- Sep 13, 2002
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We are home to the LARGEST SPOON COLLECTION ON THE PLANET!
by Gretchen Teske
Cammie Pohl wasn't born with a silver spoon, but she's trying to prove she owns the most.
Next month, the owner of the Mississippi Spoon Gallery at 902 River Drive in Davenport will hold an official counting party as she attempts to stamp her name in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's largest spoon collection.
The current world record for the largest spoon collection was set in 1990 by Des Warren of Mayfield, Australia who is credited with owning 30,000 teaspoons.
For the last 35 years, Pohl has been collecting spoons to expand her collection into the thousands. It all started in her childhood, when Pohl spent summers with her great-grandmother, Amelia, in Louisiana. When the pair were not visiting, Pohl would write her letters, and they remained pen pals into her adult life. In 1987, her great-grandmother gave her three boxes and told her not to open them until she was married or purchased her first home.
Her great-grandmother died in January of 1989, and Pohl bought her first home in June of that year. When she opened the boxes, she found spoons from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Her great-grandmother traveled there by steamboat and collected spoons as souvenirs.
Pohl has only built on that initial collection and in 2023 made an attempt to set the world record for the largest collection of souvenir spoons, to counter the Australian record set with teaspoons. Bally's Casino donated a room and several volunteers spent the afternoon counting until they came up with a grand total of 12,427 spoons.
But, there was a problem. Pohl knew she had more than that.
In her personal database system, she had more than 17,000 spoons logged in that category. After getting home that day, she realized thousands of spoons had been left behind.
She sent in her paperwork anyway, but the record keepers denied her attempt, saying they didn't want to split up the category's from largest collection overall to largest collection for only souvenirs.
That only fueled Pohl's fire to come for the Australian record.
"Then it was on," she said. "I'm going to beat his record."
To count the more than 30,000 spoons she needs to win, Pohl will have eight teams of three. One volunteer will count, the second will count again and the third will record the process for the Guinness team to review.
The teams will gather at each of the three dining tables in her gallery and others will each tackle a wall where thousands of spoons are mounted. The official count will take place on April 26 and will be open to the public, but tickets will be limited as not to distract the counters.
After the official count, Pohl has to then write up a brief synopsis of how her collection began and send it off to the judges for final review. She's hoping that in a few months time she will hold the record once and for all.
Soon, Pohl could join a small group of world record holders in the Quad-Cities. If she's successful, she'd be the only Guinness Book of World Record entry specifically in Davenport.
Holding down a record dating back to October 15, 1922, the Rock Island Independents lead a three-way tie for the most rushing touchdowns in an NFL game, both teams combined. The Independents managed nine rushing touchdowns while leveling the Evansville Crimson Giants in a brutal 60-0 defeat.
That record was tied the next month when the Racine Legion beat the Louisville Brecks 57-0 during their game on Nov. 5, 1922. It would take nearly 100 years for that record to be reached again, this time by the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, who combined to score nine rushing touchdowns during the Raven's 47-42 win on Dec. 14, 2020.
In November 2011, John Deere added its name to the record book for the largest canned food structure, consisting of 308,448 cans. The record was set at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline with the help of RTKL construction.
Nearly 500 volunteers and employees used purchased canned goods from Hy-Vee to create a structure that resembled the John Deere S-series Combine.
In September 2013, Joe Salter set the record for running the fastest marathon joggling — juggling while running — backward in 5 hours, 51 minutes and 25 seconds. The Florida native accomplished the feat at the Quad Cities Marathon in Moline.
Dan Harvey holds the men's record for wearing the most t-shirts while running a half marathon in May 2023. Harvey, who wore 127 shirts during a Bettendorf race, broke the previous record by seven shirts.
A year before that in March 2022, Dalton Meyer broke the record for most claps in one minute — 1,140, or around 19 claps per second. A Davenport resident who accomplished the feat in Geneseo, Meyer beat the previous record by 37 claps.
