Dennis Albaugh’s collection includes 201 cars that rolled off the line between 1912 and 1975. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Albaugh)
By Steve Dinnen
Dennis Albaugh spent a lot of time driving tractors as an Iowa farm kid. When he got a chance to get behind the wheel of an automobile, his first choice was a 1961 Chevrolet Impala, the version with the bubble top.
He decided he liked Chevys and kept buying them. Now, he owns 201 Chevys: Corvettes, Malibus, Impalas, El Caminos, Novas — you name it. It’s one of the largest collections of Chevrolets in the country, all tucked into a massive, squeaky-clean garage beneath the Ankeny headquarters of Dennis Albaugh LLC, his agrichemicals business.
You’ll have a rare chance to admire the cars on Sunday, May 17, when Albaugh opens the garage for a public viewing. Tickets are $25 per person or $50 for a family, and the proceeds will help create a $2 million endowment to support an addiction psychiatry fellowship co-organized by Broadlawns Medical Center and UnityPoint Health.
There are just a handful of these addiction psychiatry specialists in the United States, and there’s a huge need. Figures provided by Jonathan Brendemuehl, who leads the Broadlawns foundation, indicate that one out of five Iowans are living with a substance abuse disorder. Yet fewer than one in 25 receive necessary treatment.
The program will provide psychiatric physicians with advanced expertise in addiction treatment, preparing them to lead clinical programs and expand access to specialized care across Iowa.
The upcoming fundraising event “brings the community together around something people love, classic cars, while supporting a powerful initiative to expand access to addiction treatment,” Brendemuehl said. “It’s an opportunity for families, car enthusiasts and neighbors to enjoy a unique experience while helping strengthen our community’s response to substance-use disorders. We are so appreciative of Mr. Albaugh sharing his collection to raise funds and awareness for this critical cause.”
The collection includes cars built between 1912 and 1975. There’s a slew of Corvettes and Camaros, and it’s probably the nation’s top collection of Chevy convertibles, according to Chevrolet historian Murl Randall. The 1969 Impala came in 13 colors, and Albaugh has one of each.
The 28,000-square-foot showroom will be open 1-5 p.m. May 17, and there will be balloon animals and face painting for kids. It’s just off I-35, on the southwest corner of Northeast 36th Street in Ankeny. Tickets are available online.
Contributing writer Steve Dinnen covers personal finance, investing and philanthropy for the dsm Wealth newsletter that publishes twice a month. You can subscribe for free.
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