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Our very first "featured collector" just happens to be one of the founding 3 members of the 49er chapter (Hall Baker, Warren Hardaker, & Gordon Bruhl). Hall Baker, along with his wife Edie, have been collecting cans for over 35 years. I really wanted our first collector to be one of the originals & since Warren's collection isn't ready to be photographed, Hall is the man. Hall is quick to point out that his collection is not like it used to be & he has the photos to prove it!

I have been meaning to visit Hall for some time to see his collection since we are both Acme collectors, among other brands. I finally had the opportunity recently, so Warren and I made the drive out to Sacramento. As you'll see in the photo's, Hall & Edie collect more than just beer items. You'll see old tin toys, soda items, coffee cans, and some other neat items. I asked him some general questions about his collection & how he aquired it.

Hall started collecting back in 1968, primarily picking up cans along the back roads near McClellan & up at Eagle Lake. Hall and Edie had a deal with the folks at the lake in which they would haul out all the beer cans and other trash in trade for free lodging. One time, they got home and realized that in their trash there were over 50 variations of beer cans, and this started it all.

His favorite item in his collection? That would be the Buffalo quart cone that he picked up at a bar in Genoa, NV for $1.50. They had it on display, but it went home with Hall. According to Hall, this can will be going home with Warren someday. When Warren has his can room ready for display again, that's when the quart will be moved from Hall's wall to Warren's wall..

Focus of his collection? At one time he had over 110 variations of Grace Brothers cans. In addtion, he focused on Buffalo and Acme.

Over the years, he has had many great finds. (1) Years ago, Edie came across a grocery store that was being torn down... Inside she found enough cans to fill two 30 gallon drums. They were all grade 1 and included brands like Acme, Buffalo, and other CA brands. All turned out to be flat tops. After checking back in with the people tearing it down a week later, they were able to give her & Hall another full 30 gallon drum full of flats. (2) I guess you could call this next one The Omega Mine Find... There were 18 houses around the mine with ditches going along each side of each house. I guess these miners liked to drink because the ditches were full of cans. There were 40-50 different cans including every Grace Brothers brand you could think of. The brands that there were the most of turned out to be Acme and Brown Derby though. They hauled the cans out by the truck load. (3) The Hobart Mills dump covered 17 acres, and included soda cans, coffee cans & plenty of pill bottles in addition to the tons of beer cans. He remembers there being Brown Derby cans from every different brewery, but also pulling out a bunch of really tough cans. He pulled a bunch of Humboldt cans, including the Eureka's that most stick out in his mind.

There are a couple pictures that I should point out. One is the picture of the door that leads into Halls can room. On it, he wrote down the name and BCCA number of everyone that visited. In another, you'll see Hall holding a book that he had other collectors sign. When asked if there was anything else he'd like to add, or any words of wisdom, he said without thinking twice, "I'm just sorry the collectors don't come by anymore".

Let's get out and see each others collections, and if you're up for it, take some pictures and send them my way.

Mike Wilbur

1972 Newspaper Article, Click Here

Newspaper Article Photo, Click Here