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KPIC AND ME

Harvey Goldberg

I started collecting political items in 1960 and began concentrating on the Kennedys in 1968 when Robert Kennedy ran for President, only to be assassinated 5-1/2 after John Kennedy was killed. In 1972 I joined what was called “The Kennedy Brothers Chapter” of APIC. It was renamed Kennedy Political Items Collectors (KPIC) and I became editor of its newsletter which was named the “Hyannisporter” (a combination of Hyannis and Reporter). I’ve been doing it ever since. My first newsletter issue was published in April, 1974.

I patterned my collecting after that of my dearest friend, Bonnie Gardner of California, concentrating on buttons, ribbons, and small items. I was a high school teacher for classes in graphic arts where I loved design and layout. Combining that with my love of collecting Kennedy I became involved in publishing more than a dozen reference books on collecting and the hobby over the years.

Why do I collect? I guess I am a ‘born collector’, starting with stamps and coins when I was a teenager. Eventually the stamps became boring and the coins became too expensive. I came across some campaign buttons at a flea market one day and that started the whole thing. Here it is 2021, (I am now 76) so I have been collecting Kennedy political items for over fifty years!

The most important thing to me are the people I’ve met, the friends I’ve made, and the places I’ve traveled for my collecting. Next on my list is doing the research to find out as much information about each item as I can. That makes a lot of “stuff” become real “pieces of history”. And I’ve always said that when it stops being fun, I’ll stop doing it. I’m still at it.