[ train whistle blows ] >> a texas-sized model railway... >> do you have any idea what steve spent to put this together? >> i've always heard $1 million. >> ...built by a man on a mission. >> he's telling his life story in trains. >> he is. he is. yes. >> whenever he would add something to it, he said, "you want to see your inheritance again?" >> an inheritance freighted with memories. >> so tell me the truth. did y'all make out at that movie theater? >> no, not that one. [ both laugh ] >> will their plan fall apart? >> your first cut could be the end of this railroad. >> well... [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]

>> i'm jamie colby driving through dallas, texas. what do you get when you couple a one-track mind to a boxcar full of bucks? a strange inheritance that i'm told is just the ticket. >> my name is jane sanders. my husband, steve, was always into his model trains. but when he got sick, they became much more than a hobby. they took him on the trip of a lifetime. >> i meet jane at her home here in dallas. she leads me upstairs, and i am transported to a railroad wonderland. [ train whistle blows ] oh, my goodness. unbelievable. it's massive, 2,000 square feet, taking up an entire wing of jane's house. oh, my gosh. that's so fantastic! the locomotives drive past

hundreds of hand-crafted figurines and intricate details. there's two men sharing lunch on the stairs, a blonde bombshell hitchhiker, a 1950's gas station. they're cleaning the windshield like the good, old days. >> yes. >> and a scene from main street, usa. >> there's the diner with people actually sitting in there eating. >> absolutely spectacular, to every detail, jane. what's more, there's a tale behind each detail joined together like verses of a poem written by jane's late husband, steve. >> it's all his story. >> a story that begins in 1944, when steve sanders is born right here in the heart of texas. >> his mother would take him to union station in downtown dallas, then put him on a train to go to camp in colorado. he just always loved it, so ever since then, his love of trains built up. >> a love that continues to build even through steve's college years at the kemper military school

in missouri. steve goes on to become a green beret who sees action in vietnam, is wounded, and awarded a purple heart. >> he loved his military service. that was the best thing he ever did in his life. >> back in dallas, he's set up with jane on a blind date. had you ever met someone like steve before? >> no, and i never have since. he was a very, very loving person, generous, and enjoyed life. >> steve and jane are soon married, and he opens his first business, a hobby shop. >> that's when he started collecting the trains. i didn't think about it. he would just buy the trains and set them back, and set them back. >> steve goes after the largest-size models he can find, the g-scale trains made in germany. "g" stands for "gross," german for big. >> he wanted the biggest and the best. >> in 1981, another of steve's dreams comes true when he and jane adopt twin girls, christina and stephanie.

did it change him to be a father? >> yeah. in a lot of ways, it did. he was so protective of those girls. oh, my gosh. he just was so scared about anything happening to them. >> how would you describe him and his love of trains? >> he would find ways for us to go on train trips. he made us ride the train all the way from dallas to minnesota once. it was horrible, but he had a great time. >> steve wants to give a better life to his young daughters, so he looks to make more money by going to work in the family oil-drilling business and becoming a precious-metals dealer. >> he used to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, and everybody would say, "well, why are you working so hard?" he goes, "well, i have to take care of my girls." >> and steve keeps buying up model trains. his lucrative business ventures allow him to add hundreds of engines, cars and pieces of track to his stockpile. probably some you didn't know about. >> yeah. well, i never really paid a whole lot of attention to them.

i would just keep seeing these red boxes building up. >> steve does have a plan. one day, he's going to build the model railway of his dreams. >> he had a train room, and he had started a small train set. it was never finished. >> we weren't allowed to touch it, not allowed to play on it, and we'd be climbing on it, and he'd, "get off that! that's where my trains are going to go!" >> maybe he'll finish it when he retires, when he'll have all the time in the world. but steve learns the 60s can be a cruel decade. he suffers a string of health setbacks -- triple-bypass surgery, prostate cancer, and multiple back operations. so much for a life of leisure. he really suffered. >> he was so tired, in pain, everything. >> steve knows the proverbial train is leaving the station. it's time, once and for all, to finish that railroad display. he'd always had a big vision for it, but knew he needed help

bringing it to life, first-class help. so he tracked down an artist who designs museum exhibits and film sets. >> steve approached me and wanted someone to design the ultimate train layout. >> robert reid is dazzled by steve's ambitious plan. he's on board. but did they start too late to fulfill steve's dream? >> that was the tragedy. >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question... they're all model-railroad enthusiasts, but which music legend was a spokesman for lionel trains? the answer after the break. ♪livin in this crazy world

