Who: Samantha Reno, 17, of West Chester Township, daughter of David and Arlene Reno and soon-to-be senior at Lakota East High School.

Samantha Reno amid her unicorn collection (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        On display: Nearly 1,000 unicorns covering every available surface in her tiny bedroom.

        Goodbye, Paleontology: “I've been collecting for about 11 years now,” Miss Reno explains. “When I was 6 years old I saw this movie called The Last Unicorn. I was just captivated by it. So, I decided to stop my hobby of collecting dinosaurs and started collecting unicorns instead.”

        She already had a head start. One of her relatives had given her a tiny white porcelain unicorn the year before.

        A whole herd: Since then she has “pillaged garage sales and flea markets like the Vikings raided Europe” on her search for the mythical beasts. Her collection now boasts unicorns made of wood, ceramic, plaster, plastic, glass, crystal and metal. She also has “a ton of” jewelry. Her favorite piece is a 16th century tapestry that an uncle gave her.

        On a budget: “Of course, I'm always on the lookout for more,” she giggles. “They usually cost under $10 each, but if it is a really fancy unicorn and part of a collector's edition I will spend as much as $40.”

        Miss Reno earns her unicorn money by baby-sitting and cat-sitting. Birthday and holiday money also comes in handy.

        “You've gotta love those grandmas!” she says with a grin.

        Historical significance: “I'm really into the history of unicorns,” she explains. “And the way they have influenced culture over the centuries. They started out as traveler's tales from the Far East. Greek philosophers studied the stories people told about wild single horned beasts in Asia and Africa.”

        “The stories vary from culture to culture,” she continues, “But it always came down to a single horned wild animal.”

        “The popular misconception that people have is they are horses,” she says. “But really, they have the body of a stag, the head of a goat, the tail of a lion and the legs of a deer.”

        Miss Reno, who is planning to be an art major in college, has painted her favorite subject many times.

        “But not so much recently,” she says with a frown. “Because the art colleges want to see that you are drawing from life.”

        Regardless, her math notes are covered with sketches of unicorns.

        Uni-phobia: The only problem with her unicorn collection is that her pal Jessica won't spend the night with her anymore.

        “She says she can't stand all of those eyes looking at her,” Miss Reno laughs. “She is so funny!”

        Share your prize possessions with Marsie Hall Newbold. E-mail: marsolete@aol.com.

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