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tv   Cavuto on Business  FOX Business  March 26, 2017 6:30am-7:01am EDT

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you'd like to share with us? we'd love to hear it. send me an e-mail, or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. >> announcer: a veteran of the battle of the bulge squirrels away enough old military gear to supply a platoon. >> it was in boxes, gun cabinets, closets. >> they couldn't even get access to their master bathroom, it was so clogged with stuff. >> it was one of those finds you get once in a lifetime. >> announcer: uniforms, weapons, plus plenty of surprises. >> this is worth $50,000?! does it work? >> announcer: and what's up with this bullet-riddled log? >> it was usually wrapped in a blanket in a bathtub. >> in a bathtub? >> in a bathtub. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]
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>> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm driving along the southern california coastline in san diego. i'm here to meet a woman who says her strange inheritance took her on a journey to meet someone she never really got to know when he was alive -- her own father. >> my name is nancy crego-powers, and my father, arthur v. crego, left a collection that took him a lifetime to accumulate. >> for starters, nancy asks me to check out the oldest item in her father's collection. >> i want to show you where i keep the gun. >> in the bedroom? >> in the bedroom. uh, yeah, that could be dangerous. >> oh, look at that! it's so beautiful with the inlay. it's called a pennsylvania long rifle. >> handmade in philadelphia. it's probably circa 1776 or a little later. this was still being used in the battle of 1812. it meant so much to him, and it means a lot to me.
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>> nancy's family has a history of military service going back to the revolutionary war. >> this is one of dozens of firearms in a huge cache of war relics left by nancy's father when he died in 2010. born in 1922 in a small town along new york's hudson river, art crego, an intense, scholarly boy, grows up fantasizing with his friends about military adventures. >> nancy we have pictures of him in makeshift world war i uniforms. i understand from a friend of my dad's they were called crego's army, and my dad was always in charge. >> art's re-enacting is encouraged by his mother, who buys him odds and ends at garage sales. >> she had interest in history, and i think that he got some of that from her. here he is all dressed up in full civil war regalia. >> how young is he here in this
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picture? >> i'm guessing he's about 16. probably ordered all this stuff, and it cost him less $20. >> when world war ii breaks out, art enters the famed citadel military college in south carolina. it's there he falls in love with a vivacious 18-year-old named janet wade. >> my mother was attending the university of south carolina, and they met at a dance. >> art and janet get serious fast and tie the knot. shortly after d-day, art is shipped off to france as an infantryman in the final push to defeat nazi germany. you can tell how excited he was to be a part of our fighting force. >> he was very proud to be attached to patton's 10th armored. that was the most important thing, that he was under patton, and he admired patton immensely.
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>> art gets his chance to head a real crego's army as a squad leader during the battle of the bulge in december 1944. american troops hold back a last-ditch german counteroffensive. >> he was right there on the front lines. >> during a 2-week period, 500 men in art's command unit are killed in action. he receives a marksmanship award and a bronze star medal for bravery. he decides to pursue a career in the military. ♪ war comes calling again, and art is ordered to korea as an ordnance company commander. >> 1953 appears, and he was gone in korea until i was a year old. >> two more children follow as art and his family move from one post to the next. for a while, art teaches military history at louisiana state and writes
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scholarly papers on civil war artifacts. but during this period, trouble develops on the homefront as art's wife, janet, starts showing signs of bipolar disorder. >> there were weeks that she wouldn't get out of bed, and so here's dad, working full-time, and, you know, he's doing the laundry and everything else. >> your dad had so much to handle at home. do you think collecting became an escape? >> somebody else would pick up a book or watch a movie, but for him, it was his collection. >> he keeps receipts for just about everything. for a few hundred dollars, he buys this rare bilharz & hall rising breech carbine, made for the confederate army. using his skills as a military historian, art is able to turn the serial numbers on the weapons into the stories behind them. >> it was like a good mystery novel that he had to know the answer. well, who was this person that owned this? where had this man served?
