Preserving history is an important part of society. It helps us not forget the past so that we can admire and learn from it. But, preserving history doesn’t have to be reserved for museums, historians or archaeologists. Regular citizens can take it upon themselves to take this role.
Senior Wyatt Harris is a prime example of an every day person preserving their part of history. One of his main hobbies is collecting valuables from video games to figurines. He got really into collecting not long ago by one of his family members.
“I considered myself as a collector, with my things as a collection, it was Thanksgiving break of 2022. My uncle had given me his old collection of retro video games, about 40 or 50 games with their consoles,” Harris said. “Once I was able to pull a shelf in, I began my official video game collection, which also led me to form many other collections as well.”
Harris’s collection is not confined to one thing, he will collect anything that interests him. His largest collection contains 16 video game consoles and 558 games.
“I also have a pocket knife collection, which started after buying a few cheap ones at a flea market, several years ago. Since I was very young, I have always liked Hot Wheels, which now I have a tub full of them, along with an old marble collection from when I was seven,” Harris said.
“I also collect collectibles like Pop figures, smaller figures and Skylanders.”
He goes about his collecting in a certain way so that he finds the best items but at a reasonable price. He aims for being simple and effective, utilizing both the web and brick and mortar.
“ Rather than going to places like eBay, retail stores, and collectible or video game stores, I go solely off of thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace. — Wyatt Harris
Harris isn’t collecting this much without a reason. He does it for the noble reason of preserving history.
“Other than the few Xbox 1 games I have, all of the others are long from being sold in retail or officially online, which people tend to not care much about. Other than that, I am one of those people who like to display stuff. I have about two shelves completely filled with games with other various console tables, a couple of shelves for my collectibles and knives and a square shelf for Hot Wheels,” Harris said. “It is also fun to just find something big to add to one of the collections.”
