USA Storage

Seems like we spoke too soon about just what constitutes the most horrifying storage auction find. Very recently at Uncle Bob’s Self Storage in Pensacola, Florida, an auction winner made a grisly discovery. Inside the pungent smelling storage locker were hundreds of human organs, sitting, some for over a decade, in formaldehyde-filled containers. The organs included lungs, hearts, and brains as well as some tissue samples. Disgracefully, many of these organs were stored in disposable fountain drink cups, and were pilfered from private autopsies at local funeral homes. The mad man behind the whole wicked collection, Dr. Michael Berkland, had previously been sacked from his job due to a dispute regarding autopsy records. One has to wonder whether this was an extreme case of hoarding, or if the bad doctor had something more sinister in mind for the hundreds of organs and tissue samples he had gathered for ten years. The collection seems obsessive and methodical, but not as if Berkland cherished his enormous organ collection… he let it go to auction after all. Charges against Berkland have not yet been filed but he may go down for breaking several statutes which outline how one is to dispose of biomedical waste as well as human remains. Buyer beware at the next storage auction you visit! And maybe try not to bid on the units that smell like rotting brains!

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June 25, the 26th Annual Hunger Walk, hosted by the Greater Food Depository will be held. LifeStorage Centers LLC employees will be partcipating in this 5K walk which will begin at Soldier Field and registration will be at 7 a.m. and the step off at 8:15 am. Life Storage with six facilities in Chicago and 11 in the suburbs, will also be collecting food donations year around for the Food Pantry of Rich Township. The Greater Chicago Food Despository is a nonprofit food distribution and training center which distributes donated and purchased food though a network of 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters up to 678,000 adults and children in the Cook County every year.

Earlier this month, Las Vegas, Nevada hosted the 20th anniversary of the Inside Self-Storage World Expo. Stretched over a period of 3 days, this event drew hundreds of self-storage owners, operators, investors, builders and vendors from all around the country.  Seminars offered financing, development, marketing and more. One particular topic of interest at this year’s show was lien sales.  Not only have many operators seen an increase in defaulted rental contract, but the popularity of the A&E hit TV series “Storage Wars” is shining a light on the self-storage industry and driving people who want to seek out auctions, hoping to find hidden treausures.

The InsideSelf-Storage World Expo will head up north to Tacoma, Washington for their annual fall conference Oct. 4-6. The event will he held at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center. The expo will include educational track, exploring marketing, management construction, finance and more. There will also be workshops and networking events with over 75 of the industry’s leading suppliers.

U-Store-It has just announced that it will partner up with Penske Truck Rentals and offer rentals at select locations, as well as their moving and packing supplies. Guy Middlebrooks, Director of Operations for U-Store-It is excited about the partnership and how it will provide their customers will reliable trucks for all their moving needs in one simple location. For Nationwide U-Store-It rentals visit Storage Locations.