. >> my name is jamie allen, and, in 1985, when i was 23, my father passed away, and he left me something that his father left him, and it's kept me on the road all my life. >> jamie? >> jamie? >> [ chuckles ] how are you? it's really great to meet you. and how funny we have the same name. let's get started, then. >> all right, here we go. >> this is one serious tree trunk. [ mid-tempo folk music plays ] and the "root" of the story, according to jamie, is in the late 1930s... when her grandfather, james allen, is a lumberjack in northern california. james, a widower with a son in the army, sees redwood trees so massive that several men can easily fit inside the hollowed trunks. one day, during a sudden rain squall, he seeks shelter in the trunk of a giant redwood. that's when it occurs to james that he could actually make a home out of one. >> it was the tail end of the depression. he couldn't afford to buy a regular house. my grandma had already passed away. >> so james allen combs the forest for a suitable tree. he finally discovers the perfect one on the property of the georgia-pacific

allen says that's the moment he knew his boy was cut out for this kind of work. i'm jamieinheritance." thanks so much for watching. and remember, you can't take it with you. do you have a "strange inheritance" story 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. [ rock music plays ] >> a world-record car collection... >> he just kept going. he never stopped. >> i believe his goal was to have one of every car ever made. >> a maverick driven to leave a mark... >> he went to a wrecking-yard auction, bought the whole wrecking yard. >> his family promises to carry out his grand plan. >> i think there was a feeling of dread, relief, excitement, and enthusiasm. >> i love it. feel the hair blowing, the top down. >> but can they fulfill the patriarch's dying wish? >> none of us wanted to be the ones who said we split all the stuff up. you don't want that car oil on your hands. [ woman vocalizing, theme music plays ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] [ country-rock music plays ] >> i'm jamie colby, an