March 24, 1998
Glendale -- Joey Kahl jokes that maybe he and his family will have to move to a different house to accommodate his license plate collection.
Joey, who is 7 and attends Parkway Elementary School, has been writing bureaucrats, politicians and dignitaries politely asking for license plates. His efforts led to a collection of more than 119 plates from all over the world.
After a Journal Sentinel story about his collection appeared this month, the family's telephone didn't stop ringing for days.
More than 50 callers offered Joey plates, and in all he received about 100 additional plates.
"One man who has a collection of 50,000 plates called," said Joey. "We went to visit him, and he gave me 60 of his extras!"
Other plates have virtually rolled in.
"One day I came home and went to open the front door, and four or five plates fell out when I opened the storm door," said Joey's father, Jonathan. "There wasn't a note or anything. The kindness of people has been overwhelming."
The elusive Tennessee, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana, Maine, Kentucky, Arkansas and District of Columbia plates, all states Joey had been unsuccessful in obtaining, now are part of his collection. The only U.S. plate missing is Delaware.
A Vietnam veteran offered a prisoner of war license plate. Others offered personalized plates.
In addition to putting more of the license plates on his bedroom wall, Joey and his family have spent a considerable amount of time putting the plates in alphabetical order and looking on maps and globes for their locations.
And Joey has spent a great deal of time writing thank-you letters.
"He only has to do one a day," said his father. "But I think he'll be spending the rest of his life writing thank-you notes."