Hobbies, the beginning

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August 11, 2:17 PM

by Mark Stewart, Baltimore Hobby Examiner

 

 

With that being said, I’ll start by telling about one of my hobbies, Yes I have more than one. This hobby started in 1964 when a relative gave me the license plate that glittered. I was six, and the rest is history.

I have a modest collection of about 500, and enjoy collecting specific kinds of license plates, mostly vanity or motorcycle and in some cases when a state decides to use an odd combination of colors. This makes some plates difficult to read.

State police organizations across the country have made known their objections to some of the displays--such as Pennsylvania’s Flagship Niagara, which was deemed to be the least legible. These plates are no longer issued, but remain in use.

Although this hobby could be considered by some as uninteresting, there are many people who belong to organizations like the ALPCA, the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association. 

License plates have changed over the years. For example, some states were made of steel and covered or sealed in porcelain. Prior to that innovation, which was very expensive to make, one would simply go to the county clerk pay a fee and paint the number assigned on the bumper.  

The next time you’re at a red light, look at the car ahead of you. Chances are it will have a vanity plate. See if you can guess what they are trying to say. Some people are very clever and have even gotten a few past the censors at the DMV.

A unique fact about vanity plates: In Montana the population is small for such a large state, although they have the greatest percentage of vanity plates in the U.S. 

In short, hobbies are fun, and remain fun and exciting when the people involved in them enjoy what they are doing.

I’ve been collecting and enjoying many hobbies, about which I will write as the Baltimore Hobby Examiner.

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