Visit first, then call
Add political memorabilia collecting to the list of things people get competitive over.
In a Towson Times story, Mike Gimbel talked about how he and Bob Hughes, now the county library system spokesman, got into the hobby when they both worked for then-County Executive Don Hutchinson.
“Both of us started just picking stuff up and the next thing you know we were, like, really into it and we got kind of fanatical about it,” Gimbel said. “I think we got a little bit competitive.”
Hughes was recovering from knee surgery and was unavailable for an interview for that story. He called to discuss his shared interest when he returned to work this week.
Gimbel, then the county substance abuse services coordinator, and Hughes, then the county’s juvenile justice coordinator, would travel to flea markets and yard sales around the area and in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
“Whereever we happened to be, we would look for a place,” Hughes said.
Many times they went together. Sometimes, they went alone.
“We would call each other and tell the other one about some flea market or other place that had really good stuff,” Hughes said. “But those calls always seemed to come after the person (calling) had already been there first.”