Family shares passion for Pez dispensers

MORRIS, Ill. -- A passion for Pez has popped up in the Morris Area Public Library.

With nearly 600 items filling up two glass cases, Zachary Robinson's collection of Pez paraphernalia, which has taken about five years to assemble, has been put on display near the entrance of the library for everyone to see.

The Pez dispensers are lined in rows, with characters like The Simpsons in one case and groups of action heroes in the other. There are Pez trucks, pens, flashlights and banks, along with candies and dispensers from around the world, all in one breath-taking formation.

"When people first see the amount that he has, it kind of takes their breath away a little bit," Zach's mother, Jeri Robinson, said. "They're kind of shocked. But then they sit down and listen and want to know why and how you did it and what it's all about."

"So far I like it," the 10-year-old Zach said about his collection. "I like that I have a lot of them."

Zach and his parents started their Pez obsession about four years ago, when his grandfather, Dick Graham, turned over his collection efforts to them. Graham, who had gathered about 100 pieces of Pez paraphernalia in only one year's time, also had collections of old metal pedal cars, antique penny and vending games and Barbie dolls.

"My dad collected a lot of stuff," Jeri said. "He just started collecting, and how he got into the Pez stuff, I don't know.

"He just started collecting them, and then gave us the whole box of them and said he wanted out of it. He was doing too many other things."

In the years since, the Robinsons found themselves scouring through stores, antique shops, garage sales, flea markets, and even the Internet.