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what battles had he been in? >> for a few bucks, he buys these pennsylvania reserve brigade belt buckles and these shell jackets. he paid $5. he paid $10. i mean, you could see in the receipts how much he paid for this stuff. >> this strange item cost him less than $100 from a war-surplus dealer in the early 1960s. it's a tree trunk scarred with civil war ammunition. >> it was usually wrapped in a blanket, with twine, in a bathtub. >> in a bathtub? >> in a bathtub. that's where it usually sat. >> by 1969, lieutenant colonel crego has served his country in france, belgium, germany, korea, and thailand. he's ready to retire. he and janet set up home one last time, here along the california coast, in carmel. art's collection continues to swell with swords, insignias, and other military gear.
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nancy doesn't even notice that because her mom has taken to indiscriminate hoarding. before long, nobody has any idea what's in the house. >> the house was full of stuff. there was stuff everywhere. >> after her mother dies in 2003, nancy comes to see a side of her father that she had never appreciated -- the curious intellectual, the writer, the romantic war historian. >> my dad's memory [snaps fingers] was sharp. he could tell you the year. he could tell you where it was manufactured. he just knew it. >> nancy decides she'll help her father catalog his collection. ultimately, she'll have to call in reinforcements. >> it was overwhelming! it was just falling out of closets and cupboards, and you'd open up a trunk, and there'd just be guns wrapped in newspaper from the 1950s. >> that's next. >> announcer: but first, our
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"strange inheritance" quiz question. the answer in a moment.
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>> announcer: 80% of all civil war wounds were produced
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by a single-shot, muzzle-loading rifle in the hands of foot soldiers. >> in 2003, retired colonel art crego is 81 years old. he's been into war memorabilia since childhood, but the extent of his collection is hidden from his daughter, nancy. art never talks much, his wife was a hoarder, and, well, things just get out of hand. nancy assumes the haphazard stacks of boxes in his house in carmel, california, are basically trash. but soon she and her husband, brooks, learn that buried in this heap are historical treasures. we bought all these little hang tags and encouraged her dad to recall the history about the collection. it was wonderful to watch the two of them. it became a project unto themselves. >> it was a fantastic experience to sit down with my dad, finally, and actually go through
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the garage. i had about 200 items, between guns, swords, bayonets, hand guns, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. >> as nancy bonds with her dad, art asks her, his eldest child, to be the one who deals with his stuff when he's gone. he names nancy trustee of his estate. >> [ voice breaking ] when he was saying goodbye, you just could tell how much he cared about his items. they were almost like children. [ crying ] [ taps plays ] >> in june of 2010, art dies from complications of pneumonia at the age of 87. in a military ceremony, he's buried in nearby monterey, outfitted in his dress blue uniform. >> the last time i saw him, i said, "goodbye, dad." and i knew it was the last time [voice breaking] i was gonna see him.
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and he reached out...his arm, and he said, "thank you," and he shook my hand, and it was that formal handshake of an officer and a gentleman. >> he's up interviewing all these military men from history. you know, he had research that he was doing that he never found the answer for, and i hope that he knows the answer now. >> did he tell you, "don't ever sell the collection"? >> no, but i couldn't bring myself to sell the collection until my dad died. >> now that he's gone, nancy has to figure out what to do. it's going to be a lot harder than she thought. turns out that art secreted all sorts of other stuff away in every place imaginable. >> it was just amazing the amount of items that he had, from the revolutionary war through a gun that was used in world war ii, and it was brand-new. it had been stored away in some warehouse for 50 years.
