Brewster boy’s license plate collection nears 300; tries for 50 states

BREWSTER – Seven-year-old Luke Reicosky got the itch for collecting state license plates at an early age when he noticed them accumulating in the family garage.

Luke, a Fairless Elementary School third grader, has been acquiring old license plates since he was about 5. He has amassed nearly 300 of them.

“He just randomly started liking them in our garage,” said Luke’s mother, Brittany Beck-reicosky, noting that his bedroom tote is filled and playroom walls are decked out with the vintage items.

Of Luke’s total, about 200 plates are from Ohio, but he’s still looking for “hard-to-get” ones in Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland and Rhode Island. He has three from Hawaii.

Luke has a form of autism known as autism spectrum, his mother said, which can at times hinder his ability to socialize. Collecting license plates provides an interesting hobby and keeps his mind sharp, she said.

So what’s Luke’s main draw to state license plates?

“They have a lot of letters and numbers,” he said. Luke’s favorite, an Ohio truck plate, was given to him by his uncle, Ken Marthey.

License plate donations often roll Luke’s way

Although Luke’s collection got started in the garage, donations from family, friends and neighbors soon followed, his mother said.

And then came scavenging garage sales and flea markets, as well as random acts of kindness from strangers, who had viewed Brittany’s social media posts noting Luke’s fascination with license plates.

“That’s the really great thing,” said Brittany. “The majority of these plates came from people we don’t even know.”

Some of Luke’s older license plates date back to the 1950s and 1960s. He’s got at least one from each of the last eight decades.