By TOM FINK

Staff Writer

Larry Larkin’s heroes have always been cowboys.

“When I was growing up, I really enjoyed watching the old westerns,” Larkin said. “You knew who to root for — who the ‘good guy’ was and who the ‘bad guy’ was, and you knew that the good guy was always going to win in the end.”

When Larkin was 12, his father, who always owned cattle, bought him a horse, further “egging on” his love of all things cowboy.

But it wasn’t until years later that his fondness for the Old West turned into what would become a lifetime hobby.

“In 1979, for my birthday, my wife got me an authentic movie poster — John Wayne’s ‘The Sons of Katie Elder,’” he said. “That was also the year he died, and basically, I’ve been collecting John Wayne and western movie memorabilia ever since.”

For the first time since then, a bulk of Larkin’s collection will be on public display at the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum.

“(Museum director) Gary (Rohr) knew about my collection and he called and asked me if I would be interested in bringing some things in for a temporary display at the museum,” Larkin said. “When people find out about it (the collection), they want to come and see it, but bringing it to the museum works better for everyone — and the way they’ve got it on display here is much nicer than how I had it at home.”

“I’d heard about Mr. Larkin’s collection, but it wasn’t until I visited his home and saw it for myself that I realized how extensive it was and what a good temporary exhibit it would make,” said museum curator Jason Schubert. “I was very impressed that an individual could amass a collection of that scope such as he did.”

Originally only to have taken up three cabinet shelves, Larkin’s items eventually filled four aisles of the museum, with more than 500 collectible items on display.

“I’ve got just about everything here,” Larkin said. “I’ve got vintage movie posters from the 40s, 50s and 60s — 87 of them in all, here — as well as mugs, snowglobes, action figures, puzzles, games, Western-styled trading cards, records, comic books, photographs and more.”

Although many of Larkin’s collectibles are themed around John Wayne, several other movie and television Westerns such as “Bonanza,” “Rawhide,” and “Gunsmoke,” also can be found.

Larkin even managed to snag some of his Western heroes signatures, including that of a legendary masked man.