ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608120072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ROBIN FARMER RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
IT ALL BEGAN with collecting birds' nests, and grew into a hobby of immense proportions. Now a Richmond boy is displaying part of his antique collectibles at the Smithsonian Institution.
Candy Osdene knew her son, Stefan, would become an avid collector long before he hit first grade.
``We used to drive down Monument Avenue,'' she recalled. ``And he was screaming bloody murder for every bird nest up in the trees. We used to climb up trees and get them.''
Stefan was 4 at the time. A year later, he began collecting pocket knives. At age 8, he became passionate about collecting antique fans and other electrical appliances.
Today, 15-year-old Stefan is known nationwide as a serious collector. This weekend, he's displaying some of his antique household appliances as part of the Young Collectors Program at the Smithsonian Institution.
``I'm very pleased that the Smithsonian selected my collection. It represents how hard I worked. I feel really honored,'' said Stefan. He said he managed to select the 14 items to display from his 4,000-to 5,000-piece collection in only 20 minutes.
His collection includes some of the very first electrical appliances used in the home, including generators manufactured around 1850. He has 400 fans - 100 in his bedroom - and more than 300 toasters that sit on customized wood and glass shelves in the family room and kitchen.
He said 99 percent of the items still work.
``I really feel it's good to show people my collection,'' Stefan said. ``It's historically important and very interesting, the way these contraptions were built. And the designs are interesting.''
Stefan is one of 60 participants at the Young Collectors Pavilion on the Mall, part of the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary celebration.
Manjula Kumar, program director for the Smithsonian, said she was ``very fearful when we first started we would have all stamps, coins and dolls and that sort of thing, but these kids are just amazing.''
She said the collections range from cultural dresses from Africa and antique rulers to theater programs and old foreign money.
Stefan's items include two fans, a sandwich grill, a marshmallow toaster, a malt machine with a marble base, and a coffee pot and toaster combination.
Of all the items he has collected over the years, from bird nests to bottles, he cherishes his fans most. ``My fans are my pride and joy. They're my favorite part of my collection.''
When he was younger, he said, mechanical devices fascinated him.
``My interest got sparked when I went to the Edison Museum in Fort Myers, Florida. I saw many fans and heaters and things of that nature. I've always loved fans, since I was a toddler. I always wanted an old fan, but that made me want one even more, so it grew from then. I brought my first fan at a thrift store for $12.''
That first purchase sits on a shelf by his bed. His favorite fan, which was crafted in 1887, has claw feet. He first spotted the model during a visit to the Smithsonian. ``It's one of the earliest fans known,'' he said.
Several years ago, he started developing a national reputation. ``Pickers,'' who buy for dealers, call him from as far away as California. Nearly daily, he either calls collectors or a dealer calls or faxes him, his mom said.
Stefan, one of the youngest members of the American Fan Collectors Association, acquired most of his from private collectors, pickers or family jaunts to antique shops and flea markets.
For the Osdenes, Stefan's collecting is a family affair.
``It's a passion that gets everyone in the family hooked,'' said his mother. She and Stefan's dad, Thomas, set aside weekends for ``driving down country roads'' in search of more pieces.
As much as Stefan enjoys collecting, he won't allow it to consume him. He spends a couple of hours daily on his drums. He enjoys sports and school.
An honor roll student since fourth grade, he will attend Richmond Community High School next month.
Professionally, he is interested in a career in the sciences, maybe genetic engineering. But collecting will always be a part of his life, he said.
``I want to earn money doing a profession so I can buy stuff.''
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Stefan Osdene poses with some of the more than 100by CNBantique fans adorning his bedroom in Richmond.