The Disney Store at the mall is too much of a temptation for Vicki Muentzer to ignore.

Who could pass by all of those smiling Mickey Mouse dolls, clocks, pictures, magnets and toys? The Norwin High School graduate's collection started out innocently enough, but after a 1997 trip to Walt Disney World, it was all over.

Her husband, George, managed to finagle a private meeting with Mickey Mouse -- in his dressing room no less. And a new love affair was born.

She has Mickey clothing, blankets, dolls, statues, clocks, jewelry, cookie jars, coffee mugs and snow globes. Mickey as a golfer, as a farmer and as a patriot. Mickey everywhere.

The collection grows regularly - that Disney Store is just too close to home. But this collection has nothing to do with finding financially valuable pieces; it's just because "I think he's cute. He's a cute little thing. In time it could be worth something, but basically, it's just that he's so darn cute," Vicki says.

She is one of many people who amass a collection of items, not for profit or investment but just for fun.

Cartoon characters

Marian Schwartz of Plum can sympathize. Her Tweety Bird collection started out much the same way -- she was pregnant and found an afghan with a baby Tweety and thought it was cute.

Fast forward a few years, and that cute little bird has taken over about a quarter of her family room. But, just a quarter. The other three-quarters of the room are dedicated to her daughters' and husband's collections.

"If the family that collects together stays together, I guess we'll stay together," Marian says with a laugh.

Daughters Emily and Kim collect Scooby Doo and Snoopy items respectively. Husband Howard has a burgeoning collection of Steelers memorabilia.

Marian doesn't collect her mischievous Tweety Birds in hopes of striking it rich someday, but she does choose collectible items from Lennox, Bradford and Danbury catalogs.

"Actually, I really don't buy them. My husband does," Marian says. "If you want to keep me happy, buy me a Tweety Bird."

One wall display shows the 12 months of Tweety Bird. In April he is holding an umbrella, and in July, he is in red, white and blue. Another shelving unit holds several gold birdcages with Tweety inside.

Kim's Snoopy collection started at birth and sort of by accident. Marian and Howard purchased a crib at a second-hand store, and it happened to come with a Snoopy crib blanket that Kim, 10, still has.

"I like dogs, and he's one of my favorite types of dogs," Kim says.

Emily, 11, fell in love with Scooby Doo the old-fashioned way by watching the cartoons.

"I would wake up early and just wait in front of the TV for Scooby Doo to come on," says Emily, who also likes dogs. "It's neat to have a collection, and it's good to start as a kid because when I'm grown up they could be antiques, and it could be worth some money."

Marian likes the ideas of collections because the items offer her something to leave her children, regardless of the financial value.

She started ornament collections for both girls when they were born and encourages their growing collections. She also collects Santas and snowmen.

Emily says the best part of having a collection is enjoying each piece.

Memories and glass

Damian and Gloria Ondo of Monroeville certainly enjoy every piece of their collections.

Damian has 11,000, singles on 45 RPM records. And he's listened to every one of them -- at least once.

The old 45s would be an impressive collection alone, but take a trip to the Ondos' basement and its easy to see the records are the tip of the iceberg.

The finished basement is as close to a 1950s diner or soda shop as a couple in 2008 can get. There are two jukeboxes, one a 1954 Seeburg and one a 1960 Seeburg, and each of them are filled Damian's favorite 45s.

When the 1954 Seeburg turns on and the needle hits the record, there is a sound that can't be replicated, Damian says. That little crackle and static just before the song fills the room takes the Ondos back to another time as they sit around an original soda fountain table with the original swivel bar stools.

Records decorate the walls along with photographs Doo Wop stars they've met over the years and a myriad of autographs.

Friends have contributed trinkets from the 1950s and 1960s, so there are little surprises in every nook that are sure to evoke nostalgia.

As fun as the records collection in the basement is, the glass collection upstairs is equally striking.

On a sunny day, the Ondos' front room sparkles like a rainbow. Three large curio cabinets are filled from floor to ceiling with glass pieces from Fenton, Smith, Westmoreland and even Depression-era glass.

Damian's entire family has an interest in collecting glass, a tradition started by his mother, who became knowledgeable in which pieces are of the highest quality. She could help Damian and his seven brothers and sisters who traveled to flea markets searching for additions to their collections.

When the matriarch died, her glass collection filtered down to her children and with that large influx of glass, Damian and Gloria's collection took off.

There is so much glass in the Ondo home that much of it isn't even displayed. Gloria says they rotate pieces so they can enjoy all of them. Damian likes to hold up specific pieces to the sunlight and see the different prisms of color.

"We have books and catalogs to educate ourselves so when we see something good we buy it, but really we just buy what we like," Gloria says.