The Oregonian:
Frank Kidd opened the 8-foot-tall garage doors to the Southeast Portland home and nearly fell over in disbelief.How horrible. Nevertheless, my mind finds it impossible not to link the victim's surname with his deep and costly obsession with toys.The shelves and tubs where he had stored more than $350,000 worth of toys and memorabilia collected over four decades were emptied. Left behind were a mess of papers strewn on the floor and some empty cardboard boxes — two with disturbing messages scrawled in red with a marker pen, "Hate Spread It" and "(Expletive) the Police."
"They stripped the house and storage shed, stole everything," Kidd said. "They would have had to have been in here for weeks."
For 45 years, the Portland native amassed more than 15,000 antique toys and historic childhood treasures. He started with one toy truck that he bought on his way home from an automotive swap meet in Reno. His collection grew as he and his wife, Joyce, traveled all over the country to antique sales and toy conventions.
