Title:
Consultant
(Pedal Car Restoration Specialist)
Hometown:
Ellsworth, Maine
Pedal car restoration expert Ed Weirick served as consultant for the Hallmark Galleries Kiddie car Classics collection. Ed, who lives and worked in Ellsworth, Maine helped Hallmark locate original pedal cars on which to base their miniatures and provided valuable information. Weirick was discovered by Hallmark Creative Product Designer, Karen Delfft, who came upon his name while researching pedal cars from the 1940’s and 1950’s, which was the most popular era for them.
His own interest in the little vehicles began at an early age. “When I was a child, my Mom and Dad didn’t have much money,” Weirick remembers. “They worked hard, but a pedal car was not something they could afford.” Fortunately Weirick’s neighbor had a pedal fire truck that was enjoyed by all the neighborhood children. “That memory has always stayed with me,” Weirick says.
Although Ed does do originals, Weirick’s specialty is one-of-a-kind restorations. He puts a lot of himself into these restorations which can take anywhere from forty to over two hundred hours to complete.
What is it that makes pedal cars so appealing? Weirick explains: “The great thing about pedal cars was that you could always just get in ’em and go. A lot of the cars had little accessories like a horn, siren, or bell. When you’re a little kid I think that’s what you really like. And then there’s the fun of pretending to be an adult. I remember thinking when I was riding in my friend’s pedal car, ‘I can back this thing up and park it—just like a real car.'”
“Pedal cars bring back nostalgic memories of the toys we had or wished we had. They’re a remembrance of happy childhood days.”