Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Largest collection of Pooh & Friends memorabilia
- Deb Hoffmann sets world record
VERNON, WI, USA -- Deb Hoffmann
’s
Winnie-the-Pooh collection of over 5,000 items sets the world
record for the Largest
collection of Pooh & Friends memorabilia
. 
Photo: Deb Hoffmann’s Winnie-the-Pooh
collection of 5,000 items is the largest of its kind. Photo
by Michael Sears
( enlarge
photo
)
"Once you get started, it just sort of snowballs,"
she said. "I think I have this Pooh radar. If there's something
yellow and red within 100 miles, I can find it."
The Largest
collection of Pooh & Friends memorabilia
includes
the typical, from stuffed animals to knickknacks; the functional,
from sweat shirts to coffee cups; the unusual, from a Pooh
pinata to a vintage puppet; the seasonal, from Christmas ornaments
to a Halloween-costumed bear; and the artistic, from a movie
animation cel to a publicity poster signed by actors who put
voice to the characters.
Deb Hoffman wasn't always a collector.
She got her first bear 42 years ago from her dad, when she
was 2, and she still has it.
Hoffmann added a few here and there and
didn't really get serious about expanding her collection until
she was out of college and with disposable income.
By the mid-'80s, there was also an explosion
of new Winnie products as the Disney company discovered that
Pooh's yellow fur wasn't the only gold associated with the
character.
Gary Hoffmann doesn't seem to mind
that his wife has brought 5,000 or so guests into their house.
"To me, part of marriage is helping your spouse enjoy life,"
he said, seeming to enjoy it himself.
The couple, who own TechAnalysts, a Waukesha
custom software and Web design company, used technology to
count every single item fro the the Largest
collection of Pooh & Friends memorabilia
. Gary built
a software database so they could keep tabs on every item.
The biggest share of her the Largest
collection of Pooh & Friends memorabilia
fills a spare
bedroom in the couple's Town of Vernon two-story home. Deb
Hoffmann is sprawled out in all her glory, a two-page centerfold
in the Guinness World Records 2010 book.
The couple make annual treks to White
River, Ontario, Canada, which claims a central role in the
origins of Winnie-the-Pooh. Deb said it was there that a Canadian
infantryman bought a small black bear and kept it as the brigade's
mascot. He called it "Winnie" for his hometown of Winnipeg.
Later, he donated the bear to the London
Zoo in 1918. There it became popular with the son of A.A.
Milne, who wrote the first story, combining the antics of
Winnie from the zoo with the looks of a yellow stuffed bear
named Edward that belonged to Milne's son. "Pooh" supposedly
was the name of the family's swan.
For the past 12 years, the couple have participated
in "Winnie's Hometown Festival" in White River, a place that
practically has adopted them. Deb said at her death, the the Largest
collection of Pooh & Friends memorabilia
will be donated
to the town's Winnie museum.
Related world records
:
Largest
collection of cow-related items-Denise Tubangui sets world
record
Largest
movie camera collection-Richard LaRiviere sets world record
Largest
collection of trolls-world record set by Sophie Marie Cross
Highest
auction price for a doll-world record set by Marque
Largest
Napkin collection-world record set by Marilyn Boyle
Largest
privately owned auto collection
- world
record set by LeMay Museum
Largest
Barbie doll collection-world record set by Bettina Dorfmann
Wednesday,
December 16, 2009
