World's largest 8-track tape collection

By: Heidi Glaus

KSDK -- The town of Flora, Illinois is similar to a lot of small towns in America, only those other towns can't claim Tracker Bob.

"These are kind of my real special unique ones, like here's one in Chinese," Bob Hiemenz points out.

One step inside his track shack and you quickly realize Bob is an 8-track guy living in an i-pod world.

"The hottest 8-tracks are Kiss, Elvis and the Beatles," Tracker Bob explains.

The strange thing is, when this was more of an 8 track world Bob wasn't all that into the big tapes.

"I wouldn't have one in my car because it took up too much room and of course you wanted your girlfriend to sit next to you, you couldn't have a pile of 8-tracks there," he adds.

Something obviously changed because this pile is bigger than any other pile of 8-tracks in the world.

"Well, how about a John Deer demonstration tape," Tracker Bob says pulling out the tape.

It happened by accident when he went in search of a speaker at a thrift store.

"I slid this one compartment open and here's an 8-track player and a couple of 8-tracks. So plugged one in and that was the start of my collection," Tracker Bob says.

25 years and more than 61,000, yes I said 61,000 8-track tapes later the collection continues to grow.

"You name it, it's in here," he says.

So much so that he even had to purchase an off-site storage facility. It's an obsession really that now involves anything to do with 8-tracks.

He has 527 players, at least 380 cases and about 2,000 different 8-track related advertisements.

"Here's a hot special," Tracker Bob says holding up an ad.

The most amazing thing is his wife of 29 years puts up with all of it. However she does have a plan if Bob dies before she does.

"My plan is I'm either going to be the wealthiest woman in Clay County or have the biggest bonfire Clay County has ever seen," explains Becky Hiemenz.

I guess the moral of this story is to find the simple pleasures in life.

"I just love collecting them," Tracker Bob says simply.

Just realize that once found, that happiness might be hard to contain.