Sand Springs Man's Vintage Lunch Box Collection On Display At Museum

A man in Sand Springs has spent more than three decades collecting vintage lunch boxes. Many of them are on display now at the Sand Springs Museum.

From superheroes to snack foods, Star Trek to sliced bread, the lunch boxes are a blast from the past.

“It reminds me of my childhood you’ve got space cowboys little kid stuff it appeals to me anyway,” Mike Baldridge said.

Mike has been collecting these vintage lunch boxes and thermoses since 1990.

It started when he was at a garage sale with his father-in-law. That's when he saw a G.I. Joe lunch box.

"I kept seeing all this neat stuff and I go with him one day, G.I. Joe lunch box from the 60s, and I’m like, 'oh I remember this from when I was a kid,'” Mike recalled.

Mike scours flea markets, vintage store, and garage sales and has collected more than 250 unique and rare lunch boxes.

“It just snowballed. I couldn't get enough of them," he said. "I would stop everywhere; garage sales, flea markets, estate sales."

Some are so rare there are only a handful of their kind in the world.

His most prized possession is a Star Trek lunch box. He bought it in Jenks for $18 many years ago. Now it’s worth more than $1,000.

"This one does not go in the garage," he said. "I actually get to keep this in the house.”

But it’s not about the money. It’s about the memories.

Mike said each lunch box has its own individual story and he hopes to pass them down to one of his daughters so the collection stays in the family.

You can see Mike’s lunch boxes at the Sand Springs Museum through the weekend and all throughout the month of June.