You might say Don Heafner has a magnetic personality. Instead of going out and finding a hobby, he simply attracted one. Can you top this man’s
magnetic attraction?"I never used to like magnets," he said, having amassed 350 of them, many of them gifts from friends. "Now I do, but before, I used to go, 'Why are all these people bringing me magnets?' "
His collection tops that of former challenger Donna Cadiente, who had 50 magnets.
Heafner started with a few refrigerator magnets depicting his love of surfing. People visiting his home would see them and add more to his "collection."
Now he has four jeepneys -- miniaturized versions of the Philippines bus -- along with magnets from 15 states (he hopes to make it all 50), Betty Boop, his favorite dwarf Dopey and dozens with Hawaiian themes, including four printed with recipes. He prefers square picture magnets to oddly shaped 3D ones.
Since the front of his refrigerator is filling up fast, some magnets have overflowed onto the sides. Heafner plans to use the sides of his oven later, or he could continue with his makeshift solution of sticking his magnets to cookie sheets, which can be displayed around the house.
Heafner's hobby of choice is collecting acrobatic paraphernalia. The founder of the Waikiki Acrobatic Troupe has photos, paintings, posters, sculptures and ceramics depicting acrobats at work. "Too many to count," he said.
One of his favorite magnets pays homage to his first love. It reads, "I'm running away to join the circus."
"Before I got married in 1970 I wanted to run away to join the circus," Heafner said. "I had to make a choice, so I got married."
He never regretted the decision, saying, "My life has been like a circus anyway. I think it just kind of found me."
By Nadine Kam,
Assistant Features Editor, Star-Bulletin
Do you have a personal collection that you think is worthy of boasting?
Write: Challenge, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, HI 96802 and tell us what you've got.