Question of the Week: What is your unique or interesting collection?

Published March 6, 2025 at 3:03 PM CST

A row of creepy doll heads on a shelf with mugs and other assorted items. — Pete from East Nary said, "You find a head in an illegal pile of burning trash and you are gifted with their kin."

This week, we're asking about your collections. Responses have ranged from postcards to canoes to dogs.

Collections come and go over a person's lifetime. Sometimes they are treasured objects and sometimes they just take up space. We've heard from many of you this week about the things you collect.

Here's what we heard

Lee in Bemidji said, "My collection is coffee cups from ski resorts with gravel parking lots."

KAXE volunteer Will Owens told us he collects putters, and another volunteer Jim Gallagher said he has a collection of 10 brass miner's lamps and eight canoes (seven that float.)

A.J. in Bemidji texted, "I collect Dungeons & Dragons miniatures. I collect them to make our games more interesting, but I think my wife might say I just like to play with tiny action figures."

We heard from multiple people who said they collect dogs! Check out the slide show below for photos of those dogs and other collections.

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Listener Steve from St. Paul has a ticket stub collection dating back to 1982.

Contributed / Steve Tietz

A framed collection of concert ticket stubs.

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Steve from St. Paul shared more of his ticket stub collection.

Contributed / Steve Tietz

A white refrigerator covered in magnets.

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Listener Donna shared her magnet collection.

Contributed / Listener Donna

An overhead shot of five dogs on a wood floor with a few scattered dog toys.

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Listener Liberty from Fosston says she collects dogs.

Contributed / listener Liberty

A collection of holiday postcards in an album. Some depict Christmas elements such as sledding, gathering with family, and Santa Claus. One card is celebrating the new year in 1909 and one depicts a ship.

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Listener Pat from Zerkel has a collection of postcards sent to her grandmother between 1904 and 1930. The ship on the lower left was the one she sailed on from Norway to the United States.

Contributed / Pat Smith

A Christmas decoration featuring a diorama of a Christmas village. It's comprised of four layers arranged in the shape of a Christmas tree, including a star at the very top.

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KAXE volunteer Shannon Anttila collects Christmas houses and found a unique way to display them.

Contributed / Shannon Anttila

A miner's lamp made out of brass placed on a countertop. The lamp is slightly dented, and some parts are covered in dust.

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KAXE volunteer Jim Gallagher from Bemidji has a collection of brass miner's lamps.

Contributed / Jim Gallagher

A collection of three Arabia Kalevela plates hung on a wall. The leftmost one depicts a person swimming in a pond full of lilypads and flowers, as well as a bearded man sitting at the edge of the pond. The middle plate depicts a person on skis surround by trees and a moose. The right plate depicts a person walking with a pack of dogs.

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Dawn from Brainerd collects Arabia Kalevela annual plates.

Contributed / Dawn Stattine

A workbench with 15 birdhouses stacked on top. Some of the birdhouses are fully built, while the others are unfinished.

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Listener Ron from Baxter makes bluebird nest boxes and keeps his collection scattered throughout central Minnesota.

Contributed / Ron Plinske

A collection of small bells placed on a green shelf on the wall. The bells are a variety of different shapes and sizes, and each one has a unique design on the front.

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KAXE producer Jennifer Barr has collected souvenir bells since she was 6 years old.

Contributed / Jennifer Barr

Three cocker spaniels sitting on a hardwood floor looking at the camera. The top left dog has black and white fur, the bottom left dog has brown and white fur, and the rightmost dog has grey and white fur.

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Liz from Tamarack says she collects cocker spaniels and that they really enjoy the Green Cheese picnic.

Contributed / Liz Doerring

A collection of pins on two jean jackets.

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Listener Lisa shared her collection of pins.

Contributed / Lisa Jacobson

Various pieces of Finnish glassware. In front sits three clear wine glasses, each with a slightly different shape and pattern. Behind those is a tall blue glass vase, a uniquely shaped shorter blue vase, and a blue wine glass. In the very back is a decorative plate depicting a Finnish town.

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Dawn from Brainerd collects littala glassware from Finland. She says they use it every day.

Contributed / Dawn Stattine

Read our Question of the Week post on our Facebook page for more suggestions. You can also listen to a conversation above from the KAXE Morning Show between Heidi Holtan and Kari Hedlund about their collections and stuff their family members have collected.

What do you collect? Let us know!