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>> based on the receipts art left, nancy estimates he spent around $10,000 on his collection. but what's it worth now? and what do you do with it? nancy realizes she needs help. she reaches out to auctioneer brian witherell in sacramento. >> he called me back, and he said, "well, this collection -- will it fit in a s.u.v.?" and i go, "no." >> so you checked it out. >> yeah. it was overwhelming! it was just falling out of closets and cupboards, and you'd open up a trunk, and there'd just be guns wrapped in newspaper from the 1950s. we were on to one of those finds that you get once in a lifetime. >> how much work went into preparing for this auction? >> we catalogued probably 12 to 14 hours a day for 5 straight days, and then we photographed for probably another week or two after that and then put everything together. >> i wonder if you could walk me through some of the special pieces you got. >> this was a nice example of a
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kepi that would have been worn by a union soldier with its original label inside, from new york. hello! hello. hello. call me "officer." >> [ laughs ] you can see the tag that was written by mr. crego -- "confederate carbine, serial number 85, by bilharz, hall & co., pittsylvania court house, virginia." >> this is the carbine that art paid a few hundred dollars for in the 1950s. may i? >> please. >> oh, my goodness. guess what the appraiser thinks it'll sell for at auction. this is worth $50,000? does it work? brian assures me that after more than 150 years, it still does. but by far the most unusual item in art crego's collection is that bullet-riddled log. where did it come from? would anyone buy it? i got goose bumps just talking about it. there's a lot of romance going
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on relative to this battle log. that's next. >> announcer: here's another quiz question for you. the answer when we return. dear predictable, there's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say: if you love something... set it free. see you around, giulia ♪
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( ♪ ) i moved upstate because i was interested in building a career. i came to ibm to manage global clients and big data. but i found so much more. ( ♪ ) it's really a melting pot of activities and people. (applause, cheering) new york state is filled with bright minds like victoria's. to find the companies and talent of tomorrow, search for our page, jobsinnewyorkstate on linkedin. i mwell, what are youe to take care odoing tomorrow -10am? staff meeting. noon? eating. 3:45? uh, compliance training. 6:30? sam's baseball practice. 8:30? tai chi. yeah, so sounds relaxing. alright, 9:53? i usually make their lunches then, and i have a little vegan so wow, you are busy. wouldn't it be great if you had investments that worked as hard as you do? yeah. introducing essential portfolios. the automated investing solution that lets you focus on your life.
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>> announcer: it's "b," a sword given to ulysses s. grant when he was promoted to general-in-chief in 1864. it sold at auction in 2007 for $1.6 million dollars. >> in san diego in 2010, nancy crego-powers is looking to
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unload her strange inheritance. she's long considered it just a sprawling hoard of firearms, uniforms, and other military memorabilia. after all, her father paid so little for it, says auctioneer brian witherell. >> she knew that there were things that were important to her dad, but the records that they kept showed that he paid $2.50, 50 cents, $7. if you're just judging from that, you would have no idea of the significance of the collection. >> but brian knows there's a method to art's obsession. >> i think in crego's collection, he was truly collecting from a scholarship standpoint. he wanted a comprehensive collection that encompassed virtually every aspect of u.s. military life. >> nothing underscores that more than a bullet-riddled log art crego bought in the 1960s and carted from home to home over the decades.
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sometimes he kept it wrapped in a blanket in the bathtub. how on earth do you value a tree log that has ammo and battle wounds? >> they've sold, and it's based on how much ammunition is it, the feel, how does it look, what battlefield is it from, can we identify it? >> thank goodness art crego kept his paperwork! it came from a reputable dealer, who'd verified that the lead-sprayed timber was retrieved from the battlefield at spotsylvania court house, virginia. in that bloody battle, fought in may 1864, union troops tried to take the ground, but the rebels held on. at the end of two weeks, a total of 31,000 soldiers on both sides were dead. once he's authenticated it, brian knows some of his regular customers, like tommy haas of utah, will be bidders. he says, "tommy, there's
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something here you might really be interested in." i previewed the auction and thought it was a really cool relic. >> but after brian publishes a fancy color catalog for the auction, he gets an offer from another client -- 200,000 bucks for the entire collection, which art paid no more than $10,000 for. should they take it? brian and nancy, in charge of the crego family trust, think hard about it but decide, "no." >> we want to let the market decide what it's worth, and we want competitive bidding. we think that's the fairest way to mr. crego and to his heirs. >> it's also a big risk. will brian and nancy live to regret their decision? >> i sure as heck tried the best i could to do what he wanted me to do. >> find out when we return on "strange inheritance." how's it going? -hi. today we're gonna be comparing the roll-formed steel bed of the chevy silverado to the aluminum bed of this competitor's truck. awesome.
