This is a very sensitive issue! I started collecting about ten years ago. I have the greatest wife in the world. However, She just does not share my enthusiasm for collecting. She has come along "kicking and scratching" nearly the whole time. The signs I have acquired have appreciated in value but she just cannot catch the vision. Is my situation the "norm"?

She loves them and she let's me keep them in the house! Jim

My wife tolerates the stuff I collect. I don't expect her to be enthusiastic about the stuff. She does enjoy the friendships we've made in the hobby.

The only time my Wife (EX) was enthusiastic about the items I collected. Was during our divorce proceedings. When She and her Attorney were trying to convince the Judge; that even the collectables that I owned long before meeting her. Should be made part of our Community Property..

Wife is great, does not understand, thinks that gas guys are all odd, thought that is if we ever split I would take everything so she took pictures. Tolerates this at best, always wonders what the end game is on this, does not trust anyone with it if I die.

How much better can it get ??

My wife likes my signs, globes and pumps ... I am very lucky

Kept the Signs got rid of the wife......
Girlfriend loves them but for how long, who knows....

When I die, get your ***** to my house before sundown or you'll leave empty handed. Does that answer the question?

My Wife likes it all and we decorate the house. but when i die, funeral 10:00 am Auction 12:00 Noon and Party at 5:00. same day.

I showed this topic to my wife. She liked Tankar's reply best. I think she has an auctioneer on speed dial.....but like I said before, she's good with my collecting.

My wife bought my first gas pump, and found the next two. She also found a group of ten signs, which we bought from a farmer. We both like the hunt as much as the items. I look for her collectibles, just the same as mine.

Aw, they don't call you honeybear for nothin'!

My husband doesn't understand why I'm on this list instead of some art list, but my petro collection is insignificant (tho slowly growing) and no cause to worry him. I do have an extensive collection of art books that he shares in so doesn't call them mine.

Down the road, I hope to get a gas pump for the living room...

He however collects a lot-outdated articles, books and journals from horticulture to succulents to astronomy, and he took over my entomology and plant pathology journals, not to mention his collection of a few thousand plants, images of plants, transparency slides of plants.

The plants I would donate to a plant club to sell, as for the rest--I'll have a heck of a bonfire.

This is awesome!

My wife is Ok with everything. I have globes, pumps, signs, ect all over the place. She never complains.

Love the answers. Great chuckles all around. My wife is of the tolerates it, barely, type. Especially since she has lost her parking spot in the garage BUT she does like the pump in the laundry room. And the animal globes are cute! She does the money paper work so I can't fool her with the costs.

Wow, great responses! Sounds like my situation is common. Thanks guys!

My wife is a lot smarter . She doesn't mind me buying signs, pumps,globes. She happens to be a lot younger than myself and has made me record pricing on everything in my man cave. That got her excited. That bothered me at first,but so far I am still the caretaker of my stuff. She does ask me every morning how I'm feeling. When I'm gone to spend time with my friend D B some of you on oldgas will get the call, not to let you I'm gone , But to know it's all for sell.
I did do you all a favor and did not price any of the pumps or any of the hidden treasures in the garage.
PS: There are more at the office she doesn't know about.

Gene

Funny thing is my Wife keeps finding things Petro for me to buy.I have been collecting cans and oil bottles and signs for 40 + years on a limited basis.This past year however I stepped up to Gas pumps.(3) so far this past year.I found myself catching myself and slowing down before I get carried away and end up with a yard full of pumps and signs.
I love it all but know in the end that someone ,kids , wife , whomever will have to dispose of it all.I only will buy now to upgrade and will sell the old to replace with the new.
WELL ALMOST: Last week my wife found a fully restored G&B Visable that I just could not pass up.OH yea I almost forgot that 2 gallon Aero can that arrived in the mail today.
Well no one said it was going to happen overnight.It is going to be a slowwwwwww Process.:)

My wife is tolerant of it but my girlfriend just loves it. Ron Lease-Collector ;;;;;;;

My wife and a very close friend, who is an auctioneer, talk often. He is on her speed dial. His advise is that if I fall down, first check for a pulse. If one is found call 911, if not hit speed dial! LOL! My wife loves this stuff and is great about doing shows. Paul www.severngaspumps.com

Literally LOL!!

