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Here are all the times the late “American Pickers” star Frank Fritz attended Mass.
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Here are all the times the late “American Pickers” star Frank Fritz attended Mass.

Frank Fritz, the late star of the popular History Channel reality series “American Pickers,” scoured Massachusetts several times in search of rare artifacts and hidden national treasures.

Fritz’s death at the age of 60 was shared by his longtime co-host Mike Wolfe in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

Wolfe wrote that he had known Fritz “for more than half my life” and that the two “took countless trips and shared so many miles” even before “American Pickers” debuted in 2010.

“Before the show, we set off together to places we didn’t know existed, with no destination in mind and only the shared passion to discover something interesting and historic,” Wolfe wrote of Fritz. “Who would have ever dreamed that we would share the cockpit of a white van for millions of people interested in our adventures.”

Fritz’s historical curiosity and thirst for adventure took him to Massachusetts several times during the decade he appeared on “American Pickers.”

Below is a list of times Fritz came to the Bay State on a mission to discover hidden gems.

“The Mega-Pick” (Season 11, Episode 6)

In this episode, a Massachusetts couple, identified only as Charles and Nancy, are collectors of European cars. The pickers headed to their warehouse, which contained dozens of rare and eccentric attractions. Ultimately, the pickers were unable to strike a deal to purchase a 1961 Messerschmitt after the owner rejected an offer of $35,000 and countered with $60,000.

“Legend Of The Lost Indian” (Season 11, Episode 9)

In 2014, the pickers visited Springfield, the birthplace of Indian Motorcycles. Indian Motocycles, they used to spell it without an “r,” have a history in Springfield dating back to 1901, when George M. Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedstrom founded the Indian Manufacturing Company.

The Springfield factory continued to produce Indians until 1953, when it collapsed under the weight of foreign competition and a changing market. The pickers had to dig in the backyard of a house in Springfield’s Mason Square neighborhood, just a few blocks from where Indian motorcycles were once made. Wolfe posted a photo of the dug-up bike on Facebook and said the crew had “literally dug it out of the ground.”

“Let It Go” (Season 13, Episode 5)

Fritz and Wolfe met with Jay Herbert, co-owner of the now defunct Paper City Brewery in Holyoke, to discuss the sale of several vintage Indian motorcycles.

In the episode, which aired on February 11, 2015, the pickers visited the brewery’s mill building overlooking the canals, where they purchased five of its antique motorcycles for $62,000.

“Roll Like a Rock Star” (Season 19, Episode 13)

In an episode that aired on July 30, 2018, the ‘American Pickers’ found a piece of rock ‘n’ roll history in Western Massachusetts. The pickers received a tip that the original tour bus of the legendary rock group Aerosmith was on a property in Chesterfield.

Apparently the van was on the property when the current owner, identified only as Phil, purchased the land a few years ago. The pickers showed up in Chesterfield and near the end of the show they bought the van for $25,000.

American Pickers Aerosmith van

On a recent episode of American Pickers, the duo of Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz made their way to Massachusetts after receiving a tip that legendary rock group Aerosmith’s original tour bus was parked on a property in Chesterfield.Courtesy of History Channel

Another episode titled “Wicked Pickah’s” on IMDb states that Fritz and Wolfe “stormed New England in search of treasure from Maine to Massachusetts.” According to the site, the episode aired on September 4, 2017.

Fritz appeared in more than 300 episodes of “American Pickers.” The Iowa native appeared less after suffering a stroke in 2022. Fritz’s final episode of “American Pickers” aired in March 2020, according to TVLine.

However, Wolfe returned to Massachusetts for a new episode of “American Pickers” that aired in 2021, called “Burgers and Ballrooms.” In the episode, Wolfe finds “the world’s most famous hamburger icon in a chicken coop in Massachusetts,” says IMDb.