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http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/12/man-builds-hess-toy-truck-collection-over-50-christmases/
NUTLEY, N.J. — Not many adults get a toy as a gift on Christmas Day. And when they do ask for one, not many ask for a toy truck. Thomas Cook, 73, is one of those adults who enjoy getting a toy truck on Christmas. It all started when he was 24 years old and his wife Carol gave him a Hess Green Tanker Trailer for Christmas. “Every boy likes toys,” he says.
As soon as the holiday was approaching, Carol would start looking for the trucks at Hess stations. “She would go out there and find them. They were widely popular,” Thomas says. And so a tradition started.
Carol gave Thomas a Hess truck for Christmas every year. It became a tradition in the Cook’s household, something Thomas says his wife Carol enjoyed doing for him. “They were very hard to get back in the day and she loved shopping for these,” Thomas says.
And like every boy, he would play with his new Hess truck every Christmas. “I would play with them under the tree. It was fun and it signified Christmas,” he says.
Thomas started to collect the trucks and each year he says he was surprised by new designs, hidden compartments, sirens and lights. “They got fancier as time went on and they started to put things you wouldn’t expect. They had trucks with rockets on it, or jet planes that you could launch from the back of the truck and secret compartments.”
His grandson Tom would help him find secret compartments and let him know about new sirens and headlights. ”I wouldn’t expect that by twisting the driver’s head the sirens would turn on,” Thomas says.
Hess Toy Trucks have been sold at gas stations since 1964 during the holiday season and this year they are celebrating their 50th anniversary. Hess Corp. is a well-known oil company and their toy trucks, helicopters, police cars, airplanes, space shuttles and rescue vehicles have been a popular Christmas gift since, Leon Hess, founder of Hess Oil, began offering toy trucks as a thank you to loyal customers. The complete Hess Toy Truck collection includes 44 full-size trucks and 17 mini toy trucks.
These days, Carol buys the trucks online. ”It was cute. It was just something different,” Thomas says. The first Hess toy truck was the Hess Tanker Trailer in 1964 resembling the company’s original gas tankers. His love for trucks ran in the family. His father was a captain in the Jersey City Fire Department.
His older brother and younger brother were fire chiefs in nearby towns. “There’s fireman’s blood in the family but I didn’t have it,” he says. His favorite truck is the 1986 Hess Fire Truck Bank, says Thomas, who worked for NJ Bell Telephone Company and then in real estate.
After a few trucks, Cook started to collect them for fun and also hoping one day these would increase in value. Every year, Thomas stashed them and hoped that his grandsons wouldn’t break them while playing.
He’s hoping to get another truck tomorrow. ”I don’t know if Santa is bringing me one this year.”
Thoughts?
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