Collectors show off political memorabilia

Bill Clinton was there. So was Barack Obama, Walter Mondale and Ronald Reagan.

Their smiling faces appeared on buttons, posters, pins and other items at the Political Button and Memorabilia Show, held Sunday at the College of DuPage. Attendance was unexpectedly light, given the large crowds that usually show up after an election, the vendors said. But eBay, the economy and fewer collectors might have taken a toll this year, said Tom Kitchen, who has been to the show since the 1980s.

“I sold out of Obama and McCain button in 2008,“ said Kitchen, who estimates he has about 15,000 pieces in his Fond du Lac, Wis., home.

Standing in front of a “Ronbo” poster, a creative mix of Sylvester Stallone's “Rambo” character and Ronald Reagan, Kitchen said he became interested in collecting when John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960.

Ever since, his hobby has turned into a way to make some money.

“It's always been a hobby and it still is,” he said. “But when you look at the collection, it becomes an investment. You're always aware of what you are buying and the potential value of it.”

For Pat Kehoe, another Wisconsin native who made the trip to Glen Ellyn, said he has collected political memorabilia since 1968 and that most of the time, he gets his firsthand items by being a delegate for the campaign, as he did in 2008 for Hillary Clinton.

He's been a collector since 1968.

“It's like holding on to a part of history,” he said. “The memories of the campaigns, it's like holding on to the toys of your childhood.”