museum has to offer 7 days a week from 11 to 6.

If you’re lucky you may get to meet Gary who visits the museum frequently and will be at the museum even more frequently when more of his collection is on display.