♪so caught up in the confusion♪ ♪nothin' is makin' sense ♪for me and you ♪we've got to give a little love♪ ♪have a little hope ♪make this world a little better♪

♪ >> so, which music legend was a spokesman for lionel trains in the '70s? neil young was a part owner of lionel, but it's johnny cash, the man in black, who served as its spokesman in the 1970s. >> for decades, these model trains are stockpiled in steve sanders' texas home to be used one day in the mother of all model railroads. in his 60s, with his health in decline, steve works with a movie-set and museum-display designer to finally bring his lifelong dream to fruition. >> he wanted it to be a tour of the southwest from colorado through new mexico to arizona

to west texas and on through dallas. >> he's telling his life story in trains. >> he is. it is. he was definitely involved. each little vignette had to tell an important story. >> but putting together a display for steve's g-scale trains is a huge challenge. >> it's much larger than most train layouts. figures in this scale are very difficult to come by. >> hundreds of figures like these, many personally handcrafted and all custom painted. >> these weren't things that you just buy off the shelf. we had people making trees, all the rock work, the scenic work. we actually created the buildings, most of them from scratch. steve, running out of time but not money, spares no expense. forty-two thousand dollars to create a pint-sized drive-in theater, complete with a feature film playing on the screen. >> it's a miniature projector. it's not a tv screen. and then the sound

comes from original drive-in movie speakers. >> steve pays a sculptor $80,000 more to create a rocky mountain scene that includes 32-inch trees and a working tram. and another $40,000 for murals to give it the feel of big sky country. >> there's shooting stars that go across the sky. there's thunder and lightning effects. we were able to develop something that was museum worthy. >> dad always did everything all the way, especially this. >> do you have any idea what steve spent to put this together? >> i've always heard the figure of $1 million. >> does it matter? >> not to me. i thought he works hard, he's a good husband, if he wants it, let him have it. before i knew it, this is what we end up with. >> what were your thoughts about it? >> whenever he would add something to it or finish it, even though

i'd seen it a hundred times, he goes, "you want to see your inheritance again?" >> in december 2012, after four years of construction, the 2,000-square-foot display is finally completed. it seems that it's not just a train set. >> it's pretty much the story of his life. >> the journey starts here, 1950's dallas union station, where steve's love affair with trains first blossomed. from there, the layout heads to steve's boyhood summer camp in colorado. then continues past his hobby shop and through the oil fields of west texas, which helped make him rich. then there's the ranch where jane and steve raised their girls. is it an exact replica? >> pretty close. it has the blue roof, which is one of favorite things that we had about it. >> and that drive-in? playing an army movie. tell me the truth. did y'all make out

at that movie theater? >> no, not that one. [ both laugh ] >> and, of course, he creates a tribute to his wife, the mary jane train station. and it's more than just a massive piece of art. steve designed seven track loops that can handle up to 12 engines running simultaneously. >> he had ideas in his head and he'd be sure whatever he wanted done, got done and done the right way. >> with his vision realized, steve began sharing his magnificent train display with anyone who will come see it. and he loved that? >> oh, heavens yes. he stood up there and ran those trains all night long. >> but steve's joy is short-lived. in february 2013, just months after the display is finished, steve is diagnosed with his most dire ailment, stage-four lung cancer. >> he'd walk me in here and show me how to work everything. >> because he knew he wouldn't be able to be

