Pat Acton of Gladbrook has been making very large things out of matchsticks for a long time. But supplies are running out.
His latest creation is a 2/3-scale 1970 Dodge Charger with working lights. It is in Gladbrook for a short time and then going to a Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum.
In the story, Acton says he arranged for one more order of 5 million matchsticks — and when those are gone, he’s retired.
Iowa Public Television has gone into the archive of “Living in Iowa” — a show that helped cultivate my lifelong love of this state and its people — and its first “Best of” compilation includes a segment about Acton from 30 years ago. Start at the 6:37 mark.