Kidz Korner

Brockport Man Gives Peek into Extensive Collection

BY SCOTT WURTZEL

Almost everyone has at least one hobby. Hobbies help us get through the day-to-day grind of life. One of the more common hobbies out there is collecting, from stamps to cars. For most of his life, Albert McBride of Brockport has been collecting an assortment of items. To call it just a collection may not be doing it justice; it’s more like multiple collections. ese collections are kept in a large barn, where they are neatly stored and displayed. In fact, they are stored so nicely it feel more like a museum than a barn. McBride takes pride in his collection, one that he started well over 60 years ago. One of the many collections McBride has is his large number of license plates he displays. “ e rst years that they made you have a license plate, you had to make your own,” McBride explains. “A lot of people used a piece of leather, some used a piece cardboard to make their own, and they eventually got better and better at making them.” is collection spans over ve decades, and shows the changes made to license plates throughout the 20th century. Another interesting collection is McBride’s assortment of vehicles and farming equipment. e pieces vary in age from the rst World War to the late ‘70s. McBride has collected and taken care of multiple buggies, even one that needed to be horse-drawn. He has a few ‘70s era cars that have low mileage and look as though they just came o the lot. McBride also owns various pieces of older farm equipment, including multiple tractors. All the vehicles in his collection have been well kept, and really show the care that has been put into them. If he had to name a favorite, it might be his old manure spreader. When looking at it, one can see the e ort put into its restoration. Despite being of older design, it looks like it’s in brand-new condition with a fresh coat of paint. “ at manure spreader right there, I restored that back to brand-new,” McBride states. “I cleaned it all up and painted it. Took me all one winter. Took it completely apart and made it just like new.” McBride’s collections are not just automobile related. “It has a little bit of everything and anything,” he comments. In his o ce, there are a variety of items, all of which are a look back at history, giving the impression that one has traveled back in time. Each item seems to have a story behind it, and McBride knows every one. One item in particular stood out; it was a much older looking bicycle. Like all the other items, it is well kept; it is a mix of green and white, and seems like it could be ridden today. “ at bicycle, brand-new, has never been ridden,” states McBride. “It was bought back in the ‘50s and was in a restaurant, hung from the ceiling since it was brand-new. When they ran out of business, I bought it at the auction.” Having a hobby, collecting in this case, can bring happiness to a person’s life, and when you see the ambition another person has

Mr. McBride takes excellent care of his incredible collection.

with a hobby, it can inspire others. Experiencing an impressive collection like McBride’s may cause you to want to preserve history, perhaps even starting a collection of your own. McBride is proud of what he has collected, but he doesn’t much care for what happens to it a er he’s gone. He enjoys what he has, saying “It has been fun collecting all this stu over the years.”

It has a little bit of everything and anything!

- Albert McBride

Enjoy this article? Check out this week’s other great stories online at www.gvpennysaver.com: • Rochester Veteran Recalls Playing the Field, Meeting Legends & Finding True Love • A Big Screen Opportunity Leads to A New Life