Newspaper Clipping: Greer Man's Hobby Is Collecting Checks · Greer Heritage Museum collection

Title

Newspaper Clipping: Greer Man's Hobby Is Collecting Checks

Accession Number

2026.31.17.8

Accession Date

11 August 2026

Accession Creator

Sophie Pendergraft

Depositor

Kala Kennemore

Description

Newspaper clipping containing article titled "Greer Man's Hobby Is Collecting Checks"

Contributor

The Greer Citizen

Date

4 April 1973

Storage Location

Box 78, Folder 4

Text

The Greer Citizen, Greer, S.C., Wed., April 4, 1973

Greer Man’s Hobby Is Collecting Checks

We all look for interesting and more profitable ways of spending our leisure time, but L.C. Pearson, of 205 South Line Street in Greer, has apparently found one of the most imaginative hobbies of all, he collects one cent checks. The hobby, while not a source of great wealth, does combine Mr. Pearson’s two major interests, Numismatics (coin collecting) and people.

The checks, while negotiable, are not collected for their intrinsic value (they will never be cashed). They are collected for the name of the signer.

To qualify for the Pearson collection, one must have a bank account, an interesting or unusual name, and sufficient trust in the motives of the collector.

The checks arrive, sometimes many each month, bearing the signatures of the famous, the not-so-famous, the old and those graced with colorful surnames.

The single thing that most of the writers of these checks have in common is the fact that they are strangers to Mr. Pearson. When he hears of someone who would make a particularly interesting addition to his collection he writes the person a letter of request and merely waits for the mail. Most of the time the effort is fruitful, as in the case of such notables as Rex Humbard and Oral Roberts.

Request Ignored

Sometimes, however, the request is ignored or turned down as in the case of a national television personality, who Mr. Pearson offered to send a $25 check to his crusade. A nice letter came back saying there are many requests for me to do numerous things that it is not possible for me to give my attention to all of these. “I am sure you will understand if I do not make out a one-cent check to you.”

The idea of a one-cent check collection came to Mr. Pearson last March when he read of the collection of Dr. Malcolm C. Thompson, a St. Louis clergyman. Dr. Thompson’s hobby centers around having the same names as Biblical characters. Some checks in the Thompson collection include those signed by Mr. Abraham, Mr. Joshua, and Mr. Moses.

Eva Adams, former director of the United States Mint, also contributed a check to Dr. Thompson.

Recognizing the many possible directors one might go with one-cent check collecting, Mr. Pearson decided to explore his new found part time with experimental letters of request to persons whose name did more than merely identify them.

Coin Collector

Being a coin collector, Mr. Pearson sought and received appropriately enough, his first one cent check from a Mr. Penny. Others followed from a Mr. Banks, Mr. Cash, and Mrs. Eva Adams. Pursuing the entire spectrum of the hobby, Mr. Pearson obtained checks from Mr. Brown, Mr. Green, Mr. Black and Mrs. Gray. He is presently accumulating checks from persons who will help him build a paper menagerie. Included so far are checks from Mr. Wolfe and Mr. Crain. Mr. Pearson is also interested in receiving checks from persons one hundred years of age. He has only one of these so far, a check written by Dr. Viola Kirkwood, 103, of Roger Huntington Nursing Center.

Although he has not received the number and variety of checks he hopes to obtain from national figures, Mr. Pearson has enjoyed the results obtained. Norma Zimmer, for instance, was unable to comply with a request for a check, but she wrote an explanation why she has not and included a photo with a personal message on it addressed to Mr. Pearson. And though it is not a check it has somehow found its way into the Pearson check collection.

Enjoys This Hobby

Mr. Pearson says he has enjoyed this hobby as much or more than his many others because check collecting deals with people. “You can learn a lot about people by writing them and requesting a check,” he says. “Some people consider it a compliment and I get a check in the next mail while others think I’m trying to gyp them. There are some who think I’ll change the amnount* of the ckec* to a thousand dollars or something.”

From those who do send checks Mr. Pearson often has the pleasure of receiving interesting anecdotes about their names. There’s one gentleman in New York whose name is Robert Goodrich whose friends call him “B.F.” And there is a Mr. Rose of Atlanta who, because of his name, finds himself to be a “flower in great demand.”

Has Its Moments

While check writing does not appear to be the hobby for one seeking adventure, it does have its moments, as Mr. Pearson learned from writing Arthur Brimer, attempted assassin of Governor Wallace. It seems the letter went ignored by the celebrity and no check was forthcoming. However, several days after Mr. Pearson mailed the letter, a friend called him to find why the FBI has been making routine inquiries about him. “I don’t know what became of the situation, they never came around here; why should they? I’m not a subversive, I just collect one cent checks.

In the future, Mr. Pearson plans to continue collecting checks and hopes for that certain example which will prove to be the classic: A check from Mr. Christmas dated December 25.

When one asks Mr. Pearson what he calls his hobby, he says, “I collect paper pennies.”

If you want to become a part of this collection, make out a check for one cent (of course it will never be cashed) and send to:
L.C. Pearson, Box 453, Greer, S.C. 29651.

*Typos made in text