George Pekarik isn’t a rich man. He just acts like one.
Oh, the Downers Grove home he shares with wife Andrea and their children is suburban nice but not palatial. Their four children–Joe, 14; 12-year-old twins Kathryn and Michelle; and Laura, 9–are well cared for but not overindulged. And Pekarik has a good, but not overpaid, job as a supervisor at GM Electro-Motive Division in La Grange.
Encounter him in line at the local supermarket or the movies, and the 40-year-old Pekarik would not stand out. Yet his charitable donations–nearly $100,000 in the last five years alone–could easily have him rubbing philanthropic elbows with well-heeled business tycoons. He has managed to accomplish this without winning the lottery or ever setting foot on a riverboat.
That’s not all. When he isn’t donating thousands of dollars to charity, Pekarik is busy building a valuable legacy for his children. All that, and he indulges himself in a very expensive hobby. Truth be told, all that is because this unassuming man indulges in a very expensive hobby.
One expects there is more money to be spent than made in the collection, design and sale of custom-built classic and exotic scale-model, die-cast cars. Indeed, stories about how a costly pastime can break both a home and a bank account are all too common. On the other hand, Pekarik has turned his part-time passion into a personal satisfaction and a charitable jackpot.
He says that proceeds from catalog sales of his own line of custom-designed 1:43-scale autos, called PTH Models, and model-car sales at Past Time Hobbies, the Brookfield hobby shop he co-owns with brother Bill Pekarik, are re-invested in the business. He also produces a 250-table model car show, held semi-annually in August and February at the DuPage County Fairgrounds. Additionally, he donates the proceeds from the sales of custom-designed, limited-edition trademark models to charity. Thus, while Pekarik gladly spends free time devoted to his lifelong avocation, others benefit–in spades.
According to Amy Dillon, community relations representative for McDonald’s Corp. in the Richmond, Ind., area, Pekarik has donated $65,000 to Ronald McDonald House Charities over the last four years. Recently retired Maj. Frank Johnson of the Salvation Army said that Pekarik has donated some $27,000 to that charity since 1991. Ten thousand dollars was earmarked to benefit victims of the tornado that tore through Plainfield in 1990. The remainder supported the Salvation Army’s efforts to help families, children in particular.
“I’m partial to charities that benefit children. Children are our future and can make the world a better place. You can make a difference by helping them,” Pekarik says simply of his charitable efforts. There is no guile. Pekarik is earnest about the good he enjoys doing in the world. It’s his idea of payback for the luxury of collecting, he says.
Pekarik is at ease in the Ogden Avenue hobby shop where three generations of Pekariks share work responsibilities. Bill, 30, of La Grange Park works at the shop full time. Mom, Lorraine Pekarik, also of La Grange Park, works occasionally. George can be found at the shop two evenings a week and all day Saturday. His son Joe sweeps the back room floor on weekends.
George’s main interest is die-cast automobiles, scale-model trucks and construction equipment. Bill’s area of expertise is trading cards, although he also dabbles in collecting die-cast military vehicles and kits. Scale-model fire department vehicles, equipment and all model trains are Lorraine’s specialty, George says.
The shop’s Ogden location, where they’ve been for the last year, is three times larger than the location they occupied for seven years across from the Brookfield Post Office, George says. At that, it’s stacked to the rafters with trading cards and models and kits of every size and description. From the framed exploded view of a Ledo (brand) 1:87 scale model of a double-decker bus to a vintage World War II fighter plane with a six-foot wingspan, this shop is toys.
“We’ve added a lot of stuff since we moved in here. But in a year you probably won’t be able to walk in this store, just like our other store,” George says, laughing. “My collection is changing daily,” he says.
It is a trader’s dream: to be able to meet almost daily with other hobby enthusiasts, swapping collectibles and tales of wish-I-still-had models.
“My favorite part of working in the store is when people come in who think they want to invest in a model,” Pekarik says, “I tell them to buy a car they like, whatever it is. Why spend money if you don’t like the car?
“It’s not like we need this to live,” he says, extending his arms to embrace the shop’s contents. This, he says, should be fun. It’s how and why he started PTH Models in the first place. He is adamant about liking what you collect as the first requisite for a hobby.
Pekarik recalls that as a kid growing up first in Chicago’s Marquette Park neighborhood, then in La Grange Park, he loved model cars. The love and the cars grew to full size during adolescence, a time when he owned or desired cars like a yellow 1972 Camaro Z-28 or a 1970 Monte Carlo SS 454. They were automobiles he tried to hang on to or acquire as an adult.
“But when you have kids, there are bikes in the garage, and you’re always worried about the cars getting dented or scratched. It’s just not worth it,” he explains.
If only he could keep the cars in a glass case.
No model maker produced the exact car Pekarik desired, so he decided to design his own line.
“I got tired of never being able to find the (scale model) car I wanted,” he says. He contacted a British craftsman who creates a brass master for tonier model car manufacturers. The master, from which molds for the models are made, would cost $5,000.
In 1991 Pekarik raided his personal savings to fund the master of a 1980 Corvette L82, PTH Models’ first edition. In order to recoup investment costs, he decided to produce the vehicles in a limited edition. That meant he could charge a high enough price to pay for production, and, right from the start, each model held its value, he says.
Although some purists might argue Pekarik is generating purely investment stock, he will counter that he only produces cars he–and he hopes others–can enjoy having. The fundraising vehicles are no different, he says. That line of collectibles started with a suggestion from long-time friend and fellow collector Dana Weigle of Indianapolis.
Weigle owns five McDonald’s franchises in central Indiana. He approached Pekarik with an idea to raise money for that region’s Ronald McDonald House charity. Through PTH Models. Pekarik could design, produce and sell a special-issue vehicle, donating the sales proceeds. The idea of turning his hobby into philanthropic service appealed to Pekarik from the beginning, he says.
The fourth issue, the trademark McDonald’s Grimace behind the wheel of a 1941 Chevy convertible, came out this month in limited edition, according to Dillon. She said the charity, a home away from home for families of critically ill children, looks forward to each issue.
“Everybody wins” is how Maj. Johnson characterizes Pekarik’s fundraising enterprise. The Salvation Army has received some serious money for its charitable efforts, and the collector owns something that not only provides enjoyment but will increase in value. PTH Models has produced scale-model replicas of vintage Salvation Army trucks for their fundraising efforts. Johnson said he can’t speak highly enough about Pekarik and PTH Models.
PTH Models will introduce its 15th model later this month, a 1:43 scale Viper GTS Coupe, last year’s Indy pace car. All PTH Model cars weigh about a pound and retail for around $125. Not high end, since the intricately detailed European models can garner upwards of $350. But certainly not low end, either. The less expensive $65 models lack PTH Models’ detailing, such as separate windshield wipers, grills and door handles. Pekarik likes to keep the price in the mid-range, still attainable by the average collector, yet of high quality, he says.
The concept of everybody winning is one that appeals to this model car buff. “This,” he says, once again embracing the shop with a sweeping motion of his arms, “will be something that’s fun to do in my retirement. Plus it will be an investment to leave to my kids.”
In the meantime, big money goes to worthy causes, and George Pekarik, like a kid in a toy store, gets to play with all the cars he likes.
To purchase PTH Models or to obtain a catalog, contact Past Time Hobbies, 1911 Ogden Ave., Brookfield. 708-485-4544.
