Newmarket resident Dave Hoile was consumed by a passion for collecting everything from Hot Wheels to Harley Davidson memorabilia, filling to the rafters what his family lovingly referred to as Grandpa's Man Cave.
"He loved to hunt, he loved searching," said son Andrew Hoile of his father, who recently passed away. "That feeling brought a lot of joy to him."
Dave would visit garage sales, events and flea markets — the 400 Market in Innisfil was a favourite venue — in the pursuit of expanding the collection that lived in the garage of the family's Newmarket home. While the majority of the items are Harley Davidson, there are also nostalgic collectibles from Dave's youth, posters of musicians, Hot Wheels, various car items — a vast variety of items.
"Harley was probably the first thing ... though, that was his passion, to have collectibles," Hoile said.
Dave would carefully curate and arrange the collection, taking it in the house every year when it got cold and setting it up again in the spring. The man cave was like a museum with each picture and piece of memorabilia thoughtfully placed.
Eventually, to add to all the paraphernalia, he got two motorcycles that also had a proud place in Grandpa's Man Cave.
As he was growing up, Hoile said collecting was a way his father bonded with him and his two brothers. Once they expressed an interest in something, Dave would connect with them through collecting items like comic books, baseball cards, or Beanie Babies.
While some of the items may have monetary value, it was more about the experience.
The man cave was filled with the treasures he found and in the warmer weather, he would open up the garage door, sit in his chair and chat with people and share stories about the collection.
There was a strong element of nostalgia to it, Hoile added.
Dave had an amazing childhood and he relived that by collecting posters of all the great musicians of his day, old movie stories, and also his own personal items and photographs.
"He has his baby pictures, his mom's baby pictures, he's got photos from the late 1800s, early 1900s," Hoile said.
"All the places he lived, all the houses he lived in, the cities he has lived in is, ... the ancestors that lived in the houses — just the whole thing," Dave's wife, Elizabeth Ann, said. "It's all in binders. He started it, it was called his legacy, except he died before the legacy was complete."
Dave passed away at the age of 70 in December 2022 and now, his family has begun to sell some of his collection.
"We weren't trying to be making money. It's almost like let's just sell it for what he paid for it so the next person could enjoy it," Hoile said. "The motivation was let other people enjoy it and, you know, and that's what he would've wanted."
The family went through the collection and put aside any mementos they wanted, and then Hoile posted on a Newmarket community Facebook group that the garage for anyone who was interested for free.
They had a huge turnout, and Hoile said one person came with a pick-up truck and filled it up.
About a third of the original collection remains, but the family is going to take a break before selling the rest of it as the process has been emotional.
"It's hard to sell this stuff, but it was just so much fun talking to those guys, I thought I was my husband. I thought 'what the heck? These guys are much like him,'" said Elizabeth Ann.
Hoile said they are thinking about opening Grandpa's Man Cave on another day in May or June to sell more of the items, so stay tuned, treasure hunters.