the conductor here forever. >> yeah. he wanted to make sure we knew how to take care of everything, including his trains. >> his illness spreads quickly. >> he was diagnosed february the 12th and died may the 28th. that was all the time we had left. >> that was the tragedy. we finished this masterpiece and he had such little time to enjoy it. >> steve sanders is just 68 years old. what do you miss the most? >> [ voice breaking ] i miss the most sitting at the dinner table with him and us exchanging stories. that's my hardest time every day. >> he leaves his enormous model train display, along with hundreds of trains in storage, in the care of his daughters and widow. did steve tell you what to do? >> no. he got sick and died so quickly that we didn't have time to discuss it. >> so, for the time being, jane just keeps the display in her home, acting as it's loyal custodian. >> it's a full-time job

to take care of them, to keep them clean and running in good shape. >> then in 2017, jane decides to downsize her life, putting her 10,000-square-foot house on the market. >> i knew i'd have to do something at some point. i felt like i didn't want to leave it to my daughters to have to deal with it. >> it's time to tear up the tracks. but then what? >> here's another quiz question for you... the answer when we return.

but i'm not standing still... and with godaddy, i've made my ideas real. ♪ ♪ i made my own way, now it's time to make yours. ♪ ♪ everything is working, working, just like it should ♪ wade: i'm a veteran, my victory was admitting i had ptsd and getting help. announcer: as america's veterans face challenges, dav is there. wade: i no longer see it as a weakness, but a sign of strength. i call it, post-traumatic growth. announcer: dav provides a lifetime of support,

helping veterans of every generation get the benefits they've earned. armando: i am a veteran, i lost both legs in vietnam. announcer: every year, dav helps more than a million veterans so they can reach victories great and small. armando: my victory was getting my benefits and a good education. jason: i'm a veteran, when i got out i felt like nowhere was safe. my victory was finding the help i needed. announcer: but there is more to be done, and more victories to be won. jason: thanks to dav, now i feel like i'm human again. announcer: help support more victories for veterans, go to dav.org

♪

>> the term described the constant dancing motion of track workers as they lunged against their tools in unison to nudge the rails. >> his 2,000-square-foot model-train display tells steve sanders' life story. he built it in his house in dallas and, before he died, he taught his daughters, christina and stephanie, how to operate it. and now they're going to teach me. >> i happen to love trains. are you going to let me try something? >> of course. >> show me how it works. >> okay. pull this lever slowly and we're going to go one after the other. >> all systems go. seems easy, until steve's daughters warn me that his complicated layout demands that the trains run at precise speeds. get it wrong, and i'll crash a couple of very expensive locomotives into each other. yikes! so i'm driving three trains

at once. fortunately today, nothing goes off the rails. i love it. i could be here all day. what steve didn't do was instruct his widow, jane, what he wanted her to do with the trains after he died. do you wish he had made these kind of arrangements before? >> well, i wish had, but there just really wasn't the time to even get into it. >> jane estimates steve spent about $1 million on the trains and layout. so perhaps selling off the cars and display, piece by piece, could be just the ticket. enter appraiser laurence martin to provide his expert financial analysis. >> i went through every train, every locomotive, every car. it was over 126 man hours. i mean, shock and awe would be a good way to phrase that. >> and you'd be shocked how much some of steve's model trains are worth. >> he has one locomotive,

was by row and company, that is one of only 30 in the world. >> its value -- $5,300. this pennsylvania railroad model is one of only 250 and worth nearly $4,000. while this limited-edition steam engine comes in at $1,900. the train total -- $137,000. steve's custom display itself is a different story. with no real secondary market, those pieces won't fetch anything near what he paid for them. >> i don't know too many people that spend that kind of money to have a model train set running around in their house. >> laurence estimates the layout and all its components are worth about $200,000, so it doesn't make much sense to sell off the inheritance piecemeal. and that's actually a relief for stephanie and christina. >> his only dream was to make sure that everyone that wanted to could enjoy them.

