I'm a history buff and love researching the history of San Jose and the San Francisco bay area. What once was farms and orchards are now high tech and concrete. So, we lost a lot of our past.
When I was young, my friends and I would ride along with our dads to the land fills and junk yards back in the day when you could run around the working earth moving equipment without someone in an orange vest and hard hat yelling at you. We would find bike parts and build "new ones". Every now and then, we would bring home other items that were cool. Mom didn't think so and threw that stuff out when she got the chance. My buddy's dad used to work for the city roads department. We got ahold of some street signs and detour arrows. Well, when we started playing road construction crew, drivers didn't think it was as fun as we did and those items got taken away, too.
Moving forward, I started with keeping advertising pieces and signs that were taken down during construction projects. The petroliana stuff really didn't kick in until I found a Bennett 646. Now, I feel like a gas and oil zombie. But, I feel the real excitement is in the hunt. I really don't sell much but I love finding things. My wife says it's like a gambling habit. She keeps me in check, though.
I really didn't realize how big this hobby was until I really started paying attention. Fun stuff. I've met some great people and am now seeing things I never thought existed. I've also discovered how much has gone away in the name of progress.
