TRUMBULL COUNTY MATCHLESS collection

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
ORTLAND RESIDENT Alfred Crouse owns enough matchbooks to supply most of the city's liquor establishments and he doesn't even smoke.
About 230 books from his collection are displayed in city hall.
"They're all from the city of Warren" and nearby landmarks, said Crouse, 47, who grew up in the city.
There are books from Saratoga and Sunrise restaurants, Trumbull County Fair and from the former Howland Drive-In.
But it's only a fraction of Crouse's roughly 15,000-piece collection. He started collecting in 1974.
"My, brother, sister and I were at my grandmother's house in downtown Warren and there was a gold box on the mantle piece with matches in it," he said.
He thought it was odd since she didn't smoke, but the colors caught his eye, and he started his own collection.
"They're from all over the world," Crouse said. "Whenever someone I know goes somewhere and asks what I want, I say, 'Pick up a matchbook.' They don't take up much room, and they're free."
He has books from Japan and Hong Kong and a photo album with books dating to the 1920s and 1930s. Some in his collection are repeats from the same locations but bear different colors or variations in design.
"In matchbook collecting, each is considered a different book," Crouse said. "Take Avalon Inn. I have probably 20 different books from Avalon Inn. Each time they reorder, the color of ink would be different."
His wife, Brenda, and daughter, Abbey, also have contributed to his collection, picking up books in their travels.
His favorite is a matchbox that plays "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" when he winds the hand crank. It's on display in his family room but he isn't sure where he got it.
"I got to a lot of estate sales and garage sales and auctions," Crouse said.
Another favorite looks like a matchbook but doubles as a calculator.
Matchbooks aren't as colorful as they used to be as many businesses opt for more politically correct forms of advertising. He used to display most of his collection on racks in the game room of his home. He'd cut off the heads of the matches both for safety and to facilitate display and arrange them alphabetically by type of business.
The family's cats wrecked havoc on the displays, though, so Crouse converted it into an antique golf room to mark his and his daughter's interest in the sport.
He initially started gathering the pieces from Warren for the bicentennial celebration three years ago, but he didn't complete it in time. He displayed the books for the county's bicentennial in September instead.
From there they moved to city hall, where they'll remain through year's end, Crouse said.
denise.dick@vindy.com