>> but then, what to do? how many options did you have? >> not very many. it's so big that not just anybody could take it. >> the family begins seeking out someone who could take the entire display. >> originally, i'd love to have given then to the children's hospital, but they didn't have the room. it just wasn't feasible. >> so they reach out to a bigger facility. >> we checked with at&t stadium, too, but it was a little large for the stadium so... >> even for a stadium? >> even for the stadium. >> but the family doesn't give up yet. they leave their info at a museum in nearby frisco, texas. >> i got a message on my desk that someone had an interest in donating a train layout to us. >> bob laprelle is the ceo of the museum of the american railroad, which has honored railroad history since 1962. you must get calls all the time of people who think their train sets are good enough for a museum. >> yes, we do. in fact, we've turned down quite a few over the years.

>> did you come immediately out to see it? >> we came out within a week or so. it just blew us away. the creativity that went into this layout far exceeds just about anything else we've ever seen. >> the family offers to donate the display, plus steve's vast collection of model trains, to the museum. but there's still one, giant bridge to cross. what if you start taking it apart, and it's destroyed? what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. so, from the two trucks over here... i want you to pick a new truck for your mom or dad, knowing that they could possibly pass it down to you one day. cool. but before you decide, you should know that chevy silverado's are the most dependable, longest lasting full-size pickups on the road. which means that ford f-150s are not. (laughs) which truck would you pick? the chevy. the chevy. the chevy. there you go. boom. that was obvious.

plus it looks cooler. no doubt about it. now they know what to get me. (laughs)

♪ >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> jane sanders and her daughters want to donate the gigantic model train display their husband and father left behind to the museum of the american railroad in frisco, texas. it's got to be a little bittersweet. >> it is. it's almost like it's the end of an era. >> and how do you feel about that?

>> happy that everyone is going to enjoy his dream but sad that it's not ours to keep to ourselves anymore. >> was it a piece of your husband leaving? >> it is, but at the same time i know so many more people are going to get to see it, and that's what he wanted. >> now train museum ceo bob laprelle needs to clear the biggest hurdle -- moving the layout without destroying it. this can't be very easy. >> well, it's a massive project, and it's a specialized job. >> your first cut could be the end of this railroad. it could fall apart. >> well... >> in june 2017, the breakdown begins. step one -- label every single one of the thousands of individual pieces. >> we'll try to document as much as we can of the existing configuration of the layout before we attempt to dismantle it. >> with the inventory complete, each piece is delicately removed. >> then you've got to consider everything that you don't see -- the wiring, the hidden loop tracks, the

behind-the-scenes parts of it. >> finally, the various sections of the layout, called decks, are ever so carefully split apart. >> you've got to make strategic cuts and be very careful with it. >> the last step -- forklift the decks out of their second-story home. one wrong move and the display will come crashing down. >> we just don't want to drop anything. that would be a tragedy. ♪ >> but there will be no tragedies today. the sections are safely loaded onto a truck and the entire lot gets shipped to nearby frisco, texas, for reassembly. and the museum will not only reinstall the display, but add to it, so they can show off even more of steve's trains. >> we can share it with, you know, literally tens of thousands of people a year. and even though he's no longer with us, he really lives on.

>> do you think he would approve of what you're doing? >> oh, i think he would be so excited. he always had this way of giggling when he was very, very happy and i think that he would just be walking around giggling right now. >> that legacy is still going and will continue for, hopefully, very, very many years, that my children can take their children to go see it and say this was pop's place. >> when it comes to model-train enthusiasts, steve's in very good company. take frank sinatra. old "blue eyes" dedicated an entire wing of his california ranch to model trains. then there's buster keaton. he was so enamored with the hobby that he had trains running through his backyard carrying cocktails to pool-side quests. and when rod stewart's train display was featured on the cover of model railroader, he said it meant more to him than being on the cover of rolling stone.

i'm jamie colby. thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. [ train whistle blows ] ♪ >> talk about getting the keys to the city. they walk around like they own the place. >> sounds like you're the unofficial mayor of this town. >> well, that's one of my hats. >> guess what? they do. >> your dad bought the whole neighborhood? >> yes. the whole town. >> it is a real community. very close-knit. >> i was told i was born here, but i was too young to remember. >> they never thought they'd live to see this day. >> makes me sad. i don't want to have to move. >> when is the last time you got a listing for a whole town? >> never. >> will the heirs take the cash and let the bulldozers in? >> if you did sell, where would those people go? [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ]

[ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby in western pennsylvania, turning into the village of reduction. i'm here because a viewer wrote me to say this whole place is his strange inheritance. >> my name is david stawovy. when my parents passed away, my siblings and i inherited a town. >> hi, david. i'm jamie colby. >> hello, jamie. welcome to the town of reduction. >> you wrote me you inherited a town? this is it? >> this is part of it. >> david and his three siblings' inheritance encompasses 75 acres of hills, farmland, and forest nestled along the youghiogheny river. the town, population 60, stretches out along reduction road, which leads into reduction circle, and an area called "the village," a collection of 19 houses. >> and the house right in front

of me is the house that my father decided to purchase, and that's where i lived when i was one year old. he wanted only one, but the people that was selling it asked him if he wanted to buy them all. so he ended up buying them all. >> your dad bought the whole neighborhood? >> yes, the whole town in 1948. >> but david's ahead of our story. it starts some 40 years before his dad became king of this hill. at the turn of the century, the town is owned by the american reduction company, which runs a bustling plant that recycles and reduces garbage shipped in from nearby pittsburgh. >> and the factory was directly behind you, down over the hill. they only had to walk down a set of steps, and they were at work. >> reduction was what was known as a company town, one of more than 2,000 communities wholly owned by one corporation or another that pop up across america in the late 1800s. >> ♪ you load sixteen tons

♪ what do you get? ♪ another day older and deeper in debt ♪ >> a number-one hit, "sixteen tons" by tennessee ernie ford makes company towns sound like woeful places to live. >> ♪ i owe my soul to the company store ♪ ♪ >> but that song topped the charts in 1955, long after almost all the company towns closed, and their story is more nuance than old tennessee ernie is letting on. history professor ed meena. who did it benefit more -- the company or the employees? >> the company had a steady force of workers at their disposal, but it gave the workers an opportunity to find their own life and their own future. >> company towns make it possible for workers to take the jobs in the new post-civil war industries located near natural resources

like coal, lumber, iron, and oil. >> it was you came on the railroad, dropped off, went to work. >> were the people that lived in these company towns proud to work for the company, or is it a little indentured servitude? >> a little bit of both. the company was run for profit, and the workers, in many instances, were very expendable, but some of the company towns were a little bit better, and workers were given the opportunity to have some leisure time. there were activities, religious instruction, athletics. >> reduction, p.a., comes to life in 1910 with the opening of the american reduction plant. it's known as "the town that garbage built." >> all the garbage from pittsburgh, and they brought it out, and they ran it through a processing plant, and they separated the copper, aluminum, or whatever metals. they made soap. they made fertilizer.

>> and how many workers did reduction need that it made sense for them to build a company town? >> well, i think at their heyday, they had 400 people living in reduction. they had three shifts. it worked 24/7. >> in 1920, david's grandparents, polish immigrants valentine and johanna stawovy, settle near reduction and start a dairy farm to supply milk, eggs, cheese, and produce to reduction. they become its company store. is that the farm? >> yes, this is a shot of my grandfather and my grandmother and all the siblings. >> how big was this farm? >> he bought like 100 acres, and then he bought another 100 acres. he bought up a lot of different farms. >> that's a substantial dairy farm. >> well, he had four sons, and his daughter worked there, and so he had his own workforce. >> one member of that workforce, david's father, john stawovy. born in 1922, he grows up milking cows, working the fields, and attending school

with the rest of the reduction kids at this one-room schoolhouse. by then, american workers are starting to enjoy the economic advances that will bring the era of company towns to a close -- rising worker incomes, mass-produced cars, widely available home financing. they get a taste of a better life. >> oh, absolutely. workers have a higher standard of living because of their union contracts. they actually get paid time off. they get a little bit of a pension. >> in 1936, a larger garbage plant opens in pittsburgh. american reduction closes the plant here, and reduction becomes a ghost town. when reduction closed, what happened to the people living in those houses? >> people were devastated. that was their livelihood. >> the stawovy family dairy, nevertheless, thrives. in 1948, david's father is newly married and looking

