weekly photo challenge – structure

“Scrap doesn’t come for free,
we pay someone to make it.”
W Edwards Deming

In July I visited the car graveyard outside Ryd, Sweden … Kyrkö Mosse, DON’ WORRY … it’s full environment approved!!! There I meet loads of structure. A place where nature is embracing scrap and make old cars into art. A museum in the middle of the forest.

Started by a man by name Åke Myren (1914-2000), in 1935 he buys a peat moss and a large broad-bladed shovel. He would become self-employed, transforming marshes into a desirable commodity – peat. The land he has chosen with care – a plateau that rises slightly above the surrounding marshes.

For owners it was a desolate swamp, they could well do without. The purchase price was also pleased with and soon enough, the parties were ready to close the deal. A sales contract was drawn up, Ake paid, the amount was acknowledged, but for some strange reason, he did not have lands titles.

It meant he never became the legal owner of the peat moss. Perhaps he thought that there was enough of a receipt and that the legal process was a redundant trivial.

In the 1950’s he started a to collect scrap cars – No training car mechanic, he had not. Nor a driving license. Yet he became, over time, something of an expert in all kinds of brands, ranging from broad Americans for SMEs ”everyman’s car”.

Aware of the environmental authorities’ rules, he was always careful to drain gasoline and oil tanks, remove batteries and other environmentally damaging details.

Among the parts were not at least the wheels in high demand and easily sold. Mounted on the so-called rubber wheel trolleys became the area’s farmers for a sought modernization.

About 130 vehicles, he has cleaned up, which would otherwise stand and scratched around in the woods. It has been a demanding job, but instead of flowers rewarded him with such an order.

In 1974 he bought his last car.

A very popular place … some come to see the rarities of the car history – the oldest car in the moss is a Scania from 1933. Others come for the special atmosphere of visiting what many people mean is a cultural treasure.