Finding Where's Waldo? and a 1937 Cord in the same place wouldn't make sense anywhere else but the Canton Classic Car Museum.

Currently, the museum displays 45 automobiles, including a 1942 Lincoln Cabriolet Convertible and the only known 1937 Hudson hearse, which was one of three the company built. Executive Director of the museum Char Lautzenheiser said the hearse has a beautifully carved coach that reminds her that cars are more like "rolling pieces of art."

"If you're ever going to see one, you're going to have to come here," Lautzenheiser said.

Lautzenheiser said too many people have been scared off by the cars, not knowing that the museum holds much more than rare classic automobiles.
"If we can get over the stigma of 'I don't like cars,' once they get here, they're happy," Lautzenheiser said.

The museum features an array of items, arranged in different themes. Patrons can walk into the past, viewing clothing, shoes and hats of yesteryear and also explore the history of Canton or find Asian artifacts.

"I'd say we're the best memorabilia and nostalgia museum in the state," Lautzenheiser said.

The Canton Classic Car Museum incorporates toys, dioramas, mannequins, artwork, old fashioned arcade games and antique collections into the car displays. Lautzenheiser said she doubts that she's seen everything.

Displays aren't just for those who can remember playing pinball for hours or filling up gas tanks when prices weren't much more than a quarter per gallon. The museum also has a coloring area for young visitors and treats them to a ride (on the house) on Rudy the Reindeer, which is from the 1940s.
"Everybody can find something that they can remember and smile about," Lautzenheiser said.

Getting customers to leave happy hasn't been hard for Lautzenheiser -- the setup of the museum calls good memories to mind and some laughs for the good-humored. The room with the hearse is called "the funeral parlor," but it's nowhere near drab with its goofy signs and props.

The museum, opened to the public in 1976 by the late Marshall Belden Sr., served as a way to store and share some of his car collection with the public. The 22,000 sq. foot museum is actually a restored Monnett and Saucher Ford showroom from the turn of the Twentieth Century. From 1914-1929, it was actually the largest Ford dealership in the nation.

Marshall Belden Sr.'s wife Florence Belden, wanted to appeal to more than just the automobile fans, however, so she decorated the museum with local treasures and nostalgic antiques.

Lautzenheiser runs the museum for the Belden family with two or three curators, taking more than 10,000 guests per year. Lautzenheiser takes care of marketing, advertising and giving tours. Although she "lives, eats, sleeps and breathes cars" and describes herself best as "a car guy," Lautzenheiser said she enjoys all the memorabilia in the museum.

[Lautzenheiser's love for cars got her a job at the museum in 1986 after she responded to a classified ad asking for an elderly retired man who knew a lot about cars. She only met one of those prerequisites, but May 2010 will mark her twenty-fourth year in the position.]

History buffs may recall that even though hype about Route 66 filtered into songs, movies, documentaries and inspired many road trips, the Old Lincoln Highway that runs through Canton was the first national completed coast-to-coast highway in the United States in 1915. Such a high influx of traffic traveling down the highway nearly a century ago turned Canton, OH, into "Little Chicago," and generated such a rich history for the city that the museum captures.

Anyone who visits the museum will receive an education from the cars and the antiques. Lautzenheiser has been crazy for cars since she can remember. Visiting car dealerships and races with her father as a child, Lautzenheiser grew up addicted to anything that moved...and moved fast.

"I couldn't ride my tricycle fast enough," Lautzenheiser said.
Lautzenheiser said she thinks the 2006 Disney film "Cars" will inspire the younger generation to share her love for automobiles and broaden the appeal of the museum.

The museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily and admission costs $7.50 for adults, $6 for seniors (60 and up), $5 for children (6-18) and children under 6 may tour for free. The museum offers discount and group rates for guided tours. Guests should allow at least an hour to get their money's worth. Visit www.cantonclassiccar.org for more information.