for a starter home. he approaches the american reduction company to purchase one of the houses in the old neighborhood. >> he said, "what's the price?," and he gave him the price, and then he said to my father, "instead of buying one, why don't you buy them all?" >> how much? >> $10,000. >> did he have the money? >> no. he borrowed it. >> he saw it as an investment? >> oh, yes. >> david's parents rent out the 18 vacant homes and move into this 600-square-foot house just like the others. here they start a family. david is born in 1949, followed by sisters jacque, cheryl, and brother jan. >> it was very close-knit, and, as i recall, it was very happy. >> jacque recalls a childhood spent playing with the other kids in the village. >> we loved to ice-skate on the pond that was right next to the dairy. before we went ice-skating, we would go into the dairy and get hot chocolate.

>> time stands still in good ways and, well, not so good ways. >> all the houses had outhouses. they didn't have indoor plumbing. once a year, they had to be cleaned, and my father would have me going out with him and hold the flashlight when he would do his duty. >> we would do whatever he asked us to do. whether it be painting, scrubbing, we all had a hand in it. >> the kids grow up, move away, and begin their own careers. for the next six decades, with support from their mother, dad runs the old company town from top to bottom. >> my dad did it for years all by himself, and he was incredible. >> but when the landlord, town engineer, and public works chief needs to retire from office, his son david is about to find out that being lord of the manor isn't all it's cracked up to be. >> you get a call 2, 3, 4 o'clock in the morning. it's my responsibility. >> here's a "strange inheritance"

quiz question... the answer after the break.

♪ >> so, a strike begun at what company town led to the creation of labor day? it's "b." in 1894, after their wages

were cut in half, workers at the pullman railcar company in illinois walked out, leading to a nationwide strike. in response, president grover cleveland approved the federal holiday of labor day. ♪ >> hard to believe this beautiful western pennsylvania hamlet is known as "the town that garbage built," but it's true. the village of reduction dates back to 1910, a company town of the american reduction plant, trash processor for nearby pittsburgh. the plant closes in the '30s, but local dairy farmer john stawovy buys the whole spread in 1948 and runs the town, home to about 60 people. >> i was told i was born here, but i was too young to remember. >> walter willie klorczyk grew up in reduction in the 1950s. what was it like living here? >> well, it was country. you're exposed to all kinds

of animals and bugs and stuff, and you get used to living in the country. >> were the neighbors close? >> very close. i mean, close enough where you couldn't do anything wrong without coming home and finding out that everybody knew about it. >> for willie, reduction will always hold a little piece of childhood magic. >> there was never a streetlight here, and i remember one time we laid down and looked up at the sky, and realized there's more than just a few stars up there. >> for the next 60 years into the early 2000's, john stawovy and his wife, amelia, not only run the town, but maintain its characteristic charm. >> when the people would come to pay the rent, it was like a friend arrived. sometimes my mother would invite them in to have tea or coffee or feed them. they were all very kind to my parents. >> but when their father enters his 80s and begins to suffer from dementia, david, now a retired schoolteacher,

finds himself more involved with all the day-to-day duties. was there some point when your dad got ill and you realized you'd have to take over all of the responsibility? >> i was there with my father, helped him throughout all the years, and now, for the last five years, i had to really take care of him. >> in 2014, david's father dies of heart failure. two years later, his mom passes away. david's named executor of the estate. >> my father chose me. it's an honor that my dad thought that much of me for me to be responsible enough to take care of his family. what's in his will i will do. whether i agree with it or not, i will do what my father asked, and that's -- i feel it's an honor. >> for david, it's also an honor to keep the town running just as his parents did for more than 60 years. sounds like you're the unofficial mayor of this

