Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Lately there has been a question....

Lately (all the time) there have been questions raised, concerning the Knowledge of and Experience in our Hobby, by individual Members... Every few years someone starts a thread, where Members have shared when they started in the Hobby... It might be time for some who haven't posted in the past to share (I hope all will)... And for those who have not read the thread, to see how much time others have in the Hobby....

I know at times, I wonder how long a Collector has been collecting.... There was another thread, I'm not sure how long ago, where Members shared how they got involved in the Hobby. That might be one to resurrect, also?

This is one of those threads I found, that was started in 2010.....

http://www.oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=186154&page=1

I'm 19 and started collecting anything I thought was cool probably 5 years ago. Most 14-15 year olds don't want to go to antique stores, but I went to every one my parents would take me to. I started buying seriously 3 years ago and I'm usually on this site daily to see new stuff and learn and ask questions. I'll probably add more to this post at a later time but can't at the moment about to drive back home.

Just updated that old thread from 2010. Thanks for that link Bob and for a great idea to get people to post some info about themselves. Cheers

Newbie although I spent many years watching and helping my father with old furnture. Don't think that counts,as petro is total different ballgame. Collected texaco lost interest and let friends have a lot of what I had. On a new quest for Pierce Pennant which has really renewed my interest. So at 55 years old I'm a late bloomer, so don't put a whole lot of stock in what I post on the know how department. Thanks to all that has took a interest,and helped me along the way.
Its fun again!

I am 23 (will be 24 next month) I have been studying the hobby for 10+ years, right around the time I was 12-13. Quite unfortunately I have a mostly fractured family, so had no one that handed down any knowledge, items, etc. etc. to get me off on the right foot. The only grandparents I had that were worth anything weren't involved in anything particularly collectible. My grandpa was a train rail hobo for a few years before joining the circus, and when he met my grandma they settled down to open a curtain/fabric store.

Because of this (and the fact my family was of meager means growing up) I spent many years just looking up the hobby online and reading about it (well before History channel started profiting off of shows like this).

When I finally got a job I started using some of my money to buy/sell items of Americana when I was about 20. I used the profit to buy and sell even more. After doing this for about 2 1/2 years I had met a couple of guys locally who really started showing me more of the ins and outs, and really teaching me. I was finally able to make enough money and get some good enough finds to keep some of my pieces, so I started actually collecting for myself last year.

I hope there are more out there like me, and RoyalCrown. I really don't see many young people today taking the time to get in to preserving Americana.

Anyways, that's my schpiel..shpeel..however you spell it.

Some may know, some may not. I've posted in one of these thread before, but I figure another post couldn't hurt.

I'm 19 years old. Been going to auction's since I was a baby (mom went shopping on the weekend's, so as any boy would do, I went with my father who drug me to auctions.) At about the age of 9 I realized there was money to be made buying and selling items. Been doing it since then.

Started collecting Farm related advertising about 4 or 5 years ago. Don't do much petro, but love the site for all the people and information available!

Brandon Ferguson

I will be 40 in August, started at 15 with my father.

40 in August.....that means free beer at Iowa, right?

Something I would like to point out to go along with Bob's post, is that experience is not measured by your "ranking" if you will on the site, petro enthusiast, veteran member, etc. There are people who have registered after having been involved in the hobby for many years that are (sometimes inappropriately) labeled as "newbies" due to their status, as well as actual "newbies" that in less than a few months or a year have posted so many times that they are given "veteran" status.
I made a comment not long ago where I mentioned if you have some experience in this hobby, you learn quickly which posters know thier stuff and those that don't, plain and simple, so don't let the labels assigned by your number of posts prematurely judge someone's knowledge of the hobby.
I've been on here almost 6 years I believe and still have "enthusiast" status. Not that I'm an expert by any means, but I do know Mobil items pretty well and help where I can. I normally only comment on things I actually know about or when the thread really interests me generally.
Darin
Ooooops, just looked after I posted, only 5 years in the hobby lol.....but grew up collecting stuff since I was about 10 years old.

Well I'm 53 & started about 5 years ago. I always liked going to flea market's & looking at stuff. Once in awhile I would buy a can or jar, something small & cheap. Then somewhere along the line, the gas bug bit & bit hard. Been broke ever since! Now that I have accumalated a pile of duplicates & extra's, I have to learn to sell some things to buy more.

Cliff

I turned 50 back in May. In the late summer of 1963 my parents took a sign and pole shaped cut out from a wood working project and painted their toddler son a Gulf sign like the one at the station in front of their house. That toddler had to have more of them - Esso, Pure, American, Crown, Shell, Mobil and so forth, just stations around where we lived. I then started picking out road maps, having been carried into the gas stations and held up to the map rack. From their it was oil cans, and gas toys. Got my first globe, a Shell, for $5.00 at age 13, a Sinclair porcelain sign the next year for $6.00. Since that time I've written oil company history three years through the old WOCCO newletter, several years for CTO and eighteen with PCM. By years end I will have completed 16 books on the hobby. All that, with nearly a half a century of experience in the hobby, and yet I probably don't have 30 posts for all the years I've been on oldgas. Don't get me wrong. I personally, and PCM, supports oldgas fully. It's just an awkward format for me. So years on-line and years of experience are definately two different things.

I am 29 & I started collecting 2 or so years ago. I got into it after finding quite a few oil cans & and big Quaker state sign on my grandpas old farm where I now live. I picked up a few more signs & im working on my first gas pump (M&S 80) but really got addicted to the oil cans, so that's kind of what I focus on now. I read everything on this site daily, usually 2-3 x a day & really enjoy reading everyone's posts
Paul Treisa

I've been collecting for about 4years now, I'm 35yr old & excited to learn more everyday. There is so much to learn, now & in another 20 years I'm sure!
Camron.

I'm 45. I've been into muscle cars since I was 14 and my father bought me a Plymouth Duster. I bought an auction house in 2004 and bought several large collections and auctioned them off through the business. I didn't know signs and pumps were such a hot commodity till I owned the auction.

I started collecting after I sold the auction house in 2006. I waited to start collecting as I didn't want to be bidding against my customers.

Fast forward six years and I own over 200 gas pumps, 500 signs and over 4000 oil cans. I have seriously outgrown my shops. Have to build a new shop!!! In order to nicely display my collection.
Designed a new 45,000 sq. ft shop but changed my mind when the price tag came in at over $1,000,000. Can't afford that. Instead wife and I have designed a new house with an attached 3200 square ft shop with 11 ft ceilings. Did I mention a happy wife is a happy life? Hope to start building in two years. Next summer I'm going to add another floor to my existing shop......

Working on pumps 1982-2012... and counting

My 1st pump was a restored 1928 Wayne Visible that I picked up in 2010 for 1500 and sold for 2500, I realized then that there was money to be made in this and from there I have kinda gone crazy, but the funny part is I have rarely sold anything since.
I've been buying things like crazy since to build up my collection so far it's been a blast and I have met some great guys around Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas and the list keeps growing, the thing I find amazing is how you can spend so much time looking and knocking on doors to buy things then comes the day when you have met so many people and then they start contacting you and giving you leads on things they found that they thought you might be interested in.
It's a great way to spend time and meet real people who enjoy showing what they have collected and the stories they have to tell are always worth the time and all it takes is a knock or phone call to make some life long friends.