He was a robust, high energy man who often took his only child, Alisa, on excursions through flea markets, antique shows, auctions and on house calls.

He was a tenacious man on the hunt, who enjoyed haggling over antiques, and showing off his finds. He also soaked up knowledge like a sponge.

Along the way he opened Jasper’s Radio Museum, which became the largest single collection of radios in the world with “more than 10,000 radios,” according to Giardina’s family. With his Jasper’s Radio Museum baseball cap planted firmly on his head, he loved showing his radios – of every shape and size – to the kids coming in off school buses, and to the many visitors from Germany, Italy, Japan and the Asian countries who visited his store. It was not an empty claim, he made, when he said he was better known throughout the world than he was in his hometown of St. Louis.

At Jasper’s, the inquisitive kid was treated with the same courtesy and attention as the adults, who included a diverse range from comedian Dom Deluise, dancer Lola Falana, singer Crystal Gayle, to the Emperor of Japan. Jasper was Jay Leno’s “go-to guy” for his antique car radios.

For more than 40 years – until his death at age 80 in January 2010 – he claimed to have bought a radio nearly “every day.” Radios covered “every square inch” of his two-story double-row house, including the basement. Every radio had a story; and Jasper always had the time to tell it.

After Giardina’s sudden death, the doors to Jasper’s Radio Museum were closed and shuttered. For the next 18 months, the radios collected dust. Other parts of Giardina’s collection – many of the more valuable pieces – were also stored at various locations around the St. Louis area.

Auctioneer Alan Cleary from Estate Auction Pros of St. Joseph, Mo., had known the Giardina family for years. He and Jasper had talked during the last couple years of the collector’s life about liquidating the collection. “But, he just couldn’t pull the trigger,” Cleary said. Following Giardina’s death, Cleary understood the void of such a patriarch and friend to many. He respected their privacy.

“I never approached Alisa about it,” he says. “She came to me. I know it was a tough decision for her.”

Since her father’s death, Alisa Giardina Stratton has taken over the family business, overseeing the planning, creation and dissemination of more than 15,000 fruit baskets a year. Though a seasonal business, there are very few “slow” days.

“I’ve got a lot on my plate,” she says, “more like a buffet. I knew my dad was attached to his collection. I am too; I went with him on a lot of the purchases. But, you’ve got to ’let go’ at some point. And I decided the present was best. And, it’s amazing. Once I made the decision, I have no hesitation.”

But, as Cleary began digging through the “Radio Museum,” he found more than merely radios, tubes and other communication “what not.” He discovered he had stumbled onto a treasure akin to Solomon’s Mines, King Tut’s tomb … or simply the “greatest modern-day find along the Mississippi River.”

Giardina did not stop collecting at radios. He also collected medical quack devices, slot machines, cash registers, classic automobile hood ornaments, vintage microphones, coin-ops, neon signs, trade stimulators, early jukeboxes, photography equipment, old toys and several objects that defy categorization.

“It’s just unbelievable,” Cleary says. “I’ve been at this a long time, and I can say this is the best auction stuff I’ve ever had. This has to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It could get better, but right now, I’m not sure how. There’s just some killer stuff here – things you just don’t find anymore.”

Many of these treasures from this country’s heartland aptly illustrate the history of human kind in all guises.

Among the many cash registers, there’s one pulled out of an old bordello, specifically customized for the madam’s convenience (and record-keeping).

“It had all the girls’ names on the keys, and their money would be deposited and recorded,” Cleary says. “Then some way, at the end of the day, it would calculate their commissions. I’ve never seen anything like it. But, I remember Jasper telling me about that one.”

There’s also another cash register, reputed to have been used in one of Al Capone’s “joints. There are also several photos of the crime boss and several of his soldiers and underlings, quite possibly connected with the St. Louis families of organized crime.

“Dad went through phases,” Alisa says. “I was very young, but I remember him starting on whiskey decanters, then it was candlestick telephones, then quack machines, then of course radios, and advertising items, neon signs … if he liked something, he just bought it.”

And, Jasper would rarely sell. He’d tell people that the item didn’t work, or set the price so high that they’d walk out the door.

But, for anyone wanting to see or touch a rarity, gain a tidbit of knowledge, or hear a yarn from a story teller imbued with the ability to bring life back into an old piece of iron or Bakelite, Jasper’s on Antique Row was the place to go.

“Dad touched a lot of lives,” his daughter says. “He always had time to share his collection.”

With such a wealth of material, Cleary is now scheduling six auctions, running on the last Saturday of October, November, January, February, March and April. “And, I guarantee we won’t have it all dispensed with by then,” he says.

The auctions are currently scheduled to be held inside the large convocation hall of VFW Post6 2184 in Mehlville, a suburb of St. Louis. The last auction (or some of the final few) may be conducted at Jasper’s museum on Cherokee Antique Row.

At the end of a man’s life, what better mark is there for a man other than sharing his knowledge, passion and appreciation for a life well lived.

Contact: 314-952-7355

www.estateauctionpro.com

Eric C. Rodenberg