My wife could really care less about the stuff. She gets a little sick when she thinks on how much I've spent in just 3 1/2 years. I kind of do too to be honest, yet I can't wait to buy the next cool thing. For the most part, she doesn't care saying it's my money. Once in a while, like my two globes, I see just a little glimmer in her eye and she'll actually say, "I have to admit that's pretty cool". So there's hope for her.

Speaking of speed dial, there are many of you that I would like your wife's to add me to her speed dial. My number is in my profile.

I have known my wife since 3rd grade, married just before I went to Nam so she knew what she was getting into. She digs cars, gas stuff and really loves all of the junk we have collected through the years. She wants me to do a small Erie pump branded Coke so she can have it in her kitchen, that will get done.

So I guess I'm one lucky SOB to have a partner that loves what I am into.

My wife tolerates it, but she tells everyone that when I die there will be a $1.00 takes all garage sale the next day.

My wife never liked me collecting stuff until I started selling stuff to buy our boat. Then came the smile. Now we got a bunch of concrete sign post slugs in the ground and holes all over the house that signs use to cover. I think she kind of likes the look of aged galvanized sheet metal on weathered cedar. It's been 4 years and we both are loving a common intrest. Boating at night!!

Gene,

You are killing me ...

Please Clean Out your PM Box, IT'S FULL!

Be careful what you ask for! My wife is out of control, we always go to Iowa gas and for the last three years, she has bought more stuff than I did! She travels for work a lot, and the UPS man will show up and drop off boxes with signs and other collectibles at the door.. It's like Christmas for me.. Our house is full of signs, pumps and globes, not to mention. The 40 X 60 shop.. I trust her to buy anything advertising as she is up on values as well as you can be In Today's pricing world.
Hard to keep up with her😳
But loving it!

My wife is out.....the door

second that big d

Please tell to put my name and number on her favorites list !


My wife likes the stuff almost as much as I do. It's all over the house....even in our bedroom.

I can not relate to this subject. My limitations are space, time and money not a wife. You never know things can always change if the right one comes around.

Haaaaa, this is a great topic. First pump was cool. Second pump was "Oh my god, another one?" At around 11 or 12 it was, "What the hell?" (in a funny way). Sooner than later she lost her parking space in our garage - she wasn't too happy, but in all honesty, she could care less.

One time we were out-of-town for a family reunion (about 2 hours away). A bunch of the girls went shopping and a few of the guys went to the bar. I found an auction and went with some of the other guys. When the girls returned to the hotel a few of us were having a beer in the lobby. We were all on the same floor and we all went up to my room for some more drinks. I made sure she was in front of all of us to open the door and started recording on my phone. Half the guys behind me snickering. She walked into the room and there was a 6' Texaco leaning on the wall. She just said "Oh my God" and laughed. Then about 2 minutes later I said "I wonder if you can see my truck from our room?" She took the bait, looked out the window and saw a pump in the back of my truck. She just shook her head and laughed. She said, "Only you would find a sign and a gas pump at a family reunion!!"

Anyway, I gotta go. She wants the spare room cleaned before our out-of-town guests arrive for Thanksgiving. It is full of all my fragile parts for restorations. If our guests plop down on the spare bed a few globes lenses and some ad glass will break!!

Great story Steve...the art is learning how to present our "finds" to our wives with the least collateral damage!

im one of the few with a wife that tags along to every show & auction. most that know me in the hobby, also know her. she loves this stuff and loves showing family our latest 'finds'.

she also has her own little collection of petro, consisting of flying A items and 5-qt cans.

however, she is very specific about how i display my stuff. everything has to be displayed tastefully and not crammed together. im also not allowed any petro on the main floor or upstairs of our house. her house, her rules... but my garage, my rules

My wife understands completely and has found several of the items we have in the collection. She is my best friend and partner in the game of life, and there are no secrets between us.
She has a tough time with values though, and is amazed by some of the transactions! She is so conservative with money, and I find that a good thing! LOL

Here is a picture of her when I told her what I paid for the Wayne 805!

She's gonna kill me! LOL

Kev that's a great pic lmao .

Lol!1 Classic Kevin!!!