town. >> well, that's one of my hats -- one of them. >> what other things do you have to do? >> sewage officer, plumber, electrician -- you know, i do it all, whatever needs done. >> do you have the expertise to do all that? >> i do probably 98% of the work myself, and my family helps, also. one of the worst things we had recently, one of the main waterlines broke in the middle of the road. >> david's not the only family member on the clock. >> since i retired, it's kind of my job now. my husband and i do the bookwork, and we make all the deposits. i do all of the leases. >> for their work, the siblings earn hourly wages. then at the end of the year, each typically receives an additional $15,000, profit from the rental income. don't you think you should be making more money for all this? >> $15,000 is not a lot of money, but it's something. i'm happy with that. >> david and his siblings are happy about something else, too -- the community that they've

helped to perpetuate. tight-knit? >> oh, yeah. >> what kind of things do they do for each other? >> well, like sometimes when they have to leave, they'll watch their children or they'll say, "pick up my child when they get off the bus till i get off work." >> kate and larry blasko have lived in reduction for two years. you came and looked at it... >> came and looked at it, and we said, "we want to rent it." >> and why not? these homes are perfect for a couple of empty-nesters. ♪ look at this kitchen, okay? i could totally make magic here. you got the sink, you got a beautiful stove, you have this huge refrigerator -- it all fits -- and if you want to have breakfast in the house? right here. you got a whole seating arrangement, storage. isn't it darling? it's such a cute house. you guys like living here? >> we love it. >> love it. >> what's the best part? >> just being alone and the wildlife and quiet. >> quiet. >> what are you missing? >> nothing.

>> traffic. >> yeah. >> missing traffic. >> it's a pretty friendly and quiet little town, but maybe not for much longer. when is the last time you got a listing for a whole town? >> never. >> what's david asking? >> here's another quiz question for you... the answer when we return. . . ♪

♪ show me the olympic winter games ♪ ♪ like i've never seen before. ♪ ♪ xfinity x1, yeah, i always know the scor♪. ♪ triple corks in 4k... lookin' so sick. ♪ ♪ stream live on every screen, every win, every trick. ♪ ♪ 2000 hours of coverage, get your mind blown. ♪

50 olympic channels, yup, you're in the zone. ♪ ♪ and if there's something that you want to see, ♪ pick up that voice remote and just say "show me..." ♪ experience nbcuniversal's coverage of the olympic winter games like never before with xfinity. proud partner of team usa. retail. under pressure like never before. and it's connected technology that's moving companies forward fast. e-commerce. real time inventory. virtual changing rooms. that's why retailers rely on comcast business to deliver consistent network speed across multiple locations. every corporate office, warehouse and store near or far covered. leaving every competitor, threat and challenge outmaneuvered. comcast business outmaneuver.

>> so, what old company town has been transformed into a five-star resort? it's kohler, wisconsin. founded in 1900 on the grounds of the kohler plumbing fixture

plant, the town now boasts a hotel, water spa, and championship golf course. ♪ >> after inheriting the old company town of reduction, pennsylvania, from their parents in 2016, retired schoolteacher david stawovy and his siblings have been busy keeping the town up and running. but heavy are the heads that share the town. so as they reach retirement age, they decide to put the entire village up for sale. what was it that finally made you say, "out"? >> my wife and i want to travel. my sisters want to travel. you're tied down. you're never at peace. >> when is the last time you got a listing for a whole town? >> never. [ both laugh ] >> debbie dattalo is the listing agent. what's david asking? >> 1.5. >> 1.5...? >> million. >> is that a good price? >> i believe it's a fair price,

and everything's negotiable. >> how would you describe this property? >> it's unbelievable land, and the history of it, i think, is even more amazing. >> what do properties around here sell for? >> the market is growing, so my expectations are only going up because of the growth that will be happening in the next couple of years here. >> if the heirs get their asking price, split four ways, they'd each receive 375k. where's the value -- where we're standing right now, in these houses, in the river, the neighborhood? >> i believe it's the land. this is very difficult to find this amount of land in a parcel like this. >> other than what it is right now, what could this property become? >> i think it could be a housing development. i still have in my mind that it could be a recreational space. >> news travels fast in a small town, so it's no secret

to the residents that their time in reduction, p.a., could be dwindling away. >> makes me sad. >> i don't want to have to move. >> it's a decision the residents may be forced to make sooner than they'd like. >> i did have an offer already. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. but i'm not standing still... and with godaddy, i've made my ideas real. ♪ i made my own way, now it's time to make yours. ♪ everything is working, just like it should ♪ i let my mistakes kind aof take over my life.