The Mississippi Spoon Gallery is closed Wednesdays but open Thursday through Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults and children 16 and under are free. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and veterans.
by Gretchen Teske
Cammie Pohl wasn't born with a silver spoon, but she's trying to prove she owns the most.
Next month, the owner of the Mississippi Spoon Gallery at 902 River Drive in Davenport will hold an official counting party as she attempts to stamp her name in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's largest spoon collection.
The current world record for the largest spoon collection was set in 1990 by Des Warren of Mayfield, Australia who is credited with owning 30,000 teaspoons.
For the last 35 years, Pohl has been collecting spoons to expand her collection into the thousands. It all started in her childhood, when Pohl spent summers with her great-grandmother, Amelia, in Louisiana. When the pair were not visiting, Pohl would write her letters, and they remained pen pals into her adult life. In 1987, her great-grandmother gave her three boxes and told her not to open them until she was married or purchased her first home.
Her great-grandmother died in January of 1989, and Pohl bought her first home in June of that year. When she opened the boxes, she found spoons from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Her great-grandmother traveled there by steamboat and collected spoons as souvenirs.
Pohl has only built on that initial collection and in 2023 made an attempt to set the world record for the largest collection of souvenir spoons, to counter the Australian record set with teaspoons. Bally's Casino donated a room and several volunteers spent the afternoon counting until they came up with a grand total of 12,427 spoons.
But, there was a problem. Pohl knew she had more than that.
In her personal database system, she had more than 17,000 spoons logged in that category. After getting home that day, she realized thousands of spoons had been left behind.
She sent in her paperwork anyway, but the record keepers denied her attempt, saying they didn't want to split up the category's from largest collection overall to largest collection for only souvenirs.
That only fueled Pohl's fire to come for the Australian record.
"Then it was on," she said. "I'm going to beat his record."
To count the more than 30,000 spoons she needs to win, Pohl will have eight teams of three. One volunteer will count, the second will count again and the third will record the process for the Guinness team to review.
The teams will gather at each of the three dining tables in her gallery and others will each tackle a wall where thousands of spoons are mounted. The official count will take place on April 26 and will be open to the public, but tickets will be limited as not to distract the counters.
After the official count, Pohl has to then write up a brief synopsis of how her collection began and send it off to the judges for final review. She's hoping that in a few months time she will hold the record once and for all.
Soon, Pohl could join a small group of world record holders in the Quad-Cities. If she's successful, she'd be the only Guinness Book of World Record entry specifically in Davenport.
Holding down a record dating back to October 15, 1922, the Rock Island Independents lead a three-way tie for the most rushing touchdowns in an NFL game, both teams combined. The Independents managed nine rushing touchdowns while leveling the Evansville Crimson Giants in a brutal 60-0 defeat.
That record was tied the next month when the Racine Legion beat the Louisville Brecks 57-0 during their game on Nov. 5, 1922. It would take nearly 100 years for that record to be reached again, this time by the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, who combined to score nine rushing touchdowns during the Raven's 47-42 win on Dec. 14, 2020.
In November 2011, John Deere added its name to the record book for the largest canned food structure, consisting of 308,448 cans. The record was set at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline with the help of RTKL construction.
Nearly 500 volunteers and employees used purchased canned goods from Hy-Vee to create a structure that resembled the John Deere S-series Combine.
In September 2013, Joe Salter set the record for running the fastest marathon joggling — juggling while running — backward in 5 hours, 51 minutes and 25 seconds. The Florida native accomplished the feat at the Quad Cities Marathon in Moline.
Dan Harvey holds the men's record for wearing the most t-shirts while running a half marathon in May 2023. Harvey, who wore 127 shirts during a Bettendorf race, broke the previous record by seven shirts.
A year before that in March 2022, Dalton Meyer broke the record for most claps in one minute — 1,140, or around 19 claps per second. A Davenport resident who accomplished the feat in Geneseo, Meyer beat the previous record by 37 claps.
The Mississippi Spoon Gallery is closed Wednesdays but open Thursday through Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults and children 16 and under are free. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and veterans.
