Bob Reding, of Dubuque, worked for years in the John Deere foundry, only feet away from 800 degrees of sweltering heat.

"I've spent enough time in hell," said Reding, laughing, "so I better get to heaven!"

Thursday night may very well have been heaven's equivalent for Reding. The majority of the main floor at The Old Jail Museum now features Dubuque memorabilia from his personal collection, which was unveiled Thursday.

For 50 years, Reding, 72, has collected and purchased anything and everything relating to Dubuque and its history. The basement of his Asbury, Iowa, "dream home" contains thousands of items -- anything from old newspapers to hairpins -- haphazardly organized among countless shelves, drawers and walls.

Only a small fraction of his personal collection, approximately 5 percent, has been used in the museum, and still, the exhibit is packed.

The exhibit includes beer cans from Dubuque breweries, 100-year-old umbrellas that served as advertisements for various businesses, and the famous sign from the Busy Bee restaurant.

As Reding bustles around

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the museum, pointing out item after item, excitement barely begins to describe his ceaseless enthusiasm. His memory, which he compares to that of a computer, is sharp: He can recite where, when and from whom he received most pieces, along with a story about its history.

"It's a disease!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I've been called a Dubuque nut for years. I try to get a piece from (every) business, because someday it will be gone, and somebody has to keep it or it will be gone forever, from history."

Though his collection is visibly worth a fortune, Reding didn't receive a dime for the use of his materials in the museum.

Yet money is irrelevant to Reding, who said his payment comes in the form of seeing people's reactions to his collection.

"It's been my dream for years and years and years, I've been fighting this to get a museum so the people of Dubuque get to enjoy this stuff and bring back memories."