Bill Swank trims his beard on December 26 every year. But what does this Santa Claus do with the hair from his beard? He keeps it. And right now, you can see 11 years of trimmings on display at the San Diego County Fair.
That is just one of more than 100 collections on display in the Home & Hobby section of the fair this year. Along with beard trimmings are collections about the Beatles, beer coasters, poker chips, model cars, lapel pins, Pinewood Derby cars and more.
"You know, I think it's the heart of the fair," said Eva Peterson, who is the coordinator of the collections section. She said people are passionate about their entries.
"They are just dying to show other people," Peterson said.
And people show up to look at the displays. Kim and Roger Grace came for the first time.
"I think it is really funny how you can pick such a small thing to obsess about," Roger said.
His wife Kim said the collections remind her of home. "It reminds me of my Dad, he collected," she said.
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But Kim's dad probably never collected staples. Liann Palomares entered more than four pounds of used staples she collected from work in one year.
In past years, the fair included collections of antique bed pans, lint from clothes dryers and horse gall stones.
Does Eva Peterson think she's seen it all?
"I don't think so. I hope not," Eva said. "I hope there's more fun things to come."
