July 19, 2003
There is a hidden piece of history in Colleyville
by Kelly Kosikowski

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There is a hidden piece of history in Colleyville. Bob Fitzgerald, a retired area businessman, has perhaps one of the most extensive collections of antique farm equipment, and other various wonders, that I have ever seen.

 During a visit to his Museum I had a chance to experience the fascinating world of automatic musical instruments, designed to provide music at the flick of a switch or at the turn of handle in the days before electronics and microphones. Mr. Fitzgerald also had an extensive collection of antique farm equipment, tools and camera equipment.

Click Here to See Bob Play the player piano with open case allowing the viewer to see the internal functions of the unit

Click Here to See the "Full Orchestra" Player Piano Click to See More

Mr. Fitzgerald’s personal collection boasts such marvels as a 35-inch film projector used in the military to show movies to the troops, an Anthony Style Wet-Plate 11x14 camera and an Orchestrion, built in Germany in the early 1900’s before all the factories converted over to war supplies.  


The collection was started in 1956 when Mr. Fitzgerald moved into a house in Colleyville. Mr. Fitzgerald was passionate about self-playing musical instruments since he was a child. In 1960, he bought his first player piano for $100. It was old and dilapidated, but Mr. Fitzgerald had a natural mechanical ability. After researching the design of player pianos at the library, Mr. Fitzgerald decided to restore the piano himself. From that he built it into a business. He believes that these precious bits of history should be preserved and not destroyed and lost to future generations. 

At the same time he began his restoration he was also frequenting estate sales where he would buy North East Tarrant Memorabilia. Several pieces in his collection came from the Floyd Fry farm off West Glade. One of Mr. Fitzgerald’s largest pieces is a windmill he salvaged from a farm. He and his wife had 10 days to remove it from the property. Mr. Fitzgerald had to climb to the top of the windmill and take it apart piece by piece. 

The collection is magnificent, with more pieces than one can count. Mr. Fitzgerald lived through the depression and worked on his parent’s farm until he was drafted to go to Korea. He gains a bit of nostalgia from his collecting. “It has been a great pastime and pleasure for me,” Fitzgerald said. 

There are no plans to move any of his pieces to a larger, public facility. However, Mr. Fitzgerald welcomes history buffs to his home if they want to view his museum saying it brings back memories to people of a time gone by.

Thank Goodness for good folks like Bob Fitzgerald and his "Backyard Museum"
a Column by Nelson Thibodeaux

When one of our reporters, Kelly Kosikowski, told me that she had an appointment with Mr. Fitzgerald of Colleyville to visit his "museum", I could not resist the temptation to tag along. While Bob Fitzgerald talks about his love for and ability to restore player pianos, his respect for history in general is abundantly evident at his Colleyville home.

I was a history minor in college and profess to be an admirer of antiques and have a passion for history.  Bob Fitzgerald has single-handily preserved more  history of Colleyville and the immediate area than all the committees and Colleyville city government efforts put together over the past 50 years.

We just returned this weekend from a short vacation trip down "River Road" from Natchez to New Orleans.  We visited numerous plantation homes, museums, antique shops and oddities on the side of the road.

On the drive home, I remarked to my family that it was a real shame that more historical artifacts were apparently not saved in our own backyard.

Bob Fitzgerald has conducted a one man crusade since the 1950s to find, purchase and restore numerous historical artifacts from this area.  His collection is museum quality.  In fact, we paid to visit some museums just last week that could not hold a candle to Fitzgerald's incredible treasurer chest.

Talking to Bob, you know his efforts were not for money or fame, only to preserve a slice of history.  He is a true historian.  The good folks of Colleyville owe him a giant round of applause and deep gratitude.  If you thought most of our history was lost, as I did, you will be lifted up by this story of good news.

Bob Fitzgerald will welcome you or your group to visit his backyard museum.
If interested eMail LNO and we will pass your information along to a man who not only talked about preservation history, but has preserved history.

Thank Goodness for folks like Bob Fitzgerald.

More pictures of the marvelous collection can be found by clicking on the About The Collection link here.