The Barker Character, Comic, and Cartoon Museum: Nostalgia reigns

It was a rainy Saturday today, so the Professor and I decided to take a trip. A museum was on our radar, but what museum would we visit? A bit of Google searching later, I suggested the Barker Character, Comic, and Cartoon Museum in Cheshire. 

What is it?, the Professor wondered.

Honestly, I couldn't tell her. Not because I wanted it to be a surprise, but mainly because the website for the establishment only gave me a vague idea of what the museum actually contained. Was it animation stuff? Was it comic strips? Was it toys? I didn't really know.

What I did glean was that it had 80,000 items and that the admission was free to the public, and that was enough to get us in the car for the 30 minute trip down 84.

And, if you ever were a child (and, I think most of you were at one time or another), this place is totally worth the ride.

As you pull into the driveway of the Barker property off of Route 10, you're greeted by several wooden replicas of famous cartoon characters, from Porky Pig to the Animaniacs to Popeye and Olive Oyl. Sort of a little monument park, only everyone replicated never existed in reality.

Curiosity piqued, we parked and made our way inside.

A short audio clip at the museum's entrance informed us of the BCCCM's purpose (generally, to get children into the hobby of collecting). Talking to the on-site guide that met us at the front door, we also learned a bit about the creator of the museum, Mr. Herbert Barker. Having spent his youth working, Mr. Barker decided, 40 years ago, to begin his childhood again through buying toys. Eventually, this collection got too large for the Barker's home, and the museum became a reality.

Our appetites were whetted. Toys! Tons of toys! 

After signing the guest book, we began our trek.

It was pretty amazing.

80,000 toys! I mean, 80,000 toys! Lining the walls, the ceiling, in cases, on cases, just about everywhere you could fit anything. There were old toys, retro toys, new toys, animation props from Art Clokey's Gumby and Will Vinton's California Raisins, old lunch boxes, comic books, Pez dispensers, collectable glasses; if it was a childhood toy that you cherished, or an item that contained an image of your favorite cartoon character, the BCCCM has it somewhere in the collection.

Here's an image from the museum's website of the interior (photography was not allowed):

The Professor and I could have spent an entire day in the museum and still would have missed half the collection. There's just so much stuff, our eyes got buggy after staring for so long. It got a bit overwhelming, especially once we realized there was a second floor! And everything contained in the museum has a tag telling you the appraised value of each item (though nothing is for sale). So, you can look at all of the old toys of yours that your Mom threw away and slap your forehead at the current market value for each piece.

Popeye fact: Olive Oyl's first boyfriend was named Ham Gravy. How do I know this? Well, on your way out the door, staggered by the mass amount of plastic your eyes have just processed, you get a pamphlet listing 99 little known facts about Popeye. Certainly gives you something to read on the ride home.

I can't recommend this place enough. It brought back so many memories, I felt like I shrunk in my shoes, a six-year-old boy surrounded by every toy in the world. A kid in a candy store, as the saying goes, only the candy is every toy you can ever remember.

In addition to the museum, the Barker grounds also contain an animation gallery. Everything inside the gallery can be purchased, but the items do not come cheap. Animation cels, even limited editions, can run up to multiple thousands of dollars each. Still, the artwork was nice to admire and felt very subdued after exiting the overstuffed museum.

The Barker Character, Comic, and Cartoon Museum is only open on Saturdays, from 11 AM to 5 PM. They can be found at 1188 Highland Ave. in Cheshire.

Go and be a kid. You've earned it.