When Ray Weaver of Wyomissing first began his collecting hobby 25 years ago, he’d be up religiously at 5 every Sunday morning to equip himself with a cup of coffee and flashlight before heading to Renninger’s Antique Market and Stoudt’s Black Angus Antique Mall in Adamstown.
At that time, he’d be one of the early birds to take part in the thrill of the hunt in the outdoor vendor areas.
A fragment of Ray Weaver’s collectibles adorn the walls in his garage that doubles as a workshop. (Courtesy of Ray Weaver)
Initially a self-described hyper–focused collector, Weaver started amassing pinball machines and slot cars for years until he made a more recent shift to vintage automobile memorabilia and mid-century furniture.
“I had my fun and moved on,” he said. “Since then, I built a garage and find things to decorate it.”
Automobile memorabilia
Weaver’s garage, which he refers to as his shop, is impressively decorated wall to wall with various automobile memorabilia. It’s where he also parks his 1970 Jeep Wagoneer that he drives and is in the process of restoring. He also has a 1971 Pontiac LeMans that he is in the process of doing a frame-off restoration on.
Ray Weaver’s 1971 Pontiac LeMans in the process of being restored inside his shop. (Courtesy of Ray Weaver)
Further echoing his love of cars, on the wall hangs a 1950s AW Golden sign that he found at their auction. All he had to do was replace the neon and do a thorough cleaning of it. He also has an old Studebaker sign, along with a collection of posters of old cars and framed pinup calendars from the early 1950s.
A neon Studebaker sign that Ray Weaver found on one of his weekend antiquing trips hangs in his shop among his huge collection of automobile memorabilia. (Courtesy of Ray Weaver)
“I was leaving a yard sale and noticed what looked like rolled up wallpaper, and it turned out to be pinup calendars from Kutztown Auto,” he said.“Yard sales are fun because you truly never know what you’re going to find — what you first see are toys and clothes, but it’s what’s beyond that where you can find the good stuff, like grandpa’s Snap-On wrench set or a valuable painting.”
He prefers going to yard sales in neighborhoods with houses that were built in the 1950s and ’60s because he said those homeowners have had more time to acquire desirable items over the years, versus younger families in more modern developments that haven’t had a chance to acquire items yet.
Mid-century lamps and furniture
When Weaver isn’t working on his cars, he tinkers on mid-century lamps and furniture that he finds when out antiquing that are in need of work. His son, Izaak, 27, has an appreciation for some of his furniture finds.
“He has an apartment in Philadelphia and will tell me he likes certain pieces, so I’ll let him have them,” Weaver said.
A 1965 Lane Acclaim coffee table that Ray Weaver found and restored. (Courtesy of Ray Weaver)
He said they worked on some of the pieces together over the course of some weekends to strip and refinish them.
In addition to the pleasure he gets in adding to his collections, Weaver finds joy in the fixing and restoration process because most things he finds are in need of some work.
For example, he recently came across a vintage LL Bean lantern, gently used but in the box. He discovered the glass globe had a crack in it, so he did some research to find that the parts were made in Oregon, where they are still making parts, so he was able to order a replacement part to fix it.
Now he enjoys using the lantern when sitting outdoors with friends.
“You learn more about the item when you do research on it and work on it,” he said. It’s fun restoring things and bringing them back to working condition.”
New hobby-life balance
While Weaver still heads to Renninger’s most Sundays, he typically arrives around 7 a.m., which he refers to as late. However, now that he’s 58 years old, he has found a new hobby-life balance that prioritizes his family and relaxation at home.
But that hasn’t kept him from visits to yard sales with his wife, Heidi, estate sales, Goodwill and auctions — they are just more infrequent now, but enough to keep up his love of collecting.
His approach to collecting has also changed over the years because he now goes out with an open mind instead of as a specific collector, like in the past when he was more prone to be on the hunt for Coca-Cola, Reading Brewery or Sunshine Brewery signs.
“Now I’m never disappointed because I just leave excited that I found something,” he said.