RonnieAdventures: April 2025

Friday, April 18, 2025

RonnieAdventure #0667 - Walt's PEZ Collection, Newton, North Carolina

Picture by Kolohe

Newton Antiques and Collectibles is an interesting stop in Newton, North Carolina. Although this is primarily an antique shop, the owner, Walt Granford, is a dedicated PEZ collector and has what may be one of the largest private PEZ collections in the United States. It was reported that the collection contains over 100,000 PEZ units. He started colleting PEZ dispensers 30-years ago when he purchased a Pinocchio dispenser for $4 at a garage sale and when he arrived home he found out that it was worth $150.

We enjoyed looking at some of the unusual antiques before going to the back of the store to see his collection.

Picture by Kolohe

PEZ was first marketed in 1927 as a peppermint candy in Vienna, Austria. The name PEZ is an abbreviation for PfeffErminZ (German for peppermint).

Originally, the candies were round and sold as "PEZ Drops" in round rolls. However, over time the candy design was changed to a rectangular shape and packaged in containers similar in shape to a cigarette lighter.

In 1949, PEZ dispensers were officially introduced to the world at the Vienna Trade Fair; and then in 1952, PEZ products were sold in the United States. However, sales increased substantially in 1955 when PEZ started putting heads on the dispensers and marketing the product to children. The first heads were Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Popeye, and Santa Claus.

Currently, over 1500 character dispensers have been created and it was reported that today there are billions of annual candy sales in just the United States. PEZ Company headquarters are in Traun, Austria, while the candies are produced in Janossomorja, Hungary, and Orange, Connecticut. At the facility in Orange, there is a 4,000 sq. ft. visitor center and museum. I'll have to add this stop to my bucket list for the next time I'm in Connecticut.

Picture by Kolohe

After we had finished looking at the PEZ collection, we noticed a door with a sign that said: "World Fair Museum." When we inquired about the museum sign, the owner explained that he also collected world fair memorabilia and he agreed to unlock the door and let us look at some of the world fair items that he had collected. He explained that he became interested in world fair items because part of his PEZ collection was displayed at the 1984 World Fair in New Orleans. His world fair collection even included a limited edition Elvis set that featuring three different PEZ dispensers from different periods of Presley's life, and an Elvis record It happened at the World's Fair.

Picture by Kolohe

Friday, April 11, 2025

RonnieAdventure #0666 - Hickory Aviation Museum, Hickory, North Carolina

Picture by Kolohe

The Hickory Aviation Museum is currently located in the Hickory Regional Airport Terminal, and on the airport tarmac between the terminal and the runway. However, a new museum building is under construction at a different location and it is anticipated to be open by the end of 2025. A docent told us that the planes now parked on the tarmac will be moved into the museum and restored.

Picture by Kolohe

There was a placard placed on a General Electric J-31 jet engine that stated this design was the first jet engine mass produced in the United States. It was developed during WW II and the first prototype was tested in 1943.

Picture by Kolohe

The front section of an F-4 fighter jet cockpit and ejection seat were on display, but a sign stated that the rear panel was not included because it is still classified.

Picture by Kolohe

A Lockheed P-3 Orion on display was used by the United States Navy as a land-based maritime patrol aircraft starting in the late 1960s. At the time, this was considered to be the world's premier multi-mission maritime long-endurance aircraft used for submarine hunting, drug interdiction, shipping lane pirate protection, and other classified missions. Armament consisted of air-to-surface missiles, depth charges, impact torpedoes, naval mines, and others. A docent gave us a tour of the aircraft.

Picture by Kolohe

Grumman's OV-1D Mohawk was a twin turboprop aircraft used for battlefield surveillance and low-level air strikes. A placard stated: "The Side-Looking Airborne Radar could look through foliage and map terrain, presenting the observer with a film image of the earth below in only minutes after the area was scanned." It was produced from 1959 to 1970.

Picture by Kolohe

The first flight of Lockheed's T-33 was March 22, 1948. It had a long history of use as a trainer aircraft in the United States and is still used by the Bolivian Air Force.

Picture by Kolohe

North American Aviation built the first FJ-3 "Fury" in 1951 to combat the Soviet MiG-15 that was being used in the Korean War. This was the first aircraft acquired by Hickory Aviation Museum.

Picture by Kolohe

Grumman's F-9 "Cougar" was a carrier-based fighter aircraft used by the United States Navy. The aircraft was unique in that it was designed to fly without the upper portion of the tail.

The Curtiss XF15C-1 is the rarest plane in the museum. Only three of the aircraft were manufactured - the first one crashed in testing, the second was scrapped, and this is the only one left in the world.

Picture by Kolohe

Northrop's F-5 "Tiger II" was produced from 1955 to 1987. This is a supersonic aircraft that could reach speeds of Mach 1.6 (1,060 MPH) and climb to 51,800 feet. Over 800 of these planes were produced for U.S. allies. A sign stated that at least one local Hickory resident flew the aircraft.

Ling-Temco-Vought's A-7 "Coursair II" initial flight was September 26, 1965. The planes were used by the United States until 1991 before they were fazed out of active service. However, the Portuguese Air Force used the aircraft until 1999 and the Hellenic Air Force used it until 2014.

Picture by Kolohe

Republic's F-105 "Thunderchief" is one of the most legendary combat aircraft ever made. It could reach speeds of Mach 2+ and was responsible for shooting down 27 MiG fighters in Vietnam. This aircraft set two fighter jet records in 1958.

The McDonnell Aircraft/McDonald Douglas F-4B "Phantom II" was produced from 1958 until 1981. In 1959 it set 15 world records for in-flight performance, including absolute speed and absolute altitude records.

Picture by Kolohe

The United States retired the Northrop Grumman EA-6B "Prowler" from active service in 2019, but is still in use by other countries around the world. The crew consists of one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers that can fire anti-radiation missiles (ARMs). It can also be used for jamming enemy radar signals and gathering radio intelligence from enemy air defense systems.

Picture by Kolohe

Grumman's F-14D " Tomcat" was designed to counter Mig fighters during the Vietnam War. It served as "the U.S. Navy's primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet interceptor and tactical aerial reconnaissance platform."

Picture by Kolohe

Sikorsky's SH-3H Sea King was a twin-engine, all weather, multi-purpose helicopter that was used to detect, classify, track and destroy enemy submarines. It was also used for search and rescue operations.

When in the military, the golden rule is "Don't volunteer for anything." However, while waiting in Goose Bay, Labrador, for my discharge papers to be processed, an emergency distress signal was received from some Eskimo seal hunter in northern Labrador. At that time, the Air Force did not have any long-distance helicopters and only had smaller units for fighting local fires. Sikorsky helicopters were used by the local brush pilots, but no one wanted to fly with them because maintenance on their helicopters was questionable and their units were reported to be repaired using a lot of duct tape and wire to hold them together. Since no one came forward to fly with a brush pilot, and I had already been released from duty and had nothing better to do, I volunteered to go on the mission. That is the only time I have ever flown in a Sikorsky helicopter. It turned out to be a safe flight that I'll have to tell more about the mission at a later time.

Picture by Kolohe