A Collectible Feast

In the 1960s before the collectibles market gathered steam, Tom Hansen bought an 1895 Victorian home at 843 Norfolk Avenue in Park City for a mere $3,000. As a longtime history buff who had researched and collected Utah memorabilia of Brigham City (where he had grown up) and Salt Lake City, Hansen began what was to become a lifelong quest for “old stuff” pertaining to Park City.

At first it was easy pickings: Hansen would visit neighbors who were delighted to part with the clutter in their basements and attics. As he slowly restored his own house, doing the work himself, he made friends with Parkites who had lived most of their lives in town. Hansen recalls being accepted by them, “because the people up here saw me doing the work, not afraid to get dirty. When I’d go down to lunch at Mason Smith’s drive-in on Heber Avenue and Main Street, they knew that I’d been working under that house or been doing something, and that I hadn’t hired it done. They have all been nice and kind to me.”

Hansen faithfully attended garage sales, finding treasure troves of unwanted items reflecting Park City’s history. Not only did Hansen buy, but he listened to the stories behind what he bought, faithfully recording what would become important lore of the city’s past. “The old timers loved to talk, and I loved that they were willing to share their stories with me,” Hansen recalls. “It made the pieces come alive, as if they were talking to me personally.” As his collection grew, he turned to estate sales, the Internet, and other collectors for important pieces to fill in the gaps of what was becoming a significant historical record of the early days in Park City. Hansen thought nothing of hopping into his car at a moment’s notice and traveling long distances if a dealer called with something he fancied — say an 1880s pictorial calendar that required a five-hour drive to a small town in Idaho. “Always interested in a good deal, that’s me,” Hansen recorded in one of his journals containing entries like: “The next thing is a match dispenser out of oak with a cast iron front that states on it “Matches 5 cents.” I found it in a home in Park City. They were having a sale and I looked out in the shed and this was poking up out of a bunch of rubbish. I dug it out and paid all of $3 for it. And it’s sitting here and I put matches in it. It’s a nice piece.”

It is ironic that this collection (soon to become one of the most important acquisitions of the Park City Museum), came into being years before the Park City Historical Society was formed in 1983. The museum will be the beneficiary of over 1,000 photographs, 1,000 documents and 650 objects that tell the story of Park City from the landmarks of City Hall and The Egyptian Theatre, to the Kimball Stagecoaches and the many saloons, saddleries and other businesses of Park City’s first entrepreneurs. Letters and signatures from notable Parkites like millionaire David Keith and The Park Record editor Sam Raddon, scribed before the fire of 1898, are a few of the rarities in the collection.

Some of Hansen’s favorite finds include a Dan McPolin whiskey bottle, a leather fire helmet with a metal eagle perched on top, a $10 note printed with a Park City stamp, and the original receipt for the city’s fire engine purchased in 1926. Hansen is especially delighted with his acquisition of the turn-of-the-century leather fireman’s hat. To get it, he had to trade two World War I rifles with Parkite Gary Kimball’s father. Often Hansen was asked to sell a particular item, but usually he refused, not willing to part with “a piece of history.” After Hansen sold his Park City home in the 1980s due to his wife’s ill health, he moved to Salt Lake City, housing his entire collection in his new home, only allowing friends to see his treasures.

In recent years, Hansen began making visits to the Park City Museum, reminiscing with the museum’s research historian, Hal Compton, and curator, Wendy Ashton, about the good old days in Park City. Occasionally, he would bring in an item to help document a particular building or event that the museum was working on, dropping hints that he had a few collectibles that might be interesting for them to see. “At first we had no idea of the extent of his collection,” Ashton recalls, “but gradually it became apparent that he was sitting on something really big. As he became convinced of our dedication to preserving Park City’s history, he revealed more and more.”

When Hansen invited Wendy Ashton to see his collection, it marked a turning point in the museum’s involvement. It became apparent that Hansen was worried about the collection’s future. His children didn’t want it, and he was intent that it should remain intact, and preferably find a home in Park City where the public could enjoy the fruits of his labor. The collection had been appraised in the six figures. Hansen agreed to let a few museum board members and interested parties view the collection. All privileged to “take the tour” found it an amazing experience.

When Gail and Peter Ochs, part-time residents of Park City, saw the collection, they were overwhelmed and enthusiastically supported the museum’s efforts to acquire it. When asked what prompted such generosity, Peter Ochs responded, “We love history and our roots in Park City, which go back to the 1980s. We thought the collection represented a one-time opportunity to capture a piece of the history of Park City before it was lost forever. We wanted to make it available to the people of Park City and all of the visitors as well.”

Wendy Lavitt, the author of six books on folk art and antiques, has been part of the Park City scene since 1976 and is thrilled to be involved in the ongoing Park City Museum expansion.