Mark Volk
Bismark, North Dakota, USA
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Mark Volk Bismark, North Dakota, USA |
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My first experience with a Coleman lantern was when I was about 12 years old. My dad and his friends built an ice fish house and we went out one Saturday and set it up on the frozen lake. Night falls early in the winter time on the prairie plains and soon one of my dad's friends went out to his truck and came back to the fish house with a Coleman lantern. He put fuel in it, pumped it up and lit the mantles. I was amazed! How one lantern lit the fish house up so bright was wonderful.
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| The next Christmas I talked my mother into going together on a Coleman lantern for dad for Christmas. That lantern was a 220 and was liked so much by dad that it was soon joined with a 425 stove. The pair not only went on fishing trips but made trips to Yellowstone, Glacier, Penali, Arches, Grand Canyon and other national parks after I got out of college. |
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My collecting career began, I believe, at one of my neighbor's garage sale. I purchased a 220F, brought it home and then noticed it looked a little different than my dad's. Being an "F" model from the '60s and my dad's "H" model from the '70s I figured that there's probably a few newer models made by now and that from A to L is about 12. So all I'd have to do is find about a dozen Coleman lanterns and I'd have all the models...
After several years of collecting I realized how badly I underestimated the number of lanterns Coleman made!
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I've been collecting for about 10 years now, mostly my Coleman items are camping-related and consisting mostly of lanterns, stoves, coolers, etc. It has been a very fun and rewarding hobby. I guess if I had to pick a favorite it would be very hard. But my favorite to work on and fix up would be the 242 series of lanterns. They are so easy to take apart, clean and rebuild that anyone would realize that they are made to last almost forever!
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I encourage everyone in the club to get involved. No matter how large or small your contribution may be it probably will help out someone in the club. In the four years that I have been a member I have learned valuable information and met either by phone, letters or email some incredibly friendly people.
Keep the mantles burning!
Mark Volk