At work they are in charge of historic, sometimes priceless objets d'art. But what do Greater Cincinnati museum types consider to be their own personal treasures? Let's find out:

        Who: Laurie Risch, 43, executive director of the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington's Devou Park, who is quite fond of male chickens.

Laurie Risch and some of her rooster items. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        On display: More than 25 rooster items including salt and pepper shakers, a creamer, a jam holder, a small coffee pot with a rooster lid topper and a metal cast iron door stop. She also owns a ceramic rooster pitcher, decanter stoppers from Italy, a folk art rooster from San Francisco and a metal rooster basket.

        Where: Throughout the Newport home she shares with her husband, Pat Jones, their dogs, Lucy and Otie, and their cat, Alphie.

        Country air: Ms. Risch's first rooster was a gift from her sister, Paula Risch Head, a noted Northern Kentucky artist.

        “Paula came ... to visit and brought this block of wood with a country scene that she had painted as a gift.

        That was 20 years ago. “The next thing I know we started visiting antique markets and shops and collectible places and what one of my friends calls “junque shoppes.”

        Thrifty: Ms. Risch never spends more than $15 on any of her roosters.

        “I'm always looking for a bargain,” she giggles. “Something unique and special. But the past couple of ones have been gifts. People buy them for you when they find out that you collect them.”

        Who: Ray Henderson, 49, chief of interpretation, William Howard Taft National Historical Site, Mount Auburn.

Ray Henderson has more than 1,000 postcards (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        On display: More than 1,000 postcards from all over the world.

        Where: Neatly organized in plastic sleeves and boxes and kept inside the Hyde Park home he shares with wife, Julie, their daughter, Jarra, 13, and two cats.

        In the beginning: He began collecting postcards in about 1980.

        “At that time I was working at Mammoth Cave National Park,” he explains. “When you work for the National Park Service, you are like nomads. ... You might be seasonal at Mammoth Cave National Park in the summer and work at the Everglades National Park in the winter. So, we would keep in touch with postcards.”

        Soon, Mr. Henderson was hooked.

        On the prowl: “One of the neat things about when I worked at Mammoth Cave National Park,” he recalls, “is there are lots of small towns in the area. You could go into drugstores and find 10-cent postcards that had been around for years.”

        Everybody and his brother: In addition to national parks, Mr. Henderson's collection includes postcards bearing photos of presidents Lincoln, Taft (of course), Nixon, Reagan and Clinton. He also owns a hand-painted eyeless fish postcard, one of a famous train wreck in Kentucky, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Princess Diana and Alfred Hitchcock. A flight attendant friend contributed by sending a card from every domestic and international destination.

        Here, there, everywhere: In addition to receiving them “the old fashioned way” (in the mail), Mr. Henderson adds to his collection by going to postcard shows, flea markets and yard sales.

        Best buds: Mr. Henderson believes that his collection has helped keep his friendships strong.

        “Several of my friends who live in different places will see postcards and think I'd like to have them. That gives them an excuse to write to me.

        “It's a little better than e-mail,” he chuckles.

        Who: Bob Genheimer, 47, acting curator of archaeology for Cincinnati Museum Center.

Bob Genheimer repairs and collects antique pens. (Thomas E. Witte photo) | ZOOM |

        On display: 105 vintage fountain pens and pencils.

        Where: In the Covington bungalow he shares with his wife, Leah Konicki and “her” 40 vintage pens and pencils. Mr. Genheimer admits that sometimes their collections intermingle. “We borrow them back and forth.”

        Catching the bug: “My wife started collecting first,” he admits, “and I became more interested than she did. We collect them for different reasons. I collect them not only because they are beautiful and nice precision instruments, but I like to repair them.”

        Mr. Fix-It: “There is something mystical about getting them to write again,” says Mr. Genheimer, who describes himself as a detail person. “A lot of times these things have been sitting in a desk drawer for 60-70 years. Then, I clean them and they are writing for the first time in decades. It is kind of a neat experience to do that.”

        True delight: Collecting pens is an esoteric experience for Mr. Genheimer.

        “I like to collect pens that speak to me,” he explains. “With beautiful materials or colors. I particularly like flat top pens from the 1920s. They are flat on the top and bottom with a cylinder of plastic or rubber with a clip. They are very beautiful pens.”

        You belong to me: His favorite pen is called a Skyline. He says that it was made by the Eversharp Company around World War II.

        “It was a revolutionary design,” he enthuses. “It looks like a building. It is fat at the top and tapers down to a cylinder. It's also a great writer. It just dances on the paper.”

       Share your prize possessions with Marsie Hall Newbold by mail: c/o The Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. E-mail: marsolete@aol.com.
       

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