SPANAWAY, Wash. — A famous South Sound car museum says it isn't budging -- it has one of just 17 authentic "Dukes of Hazzard" cars and it won't be painting over the Confederate flag on the iconic car's roof.
Reruns of the popular late 1970s series were pulled off television this month when controversy erupted over whether the flag should be displayed anywhere.
Dennis Laine, as a volunteer at the LeMay Family Collection in Spanaway, helps preserve history, which is why this is a tough one to swallow. Some people say the owners all surviving "Dukes of Hazzard" Chargers should paint over their signature Confederate flags. Not here, says Laine -- not on his tours.
"When we tell them we don't plan to paint it over, those comments are positive: 'Don't paint it over,'" Laine told us as he walked us through one of three buildings on the collection's campus.
The museum says the car is a piece of pop culture and it has plenty of others among the 500 cars on display that all appear just as they did on TV.
"For some of us Baby Boomers it would be 'Happy Days,'" said the collection's executive director, Trudy Cofchin. "We actually have the Desoto which would be the car they used in the show and the Fonz used to slide down the fender."
That one's not so notorious, but another one is: the rare Tucker. Preston Tucker was convicted of mail fraud back in the late 1940s and the museum says that's part of the draw to see this vehicle.
"People call up and just ask if it's on display," Trudy explained.
So the collection says the controversy may be a boon for the General Lee.
"People love to see it," said Laine and he refuses to repaint history.
"It's a piece of pop culture, TV culture," Dennis concluded.
Still, Warner Brothers announced late last month it is stopping production of General Lee toys, and Amazon, Sears, eBay, and Walmart all have banned sales of the Confederate flag and its image.
KIRO
