"It's a fan club, and we try to help them," he said.
The current national president happens to be an Atlantan, too: Karleen Buchholz. She's at the top of an organization that has 4,500 members and 54 chapters worldwide.
After 25 years of collecting, Buchholz still enjoys the hobby. She remains a purist who has little interest in acquiring items via the Internet.
"You can buy things off eBay, but you don't make the friendships," she said. That comes from face-to-face trading.
And the search never ends. Leslie has been looking for one specific item -- a 1929 longnose Metalcraft Coke truck -- for the past 40 years.
Today's price? Probably US$4,000 to US$5,000.
Leslie could be persuaded to pay it, too. "I might -- if it was in original condition."
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