i was point-five credits away from completing high school and i didn't do it. angela: i got pregnant and i was the main one working so, i did what i had to do to survive. jocelyn: sentía que la escuela no era para mí. karim: most of my family they never graduated high school or even let alone go to college so i'm trying to break that barrier. jackie: my family never stopped pushing for me to be better because they knew what i could become and who i could become as a person. karim: everyday after work i went straight to school, studied hard, and it paid off. jocelyn: sentía como que si quiero cambiar el mundo tengo que cambiara mi primero. group: surprise! surprise! surprise! angela: i could not have gotten my diploma without my family. jocelyn: mi consejera, ella fue lo máximo para mí porque me ayudó mucho con todo.

jackie: i've been given an opportunity and i'm just thankful for it. angela: yeah it's hard, but keep on going and keep on trying. karim: the high school diploma has just added to the confidence and now i feel unstoppable. narrator: find free adult education classes near you at finishyourdiploma.org

♪ >> now back to "strange inheritance." ♪ >> david stawovy and his three siblings have just put up for sale the tiny former company town, reduction, p.a., that their family has owned and run for 70 years. while they're excited about the prospect of selling, they're uncomfortable with the thought of uprooting the town's 60 residents. >> why do you care so much? >> i just like people, that's all. i try to give them a good -- you know, it's a reasonable place to live.

i try to give that to them. >> if you did sell, where would those people go? >> well, i promised them if i sold that i would give them one year to find a place to live. >> not everybody's going to agree. they may want to take possession and tear them down immediately. >> i know, but i told them. i made a promise. i'm a man of my word. >> i don't want to have to move. >> you know that he is looking for a buyer, but only a buyer that would be willing to let people stay here for a period of time? >> yes. >> that seems pretty unusual in america. >> well, it is. >> everybody's after that buck. you're right. i give him a lot of respect for that. >> we're hoping that someone will come along and run it just the way we did and maybe even make it better. >> just a month after putting the town on the market in october 2016, david gets a call from a prospective buyer. what would they do with the property? >> there's a big mound that's a high point where you could see for miles. he wanted to build a mansion up on top of it. >> ooh. the offer comes in at $800,000,

well below the $1.5 million asking price. but the real deal-breaker for the family is that reduction would be reduced to nothing. what's it like to have a client who's a little bit hesitant to sell? >> i think my business is about emotions, and sometimes people are emotionally tied to their real estate, and i understand that. this property is still important to them, and i think that will be important when we find the right buyer to know the love that went into the houses and also the people that lived here. >> walking around reduction, i realize that while houses, roads, street signs, and water mains can put a town on the map, it's people that make it a community, like larry, kate, and willie, and all the others who've lived in these brick houses and populated the old company town with plain old good company. it's no wonder that even with big money on the table,

david and his siblings say they're determined not to let the people of reduction down. where are you going to find somebody that will buy this property and treat these people with the respect that you have? >> i hope there's somebody out there. >> what's the upside for them? >> to want to take care of people and for the love of man. ♪ >> remember how the stawovy family dairy provided the residents and workers of reduction with food and supplies? well, it turns out there was one popular farm product old grandpa valentine sold on the side -- moonshine. david tells me his gramps ran a secret still right on the farm -- even did a little time behind bars when he was caught. of course, after a long day in the garbage factory, i can understand the workers in the old company town wanting a little cocktail.

i'm jamie colby. thanks for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. >> it's a regular thing in the stock market and it tends to go up when the market has gone up a lot in response to our policies. i don't care it's anything unusual or anything to be concerned about. cheryl: the white house trying to calm investors rattled by the wile swings? the stock market. lauren: cutting 350 point gain in half it did by 164. cheryl: for the week we are looking at losses really about 1% in dow and s&p. lauren: we could get gains today. futures are up 126 points. cheryl: take a look at europe, stocks