For the love of Pooh… Local woman’s collection approaching Guinness Book of World Records level
Published 6:20 pm Friday, March 12, 2021
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Donna Fee has been collecting Winnie-the-Pooh collectibles for over 30 years and is awaiting word whether she has taken over as the Guiness Book of World Records record holder for most Pooh collectibles with over 16,000 pieces.
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BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR STAFF
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” — Winnie the Pooh.
A truer statement couldn’t be made as one steps through the front door of the home of Donna and Keith Fee. It just takes a moment for a visitor to identify what the small things are in the heart of Donna Fee that she is the most passionate about.
To the right, just a couple of steps inside the front door, and one will find a very expensive set of Winnie the Pooh figurines — just the beginning of a magical walk through the Fee homeplace.
Every wall is filled with photographs, shadow boxes, tapestries, and unopened bags of miscellaneous Winnie the Pooh collectibles that Donna Fee has spent over 30 years collecting and the process continues as each day passes as new items arrive daily at the Fee’s front door from more treasures found online or elsewhere.
Want books, she has them. Bottle caps and magnets — there are plenty of those as well. A waffle iron and toaster with Winnie the Pooh — no problem Fee has those as well.
As a matter of fact, in all, there are well over 16,152 pieces of Winnie the Pooh memorabilia and collectibles that one will find from the front of the living room to the back bedrooms.
The kitchen and bathroom haven’t been overlooked either as those rooms have their share of Winnie the Pooh.
Then there is the basement.
From right to left, front to back one will find containers of Winnie covering the expanse of the basement.
There are items that are well over 50 years old that cannot be found anywhere else. Was there also a mention of the one-of-a-kind clocks that were specially made for Fee along with a Winnie-the-Pooh fire pit.
Currently, Fee is chasing a Guinness Book of World Records with her collections and is awaiting confirmation that indeed she has the record.
That wasn’t something that Fee had in mind when she first starting collecting.
“To be honest with you, I started collecting unicorns then I just saw something that I liked of Pooh. From then on I started collecting Pooh because I just love him,” Fee said.
And even though she is close to being named a record holder, Fee has no intentions of stopping collecting Pooh merchandise.
“I am not going to stop collecting. My kids think that is just a waste of time. Keith doesn’t want to admit it but he is really more into it than I am. He really likes to find different items,” Fee commented.
“They don’t understand the value of this just yet. I have put the money into it because I love it and I am not going to quit.”
Fee admitted that she watched Pooh growing up as a child and some of her favorite pieces come from her Linux collection as well as the classic Pooh.
For those who are wondering, classic Pooh are the collectibles where Pooh doesn’t have a shirt on.
There is one particular item that Fee hasn’t found yet but would love to get her hands on and that is the old metal Pooh lunch box with a thermos. She hasn’t been able to find one of those but has several of the plastic lunch boxes.
With such a passion for Pooh, Fee was asked if she was considering having a headstone with Pooh on it when time comes for her to depart this life.
“I have thought about and I would love to have a Pooh on my headstone,” said Fee. “I just love him.”
“If you live to be a hundred, I hope I live to be a hundred minus one day, so that I never have to live a day without you.” — Winnie the Pooh.
All photos by Ivan Sanders
