These boxes have carried their last bologna sandwiches

Jack Fisher of Bolivar has enough school lunchboxes to supply any medium-sized Midwestern school district. But those boxes carried their last bologna sandwich and served their last thermos of milk decades ago. They make up a collection of more than 1,000 pieces, one that took over 20 years to assemble.

Fisher spoke about his lunchbox collection at the Tuscarawas County Senior Center recently to a small but appreciative audience. Behind him, lined up neatly on long tables, were 20 examples of school lunchboxes, carefully packed up from the basement display at his home and tucked into well-padded plastic tubs for the journey.

“This one,” he said, pulling out a cowboy-themed box from the straight row, “is very rare because of a mistake. I saw it on a shelf in an antique store and asked about it but was told it wasn’t for sale.”

After some cajoling, Fisher left the store with his prized box. “It’s rare because of this,” he said, pointing to the word “Marshall.”

“It’s not the right version of the word. A law enforcement marshal is spelled with one ‘L.’ That makes this very rare.”

Fisher said such mistakes were never intentional. “Nobody caught it before the production run.”

Another perfectly ordinary-looking gray rounded-top lunchbox held a secret. “The name on this one, Dolph Briscoe, was governor of Texas in the 1970s. This was a campaign piece.”

Opening the box, Fisher pulled out the literature that had been enclosed some 45 years earlier.

How does an adult get started collecting something as highly specialized as lunchboxes? Fisher said the moment came when his daughter brought him a simple barn-shaped box in the waning years of the 20th century.

“I was already interested in collecting and antiques,” Fisher said. “I started to read and do some research about that lunchbox and just became interested in them.”

Fisher was attracted to the many colors, shapes, variety of designs and sheer abundance of boxes to seek out. Now each of the boxes in his varied collection carries the story of the hunt to track it down. A box with a simple black and white illustration of an elephant with “Toppie” written on it is one of his favorites.

“I saw it, liked it and bought it for $9.”

Getting it home, Fisher learned he had acquired a very rare piece indeed. It is now one of the greatest treasures of his lunchbox collection. “I had no idea at the time, no idea at all,” he said, laughing at his good fortune.

Fisher said many lunchbox collectors specialize. “Some look for cowboy boxes, or Barbie themes, or Disney or Snoopy," he said.

Remarkably Fisher said all the boxes in his collection were made in the United States as all were produced before companies in other countries began serious production after the 1980s.

Fisher said licensed, commercial lunchbox production began about 1950 when television characters began to appear. That places the familiar lunchbox out of the experience of most in Fisher’s audience, who were school children prior to that period. Their children were another matter.

“I didn’t have any lunchbox that I remember, though other kids had them,” said Lynda Garber of New Philadelphia, who was listening to Fisher’s presentation with her three siblings. “But my kids did. I remember they had a Lone Ranger box. The Hulk, remember him? And I remember one with Cabbage Patch dolls on it.”

Romaine Coniglio, also of New Philadelphia, remembered carrying her lunch to school in a paper sack. “And we had to roll it up and keep it in a pocket to use again,” she said. “And my kids all went to the cafeteria.”

Barbara and John Watson own an antique and collectable shop in Strasburg called Majestic Turnaround. They came out to learn something new.

“We have quite a few lunchboxes at our shop,” John Watson said. “This was really interesting. The boxes we have are pretty popular with visitors.”

Fisher scratched his head in wonder at one of the other boxes he pulled from the samples. “My daughter asked me if I’d ever seen an electric lunchbox. I said, ‘Get out of here. No way.’ But here it is with a plug-in cord. I’d never seen anything like it before or since. Turns out three different companies made them.”

Fisher said his children, grandchildren and their friends are always interested in seeing the collection. He doesn’t know what will happen to it in the future, but he intends to keep collecting.

“Oh yes, I’m always looking for more,” he said.

In fact he’s looking for a Volkswagen Beetle-shaped box. If you happen to run across one, let him know.