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let's see how the aluminum bed of this truck held up. wooooow!! -holy moly. that's a good size puncture. you hear 'aluminum' now you're gonna go 'ew'. let's check out the silverado steel bed. wow. you have a couple of dents. i'd expect more dents. make a strong decision. find your tag and get 15% below msrp on select 2017 silverado 1500 crew cabs in stock. find new roads at your local chevy dealer. i just had to push one button wto join.s thing is crazy. it's like i'm in the office with you, even though i'm here. it's almost like the virtual reality of business communications. no, it's reality. introducing intuitive, one touch
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at crowne plaza we know business travel isn't just business. there's this. 'a bit of this. why not? your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. which is what do. crowne plaza. we're all business, mostly. >> announcer: now back to "strange inheritance." >> it's january 2011, and
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art crego's huge military collection has three weeks to sell during an online auction. the pressure is on, big-time, after heir nancy crego-powers and auctioneer brian witherwell turn down a $200,000 offer for the whole catalog. when bidding gets off to a slow start, it looks like it could be a disaster. on the final day, february 4th, everything changes. >> seeing what the final bid price was on these items just amazed me. i think it took all of us by surprise. >> the biggest-selling item is that confederate carbine art bought for a couple hundred dollars. a collector pays $48,000 for it. belt buckles, purchased for a few bucks decades earlier -- they pull in just over $6,000. this group of insignias -- over $8,000. these shell jackets -- $7,000.
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a presentation sword -- $6,500. a sharps civil war rifle -- $5,500. these campaign hats -- $5,000. cartridge boxes -- $2,500. and guess who pays $3,000 for that union army cap which art bought as a kid. it's auctioneer brian witherell. >> i felt close to the cregos, and i wanted a memento to remember that by. >> the grand total for the crego collection? almost half a million dollars. did you imagine that dad had a half-a-million-dollar collection? >> i don't think in his wildest dreams that he ever imagined that he would pass that on to his children. >> oh, in case you're wondering about that battle log... >> my successful bid was around 20-odd thousand bucks. and one of the things that makes this significant is the battle of spotsylvania court house is recognized as one of the five major battles in the civil war. this log is in exceptionally
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nice shape. it's got projectiles on it from the confederate states and projectiles on it from the united states. i got goose bumps just talking about it. there's a lot of romance going on relative to this battle log. it's a key piece of my collection, and i really enjoy it. >> listening to haas, you almost think art crego, the old battle of the bulge vet-turned-military historian, handpicked a buyer with a passion that rivals his own. >> this was a pretty accurate gun, and it was used a long time. >> of all the items from the various wars the old soldier collected, nancy says she'll never sell this one -- that pennsylvania long rifle. at over 4 feet long, it's a relic of the revolutionary war era and a beloved artifact that helps keep the memory of her father alive. >> it's only worth about $5,000. don't care. to me, that is a piece of my dad. >> what have you learned from
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looking through the amazing collection that he left behind? >> he was committed, he didn't give up, he didn't back down [voice breaking] and he did the best job he could. >> for the 50th anniversary of the battle of the bulge, in 1994, art crego penned a letter to a local paper. the story he shared didn't focus on a hell endured. it was about christmas eve 1944. his squad, perched upon a ridge above a town filled with german tanks, was finally relieved of duty. the next day, they got their first hot meal in weeks. yes, art wrote, they had to dodge incoming german mortar fire to get to the kitchen. but awaiting them was a real christmas dinner with all the trimmings. i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." thanks so much for watching, and remember -- you can't take it with you. do you have a "strange inheritance" story
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you'd like to share with us? we'd love to hear it! send me an e-mail or go to our website -- strangeinheritance.com. ♪ >> a farmer with an unusual hobby hands down a humongous collection to his family. >> anybody that collects 150 tractors -- doesn't that make you eccentric? ♪ >> he spent a lifetime, and a pretty penny, amassing it. >> definitely a method to grandpa's madness. >> is it a treasure trove of valuable americana? >> it was almost out of control maybe you would say. >> or a herd of white elephants? >> dad, are you ever gonna stop? you know, for one thing, you're running out of room. where are you going to put them all? [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, and i'm just

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