Jeff Ebken of Springfield felt like a kid in a candy store Tuesday morning as he visited the Kane County Fairgrounds on opening day of the three-day Chicago Americana Show and exhibit inside the Prairie Events Center.
“It’s true that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure and I love these old oil cans. I have hundreds of these back at my house, and I buy and sell and trade a little bit,” Ebken said as he balanced a collection of four cans in his arms. “I’m drawn to the names like Mopar – that’s Chrysler stuff. You got people not just wanting the oil cans, you’re collecting the color and everything with Texaco on it is great.”
Fans and buyers of collectible coin-operated devices and memorabilia welcomed the opening of the spring edition of the Chicago Americana Show, which features pop, gumball and slot machines, neon signs, jukeboxes, clocks and more.
The event is being offered by Double R Promotions LLC. Co-owner Bill Rawski, 67, of Chicago, said this was the fourth show offered by the company after being held years ago at the old Pheasant Run facility in St. Charles when the event was an expo showcasing coin-operated machines.
Rawski said that the number one item viewers and buyers come for at the show is “advertising signs, with over 1,000 to pick from.”
“The next thing most popular are the coin-operated machines,” he said. “Most of the people here, including vendors, are from the Midwest. We see mostly collectors and dealers which is always what goes on in the business.”
Ebken admitted there were, in fact, a lot of signs which he used to collect but found it difficult to make much money reselling them.
“You buy a sign for $500 and you’re lucky if you can sell it for $600,” he said. “I’d rather buy a can for $50 and sell it for $100.”
Tamra Fay of Sycamore was one of the dealers on hand at the event Tuesday. She said she and her husband began their Timework Salvage business over two years ago and that she was working at the show Tuesday so her husband could work at his regular job.
“I’m a vendor and we have all kinds of signs, Americana, gas and oil cans,” she said. “I do this with my husband and I share his passion for this. I have my things that I like and he has his things and when we go shopping it just works.”
She said the couple “have a barn in Sycamore that’s full” of items. She said they chose what to bring to this week’s show based on what they thought would sell.
“The guys are here for signs,” she said.
Fay said a good weekday show “would mean selling about 10 to 15 pieces” and that the couple does about five shows a year.
Younger people are getting more interested in the memorabilia, she said.
“There are a lot of young people that come and shop at our barn and they are looking to incorporate old with new in their homes and a lot of guys come looking for signs for their man caves,” she said.
Some of the visitors on the first day of the event weren’t exactly local, including Stephen McCormick of Castro Valley, California, who drove all the way to the fairgrounds in St. Charles in his van.
The owner of more than 100 coin-operated machines, McCormick admitted he is reaching the limit as to how many he still needs or wants.
“I come to this show and one other show,” he said. “I drove out here and we have a big van that’s already full. My partner has been coming to shows for 50 years. I come for slot machines and have ones from 1898 on up to the 1940s, and every one of them is different. They could be for sale if someone wants to buy the whole collection.”
Kurt Cable of East Dubuque, Illinois, said he enjoys virtually everything at the show, especially signs.
“That’s my go-to,” he said about signs, “but it’s all great stuff. I think people like this because it reminds them of when they were younger. A lot of it is about nostalgia.
“A lot of people think it’s junk,” he said, “but a lot also think it’s great stuff.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
