AUBURN - "Who'll give me five bucks for 200 years of history on tape?" called out volunteer auctioneer Bren Price Sr. "Here's another lot of first-day covers, mostly Nixon, seven packets - also some postcards, one on the resignation. Who'll give me 20 bucks to start it off?"

The scene: American Political Items Collectors 33rd annual show and sale Saturday at Auburn's First United Methodist Church. Collectors - many who have become longtime friends - traveled from several states for the event. The show is one of two held yearly in upstate New York by the APIC's Monroe D. Ray Empire chapter.

Price, a retired school superintendent, has organized and coordinated the show for 20 years. He said his interest was piqued as a boy, later blooming at Hobart College, where he majored in American studies.

"My first button was of Teddy Roosevelt in his rough rider outfit - a commemorative button for the World's Fair of 1964. The next was a McGovern for President button in 1972," he recalled.

For Harry Goldberg of New Jersey and Chris Hearn of Washington, D.C., John F. Kennedy is their interest. They are considered the top Kennedy collectors in the nation. When asked the most unusual item in their possession, Goldberg said, "a Kennedy dress, very tiny."

He then explained: "A group in Los Angeles at the 1960 convention formed the Kennedy Girls. The dresses were only worn that week. One of the advantages of this hobby is the variety."

Pins are a favorite Kennedy collector item because, Goldberg continued, "there were 17 or 18 different types of Kennedy tie pins; it is still a magic name."

For Hearn, participating in such shows, "is fun and games." With 450 members of Kennedy Collectors all over the world, the hobby promises to continue, he said.

Mary McGreal of Marcellus specializes in Syracuse mayors and Kennedy.

"I've been coming to shows since the 60s," she said.

Charlie McSorley of Closter, N.J., showed his collection, claiming it the best for antique items.

"I've got 100 different Lincoln ballots; Andy Jackson running for president in 1828; the oldest Jackson memorabilia from 1824; some Horace Greeley," he said.

Spotted among the items: a Win With Willkie tie, Rockefeller for President button, and Vote Mailer-Breslin sticker. Dart boards - one with a caricature of Jimmy Carter titled, "The Master of the Old Shell Game," with peanuts on the side - were among the unusual items.

On the eve of the show, several in the group got together for dinner at Balloon's in Auburn. On Saturday, the smell of chicken barbecue wafted over the church lawn. The noon meal was prepared by church volunteers lead by Marilyn Coleman and Larry Pritchard.

"We're raising money to refurbish and add on to the driveway," Coleman said.

American Political Items Collectors, known by members as APIC, has a monthly tabloid, The Political Bandwagon. Mother's Day was not forgotten in the May issue. The paper reported that Anna Reeves Jarvis helped organize Mother's Day Work Clubs to clean unsanitary living conditions that contributed to childhood disease. She also cared for soldiers during the Civil War, organizing Mother's Friendship Day to reunite families after war.

Her daughter, Anna, continued the cause, fighting for a Mother's Day to honor all mothers.

The first official service was in 1908.

Such historical remembrance, members say, is an all-American hobby.

The next big APIC get-together regionally will be The Albany Fall Foliage Regional Oct. 15.