by In our travels, we have discovered that there is a museum for just about any topic you can think of! The International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum (ITRM) is a great example. According to the museum, it is “the only place in the world that offers a close encounter with a tow truck that is actually fun, positive, and nostalgic.”
The ITRM, founded in 1995, is located in Chattanooga, Tenn. The museum showcases the entire history of the towing and recovery industry, with lots of beautifully restored tow trucks on display along with other memorabilia, artwork, and equipment. The cover photo is a 1946 Chevrolet truck converted into a wrecker.
These restored vehicles were akin to the vehicles one might find in a classic car museum, as far as I’m concerned, though I’m not much of a car person. Doug, though, was reminded of the toy trucks and cars that he and his brothers played with as boys–their collection included tow trucks and auto carriers (though it was always hit or miss if the plastic hook on the Matchbox wrecker would actually connect under the front bumper of the Matchbox car to be towed).
In addition, there is everything you can think of a museum might have: a hall of fame, a memory wall, towing artwork and photography, towing-related quilts, toy tow trucks, and a truly impressive gift shop. They also had a film that was better than other recent museum films we’ve seen.
The museum is located in Chattanooga because the city is the birthplace of the tow truck!
In the 1910s, Ernest Holmes created the first tow truck. Holmes assisted a friend who had flipped his Model T into a ditch, which got him thinking about vehicular recovery needs. He modified his 1913 Cadillac by adding an iron chain, a pulley, and several booms side, and eventually obtained a patent in 1918. The towing industry was born.
The key to Holmes’ creation was a split-boom wrecker, which anchors the recovery truck on one side so that the other side can do the recover work, without tipping the tow truck.
I never really thought about it before, but towing and vehicle recovery is a very dangerous line of work. Besides the risks involved of moving large vehicles out of delicate situations, tow truck drivers are often working around fast-moving traffic. The fatality rate is three times that of other emergency workers.
As a result, part of the museum’s mission is honoring those who have lost their lives in the line of service. In 2006 the first Wall of the Fallen dedication was held, and a ceremony is held each year to add new names to the memorial.
In addition to the monument, the museum also manages a Survivor Fund to provide financial support to families of towing operators who lose their lives in the line of service in the industry.
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