Time has brought a collection of collections

Putting together a collection of something can be a healthy proposition for anyone. Collecting helps us cope with stress, anxiety, boredom, or loneliness while also giving comfort and satisfaction. People may be driven to complete a set, learn a great deal about something, or just assemble a bunch of beautiful objects to look at. 

Anything goes when it comes to putting together a collection; we’ve all seen collections of dolls, Christmas villages, thimbles, duck decoys, vinyl records, antiques, rocks, seashells, and many other selected items. I’ve collected a few things over my years and would like to share a few.

Back in my little boy days, I had a wonderful collection of marbles. Kids in the neighborhood would get together to play, and certain colors or styles could be real status symbols.. Marbles came in two sizes, small and big. I don’t remember the exact rules; I think rules were negotiated between players. The big marbles offered to the victors inside a circle. I also recall playing by a rule called “dropsies.” Steelies, cat's eyes, and eye glass were the different kinds of marbles we played for. I was a good player and won a huge number of marbles. I had many marbles I saw as nearly sacred–they were beautiful objects to look at. These were never offered to the victor in the marble battle arena. I had jars of them tucked away on shelves in our basement. As I grew older and lost interest in playing marbles, my former treasures sat in jars, collecting dust. Really don’t know what happened to them. 

In fifth grade, I developed a passion for collecting insects which continued collecting through seventh grade. I had collection nets and put several collecting cases together with Dad’s help; I even read book after book about insects. I’m pretty sure if you knocked on my door with a six-legged creature, I could tell you what it was. I always carried a jar with cotton balls soaked in carbon tetrachloride, CC14, to put insects to sleep the moment I captured them. I’m pretty sure this potent cleaning agent is now banned. The wings of gorgeous butterflies now remained intact upon capturing them. Every day, all summer long, I went to the “Old Road” at the end of our block and hunted creatures with three body parts: a head, thorax, and abdomen. 

I put together cases with huge rare moths that had a five- to seven-inch wingspan. When they flew, they looked like a bird. Cecropias, polyphemus, lunas, and ceanothus were trophies in my collection. Swallowtails, black and tiger, morning cloaks, painted ladies, monarchs, viceroys, red admirals, and others were collected in a case and displayed; at least in my mind, they rivaled rainforest insects for their variety and beauty. 

Walking sticks, giant water beetles, dragonflies and cicadas were also displayed as unique and interesting insects we seldom observe up close. I won first-place ribbons at many county fairs and even one at the state fair. As I grew older, I became consumed with sports and athletics and lost interest. Don’t know what happened to the cases of insects collecting dust on shelves in the basement. 

Every now and then, when talking about collecting cards, someone will say, “I wonder what happened to my old shoebox filled with bubble gum cards?” “I know I had a Mickey Mantel in there.” People collect cards of many varieties: football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, and even Pokemon. The right collectors will buy single card sets or full collections. The idea, of course, is to turn collectible cards into dollars. 

When my son was younger, we collected baseball cards together. We gathered names like Topps, Fleer, Dohruss, Score, and Upperdeck. I remember for his birthday one year his wish was an Eric Davis rookie baseball card. I paid $10 for one in a card shop located in Mankato. We regularly attended shows around Waseca to trade, buy, or sell with other collectors; the library was a hot spot on Saturdays. One of my students, Marshall Cawley, specialized in cards. We met with him frequently in our quest for cards. Some of the best times I spent with my son were the countless hours we used putting piles of cards into sets. Marc and my grandsons now have the rights to all of the sets and cards. I’m quite sure some of them are valuable. 

Just a few years back, I started a collection of old fishing lures. Garage sales and old time fisherman and antique shops were my sources. I quickly found out it can be very difficult to find vintage fishing lures that haven’t become rusty old junk. I collected a number of very special, unique, old fishing lures. They are now displayed in a case, hanging on the wall at our Tetonka cabin. I get many positive remarks about the collection. 

Maybe after reading this, you’ll fire up to resurrect an old collection lying around the house or perhaps be creative and start collecting something with a passion. If you’d like a starter, maybe collect shopping coupons. One hundred dollars’ worth of items in your shopping cart has inflated to $130 in just one year. Good luck!