Me about her strange inheritance and how it turned her into a sort of time traveler, right back to her fathers harrowing past. My name is Miriam Friedman morris. My father, David Friedman, a painter and holocaust survivor, left me a diary, tagebuch fuer Miriam Friedman. As i read it, the diary led me on a remarkable journey that continues to this day. Miriam, im jamie. Hi. Welcome. Miriam wrote us an email that said. It was so impassioned, i had to meet her. My goodness. Look at all of this. I feel like im in fineart gallery or a museum. Tell me about your parents. My parents were both holocaust survivors, and in 1954, we moved from israel to new york. In her minds eye, little miriam sees only gauzy pictures of her fathers past. He doesnt tell her all that much. She knows he was a painter, who, in world war i, drew combat scenes on the russian front and was decorated for bravery. But shes in the dark about the full scope of his artistic career, including hundreds of drawings of top per
[ countryrock music plays ] im jamie colby, and today im driving outside tacoma, washington, on my way to meet the heirs of a man who started with nothing, built an empire, left his heirs enormous wealth, but also an overwhelming task. Im doug lemay. My father, harold lemay, passed away in 2000 at the age of 81 and left us with a worldrecord collection that has become a fulltime job. Doug has invited me to the family house, where his father lived for more than two decades and where he now lives and works. Hey, doug. Hi, jamie. Glad you could come. Im so happy to be here, but i cant figure one thing out. Whats that . Is this a house or a garage . Well, its a 5bedroom house with a 300car garage. 300 cars . Yeah. Good thing i have the whole day today. [ midtempo music plays ] as doug shows me around, its easy to see this isnt just a home, but a reflection of his fathers passion for the automobile. I mean, doug, i got to be honest. Ive been to car shows that havent had this many cars. Dad
[ bird caws ] [ progressive rock music plays ] im jamie colby, and today i am off the beaten path i mean way off the path in the swampy lowlands of southCentral Florida. These dense marshes once harbored seminole indians and runaway slaves and, more recently, alligator poachers. Now theyre home to an oldtime florida family and a very strange inheritance. Howdy. Well, hi there. Hi. Im jamie. Nice to meet you. But whats a nice girl like you doing in the middle of nowhere in Central Florida . How do you know im a nice girl . [ laughing ] oh, i shouldnt say that. Im patty register, and my mom, marietta, passed away in 1996. She left me an inheritance with a lot of bite and with a lot of hoops to jump through. Yes, patty inherited alligators from her mother. But if only it were that simple. It rarely is with family businesses, and gatorama, the kind of oldfashioned roadside attraction you mightve run across in florida 50 years ago, is more complicated than most. Patty runs gatorama with her
Im here to meet a family whos lived here for more than a 100 years. So when they unearthed their strange inheritance, they give it the code name the black swamp find. Im karl kissner. In 2011, my cousins and i inherited the family home from our aunt. She had left us a note we would find things in this home that we never knew existed. Karl, a 54yearold restaurant owner, has invited me to the family home in the small town of defiance, ohio. Karl . Hi. Im jamie. How are you . Very good. Pleasure to meet you. Nice to meet you, too. Thanks for having me. Is this the family home . This is grandmas home. Come on in. Ill show you around. The house first came into karls family in 1909. Neat old place, but needs a little tlc. Are you saying be careful . Yes. Okay. In 2012, karl and his cousins start the daunting task of cleaning out a home thats been lived in for more than a century. After several weeks of sorting through the house, only the attic remains. Karl and his cousin, karla, decide to t
Who has an inheritance so strange, it takes years just to figure out what it is. My name is mike meister. My siblings and i inherited something that goes back to our greatuncle more than a hundred years ago. Wed always been told that it came from the white house, but it was just a family story. Hi, jamie. Welcome to boston. Thanks, mike. Nice to meet you. Yeah, nice to meet you, too. Mike leads me inside, saying he has something amazing to show me. He keeps it in its own molded, airtight protective case. Can i take a look . Sure can. You brought me all the way here, mike. This is. What is it . Mikes strange inheritance is this piece of decorative pinewood. 30 inches long, 14 inches across, four inches thick. On the back is a faint signature and a date j. S. Williamson, october 15, 1902. Theres a real story behind it. Family legend is that its from the white house. Could that be . The white house does have a colorful past. Its nearly completed at the end of john adams presidency. He mov