Cedar Grove man’s beer can collection is a work of art
Annual event celebrates everything about beer cans
CEDAR GROVE — When Greg Nelson was in the U.S. Air Force, his office gained quite a reputation as something to see.
That’s because Nelson, who lives in rural Santa Fe County, is a collector of old stuff, particularly beer cans.
“When I was stationed at Laughlin Air Force base, I had my own office for a while when I was at the wing,” he recalled. “And I had put one of these sets of shelves up and I put these choice cans on it. And then I had a lot of old radios and an
old soda machine.”
The cans never failed to draw second and third glances.
“It would be funny,” Nelson added. “I worked directly for the commander and when he would come to my office to ask a question, he’d walk in and he’d stop,” Nelson said. “Then he’d say, ‘I just can’t believe these cans. I remember drinking that and I remember shooting those.’ After about 10 minutes of talking about the cans, then he’d asked what he came down for, and I’d shrug and then he’d leave.”
It even attracted the notice of the base’s public affairs office.
“They said that I had the most unique office in the Air Force that anybody had ever seen,” Nelson said. “Mine was the favorite office for people to come into.”
Nelson, who now has about 5,000 cans, will be joined Thursday through Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center by fellow collectors from the around the country for the 49th annual Brewery Collectibles Club of America meeting and trade swap, known as the group’s CANvention, of course.
The public is invited to the CANvention trade floor on
Saturday, but visitors may not bring in any beer items. Still, the local Roadrunner chapter members will have a table outside the trade room floor to assess items.
Beer can collecting was a fad that swept the country’s youth during the 1970s and ’80s, and many kept up with the hobby through the years. It gradually spread to collecting all manner of beer-related advertising.
“I was 10 years old,” Nelson said of his start in the late 1970s. “I’ve always been a collector. I started out collecting coins and stamps, and bottle caps and license plates. They would always have antique shows in the mall there in Reading (Calif.) and I went with one of my best friends from school and he had started collecting cans because of something he had seen in a magazine. There was a 1954 Schlitz can. It was like $5. It was an indoor can (one that’s been kept indoors, as opposed to being found outdoors) and it was really nice. I bought that Schlitz can and that started it right there.”
Since then, he’s combed the sides of roads, burrowed into old dumps and browsed through antique stores, always in search of something old and unusual.
“I enjoy getting out in the woods and the thrill of the find,” Nelson said. “When you come across what looks like a rusty can, but then you pop it up and it’s a unique can. And the other part I like about it is meeting people from all over. Trading cans, sharing stories and making friendships. I’ve got friends that I met 25 years ago collecting that I still keep in touch with. And I can say, ‘I got that can from him.’ ”
Nelson has been to two previous CANventions and remembers both fondly.
“They’re great,” he said. “There are so many people there with so many varied collections. Any can that you want or need, you’ll find there for the most part. You’ll find stuff that you’ve only heard about or read about. It’s a unique experience unlike anything else for collecting.”
Although the local Roadrunner chapter, which is the CANvention host, has annual shows, they can’t compare to the national gettogether.
“You’ll go to the local, regional shows or the local Albuquerque show and it’s fun,” Nelson said. “And you get collectors that come in from Colorado or Arizona, and maybe a few from out of the area, and bring stuff that you can’t imagine and then you go to the CANvention and it’s crazy, so much stuff in one place.”
Naming a favorite among his cans on the wall was an easy call for Nelson. He pointed to a faded Clipper Pale Ale from Santa Rosa, Calif.
“Being an Air Force pilot, I’m pretty partial to Clippers,” he said of the rare can. “I wish my Clipper was better. It was a fairly limited run, but it has the airplane on it, so it’s near and dear to my heart.”