BLOOMSBURG - It's an understatement to say Bill Morris collects antique and classic motorcycles.
He collects everything.
From 300 European carousel horses, toys and hand-carved slot machines, to cameras, car emblems and movie memorabilia, history fills his 40,000-square-foot Bill's Old Bike Barn. He even has a 1948 Rolls Royce pickup that he restored; only seven of them were ever built.
Morris' bike barn, along Route 11 in South Centre Township between Bloomsburg and Berwick, is adjacent to Bill's Custom Cycles, a vintage motorcycle shop where Morris sells parts for old motorcycles, including Harley-Davidsons.
Bill's does a big mail order business and much of its parts business is done through eBay, Morris said.
"We have bought out 28 Harley-Davidson and custom shops over the years," he said about a key source of old parts. He also obtains parts through estate purchases and on buying trips to Europe.
Hang out at 'Billville'
Morris, 72, has operated his Columbia County parts shop for 42 years; he built the Bike Barn about 13 years ago to house his massive collection, which includes 175 motorcycles. He has been collecting seriously since 1970, 10 years after he got out of the Army.
His motorcycles include classic Harley-Davidsons, Triumphs, BSAs, BMWs, Indians, Hondas and Moto Guzzis, among others. He also has a Moto Guzzi pickup truck, which looks like a three-wheeled truck until you open the cab door and discover it's a motorcycle.
Instead of presenting everything in a standard museum setting, Morris built "Billville," a replica town with a gas station, post office, smoke shop, camera store, mayor's office and banquet room that includes the bar from the Hotel Berwick. It also houses Morris' vast 1939 World's Fair collection, which includes a bar from one of the fair pavilions.
"It's my best hang out," Morris said of the barroom.
It does have a touch of the 21st century: a large flat-screen television where he can relax and have a drink among his historic pieces.
Plenty of bikes
Also along the streets of Billville is a player guitar from the 1930s. Showing a reporter around, Morris dropped a quarter in and the machine began plucking away.
"I wouldn't have it if it didn't work," Morris said.
Of course, vintage motorcycles line the streets of Billville. It's as if a visitor could ride off on a 1914 Triumph, owner's manual included.
Morris notes that he doesn't rope off the displays, allowing close inspection by visitors, including fellow restoration buffs.
"Some of the bike builders will come and take pictures of the bikes," he said. "They can come and look at mine and see how it is done."
More to come
Billville will be expanding in the near future. Morris is working on adding a fire house, general store, police station and cobbler shop. He hopes to have it done by November.
"I like when someone comes and sees it for the first time," he said, noting there's a lot to soak in. "You ought to see people from Europe when they come and see this."
Morris still rides a motorcycle and, as one would expect, it is of the vintage variety: a 1930 Harley-Davidson VL with a side car. But the side car is for extra oil and tools, because, as Morris jokes, the VL stands for very leaky.
"You mark your spot wherever you go with them," he said.
Bill's Old Bike Barn is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Visit the website at www.billsbikebarn.com or call 570-797-7030. Admission is $6. Bill's also does group tour groups; call to schedule.