MUSEUM RACE CAR EXHIBIT
Emory Collins, a champion race car driver who spent most of his life in Plymouth County, will be celebrated at the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars with the opening of a new exhibit on the Museum’s lower level.
Two special events are planned for the public viewing of Emory Collins’s cherry red race car no. 7 that was a champion throughout the United States.
The late Collins, who resided in Le Mars for 54 years, won IMCA (International Motor Contest Association) championships with his sprint car in 1938, 1946, 1947, and 1948. Dirt track racing stretched from the 1920s to the 1950s. Collins built his race car in 1936.
The Museum will host a “soft” opening of the race car exhibit at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 3. The major donor, Keith Renken of Arcadia, CA, will attend the opening and then later join his Le Mars High School Class of 1953 for their 70th reunion.
Renken led the fund-raising efforts for the car, which began in 2018 and continued through 2020. He and other contributors will be recognized on a special donor board near the display.
The next celebration of Emory Collins and his race car will come during a Le Mars Chamber Coffee from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 7. The public is invited to enter through the main east door of the Museum and use the stairs or elevator to reach the exhibit on the lower level.
