VICTORIA, B.C. — “So, this is my smallest collection,” John Threlfall points to a collage on the door of his office that features a collection of 76 misspellings of his last name that he’s cut from all sorts of correspondence, from letters to faxes. “When I get something new, I’m super excited,” John smiles at names that include Thrillfall, Treefall, and Truffle. Beyond his smallest collection is his first collection, which began when he was a boy and his parents took him antiquing. “Nothing is more boring as a kid than going to an antique store. So, they said, ‘Find something you’re interested in,’” John recalls. “I found an old Orange Crush bottle, because that was the only pop I drank as a kid, and I was like, ‘This is cool’!” So cool that John eventually covered his high-school bedroom with a display of all the Crush stuff that he’d happen upon. “You go to a store, and you’re looking around. ‘Here’s some dresses. Here’s some magazines. Here’s some signs, and oh look! Here’s an old Orange Crush thing!’” John says, describing the joy of the hunt. “You get super excited about it, and you’re like, ‘I don’t have that.’” None of the items have been bought online, because John says collecting is about discovering, not shopping. And now, past the name misspellings, and beyond a few small displays showing collections of Batman, James Bond, and B.C. History, you’ll find more than a hundred pieces of Orange Crush memorabilia. “This one was bottled in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1941,” John picks up a bottle. “So, this would have been what they were drinking when Pearl Harbour happened.” Along with old Orange Crush advertisements, Orange Crush clothing, and all sorts of miscellaneous Orange Crush memorabilia, John has an Orange Crush visor—which features a solar-powered AM sports radio with an attached earpiece. “So, you could listen to the game,” John smiles. “While you had your Orange Crush hat on.” While the collection is like a pop culture museum exhibit that includes artifacts showcasing a century of Crush artifacts (from the 1890’s to 1990’s), it’s also become an effective icebreaker when meeting new people in his office. “By the time we [stop talking about the Crush collection and] get to the point of talking about what they’re there to talk about ... they’re already comfortable with me,” John says. It’s also a time machine of sorts that takes John back to drinking ice-cold Crush as a kid. “The sound of taking the bottle out of the machine,” John says. “The dew on the bottle and the taste of it going down your throat,” he adds, with a smile. Orange Crush also gave young John his first taste of independence when he was able to take a dime and walk to the corner store to buy a bottle by himself. If you ask what his younger self would think of who he grew up to be, John will laugh and say, ‘[He’d] think, ‘Oh my god! Are you still collecting Orange Crush!” Because his younger self wouldn’t have imagined that along with all the mass-produced merchandise, his collection would grow to include a painting of an Orange Crush can from a university student he’s worked with, and Orange Crush kids’ colouring addressed to the ‘Dada’ he would become. “This is my [now] 24-year-old son when he was born,” John points to a picture of a baby sitting in a box, next to a painting of the old Orange Crush mascot Crushy. “Everything tells a story,” John says, pointing to how his collection began with his parents and grew as he raised his own family. “Then [you can ask] how does that story intersect with your story?” While others may have mistaken him for Trenholme, Threlvel, or The Honourable Associate Chief Judge Threlfall, John can always look back on his collection of Crush to appreciate who he’s truly been.