I have an awesome wife who is also my best friend as well. she goes to all the shows with me and will walk the Hershey show from morning till night with no complaints. the few of you that have met me, can vouch for that as she is always with me. she likes the gas pumps and signs the most , oil cans not so sure. like Kevin mentioned she is surprised by values of some of this stuff. she wants me to get another pump this time a erie or tokheim clock face

Keith,
Your wife knocked it out of the park!!!!! Kind of like my wife knocked me out of the park when I have shown her some of my finds!!!! Not really!!

Seriously, it is fun. I have 70 signs in my garage (my space) and she has been very good about it all. She did go with me to pick up a gas pump "pick" in Sulphur Springs Texas as well as to Hillsboro Texas to pick up another treasure I found there. She has been with me for 40 years. It has been all fun!!! Also...she just looked over my shoulder as I was writing this....she said that I can buy my sign as long as she gets a new pair of shoes!!!!!

My wife has no idea what the stuff is worth but she likes going with me on trips to find it. She is a professional stock photographer and always finds something on our trips to amuse her. We just like hanging out together. She also is involved in my antique semi truck hobby , railroad hobbies and we both have horses too. I don't care what she spends and she does not care what I spend. She also loves the pumps lit up at night and does not want any restored. Great thread ! Tom

Thanks Stephen, I just watched the video again... still funny. I wish I could've posted the video on here. You would definitely laugh. Since I can't post the video, here is a pic of some family members I put to work on the elevator. Now I know this is a normal sight at Columbus, but this was our family reunion... Ha Haaa

Wow Steve! I need to start going to more family reunions. Maybe I could have better luck finding some cool stuff!
Steve

My buddy mac the Enarco guy says it best . To his wife " Peggy Ann don't ask me how much I paid , and I wont have to lie to you " lol

My wife loves this stuff, and is my co-pilot…Early on she told me to teach her the years makes and models of cars so I could keep my eyes on the road. She learned how to spot a classic car behind a fence or barn and could even tell me year make and model. Later as the kids came along buying cars took a back seat, but now that they are grown we’ve jumped back into road trips looking for gas pumps, signs, and anything else old and rusty. She can now spot year make and model of most pumps and identify the shape of an old painted gas station sign that has been repurposed. On a side note my son can spot a gas pump a mile off the main road and traveling at 75 mph….Love that kid!! The force is strong with him!

Anthony... my wife is the same way. She has become quite the spotter! In fact, on our last road trip, we were buying some items out of an old Pure Oil jobber's shack in Georgia... the wife spotted 2 pure signs that were back-to-back in the rafters (I didnt even see them, i thought it was just an old door).

Also the best thing I ever did was teach my wife the tricks to removing staining and cleaning signs... now she loves to clean them!

Great story and pic's Bryce! I do take advantge of my wifes OCD by starting to clean the signs and then walking away for about 10/15 mins. By the time I return she’s full steam ahead on cleaning the remaining part of the signs.

Anthony , I had a great time meeting you and your wife when you came over. You two make a great team. Maybe see you at Bakersfield gas bash. My wife will be there too.
Tom

Bryce,
You mentioned "tips" on cleaning. Is a "dulled" porcelain sign usually a hopeless case or what do you use to bring back the shine (if at all possible)?

Mine was an antique dealer before she met me she had even been to a gas Bash on her own before she was with me. She told me last night I need to pick up a 30" seaside sign to fill the hole over my pump. How Cool is that! 😏 Jim

My wife LOVED my collection, buying and selling. She had always been a big part of trips including traveling to Columbus and Iowa
Going to miss her BIG TIME

I think it is really special that so many members have "shared" their hobbies with their wives. I think that each sign I have "picked" while I was with my wife has become even more special. I picked this Texaco sign in Colorado several years ago. We found it on Craig's List and drove half way across the state and around several mountain ranges to pick it up. We will always remember that trip and this Texaco sign always will remind me of our trip together.

Stephen... once the shine is gone, its gone forever. but ill send you a PM, dont want to derail the topic

My wife loves the shows and Travels with me all summer while she is not teaching 3-4 grade. Most everyone knows her much like Bryce and Melissa. Actually I spend most of my fall shows answering questions from all the other dealers and collectors "where is your wife" P.S. she hates junk shows like Carlisle. She only wants good shows with no rusty car parts. LOL She too has caught the collecting bug and has here own section of signs in the Kitchen area.