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Reprinted from The Expositor, Brantford, Ontario
Boyd Leeson was interviewed Susan Gamble of The Expositor.
M&M = mad and marvelous
Like any kid, Boyd Leeson loved eating M&M candies, especially because they never melted in his hand. But the Brantford man has gone way beyond a yen for candy: he's M&M-mad, collecting all manner of memorabilia and filling his home with items from various countries and decades. "I didn't even know it was a collectible until two years ago," says a bemused Boyd. His wife, Laurie, is responsible. She started buying him M&M items and later built him a shelve to display his collectibles. She even painted the shelve in the official M&M colours. But even laurie had no idea where the colourful obsession would lead. Today, Boyd's hobby has taken over what used to be the couple's rec room. He has floor-to-ceiling displays of M&M merchandise, including tins, dispensers, toppers, knapsacks, coffee mugs, T-shirts, and "plushies." He made the trek to Virginia this past summer for the M&M collectors' picnic and would love to put in an appearance at the Year 2000 conference in Orlando, Fla. Boyd belongs to several collectors' clubs, including the one in Australia, and regularly cruises the World Wide Web to find new acquisitions to add to his amazing 1,000 item display. Boyd and Laurie are also well-known at local flea markets and yard sales where they troll for M&M items that would be good purchases - even if they're just for trading. "When I went down to the States, I took a bunch of Canadian things that aren't available there and traded them for things I wanted." And just what are the things Boyd loves out of his hundreds of collectibles? "I've got so many different dispensers I like, some European toppers that are worth a bit, some hard-to-find yo-yos - and I found a flashlight that was promotional advertising given to candy dealers. It's hard to choose." To get an additional peek at Boyd's magnificent obsession, check out www.geocities.com/Heartland/Trail/2651.
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