Last modified: Saturday, November 17, 2007 5:24 PM EST Debbie Johnson holds two of her many bathroom-themed salt and pepper shakers displayed, appropriately, in her North Attleboro bathroom. (Staff photo by MARK STOCKWELL) Collecting is spice of life for local woman BY SUSAN LaHOUD / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF NORTH ATTLEBORO -- Debbie Johnson savors life with a little seasoning. She flavors it by collecting salt and pepper shakers - 1,500 pairs of salt and pepper shakers to date, to be exact. "Some people like to use candles to decorate," said the North Attleboro collector who bought her first set of shakers about eight years ago. "I use salt and pepper shakers." There are pairs that are center pieces for her table, which change seasonally. Others are in cabinets, organized by themes - one is of the 'It's a Small World' variety where a world globe shaker is surrounded by a cadre of international children shakers. "I think the children are one of my favorites," said Johnson, an administrative assistant at Bridgewater State Hospital. Another glass-fronted bookcase is dedicated to ageless angels, a tall red devil shaker standing menacingly among them. "I had to give him his due," Johnson said with a smile. Yet another cabinet has a wild kingdom flavor. All sorts of animals, from deer and pandas, to squirrels in different poses within the sets, stake out their limited ground considering their sheer numbers. There are even "stacker" sets of a monkey holding a coconut and a mother kangaroo with two young in her pouch. And there's one with cartoon characters, anything from Peanuts, to Felix, to Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. Johnson's not quite alone in being serious about shakers. She's one of about 20 regulars of the Yankee chapter of the Novelty Salt and Pepper Shakers Club. Members of the chapter hail from from Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and meet twice a year to socialize and spice up their collections. The chapter is one set of a larger club, originally called the Antique Shakers, that was started in 1984. Then, in 1987, there was a division. "The way they tell it, the Antique Shakers club did not appreciate the novelty" salt and pepper shaker collectors, said Johnson, a club member for the past 6 years. Novelty shakers are distinguished by shapes and figures, she said. They can be made from anything from wood to ceramic, to china to plastic. About 300 people, including Johnson, attended the big club's convention in Florida this past July. There are about 700 members in the club at large, she said. It used to be a national club, but that has changed as people from different countries started joining. There was even a person from Belgium who attended this year's convention, she said. The local chapter, which meets regularly in Providence, is extremely excited to be hosting the convention in 2010 at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick, Rhode Island. The local chapter has not hosted a convention in more than 10 years and the last time it was in Vermont, Johnson said. She said the chapter is always looking for more members. As is the case with collectors in general, each person has his or her own reason for collecting certain genres. "I just thought they were cute," Johnson said. "I would buy one pair, then another..." A favorite of hers is what in collector's terms are called "woodies" - wooden shakers, like her attached swine shakers. A fellow collector likes "singles" - collecting one as opposed to a pair of shakers. She takes a single shaker, like a bird, attaches fringe and decorates with them, Johnson said, pointing to one she has hanging from a plant in her home. "I can't figure it out," she said of her friend's one-shaker-attraction. "Singles are like accidents." "I group mine in themes," said Johnson, adding, "I guess not everyone does." "People were amused when I pulled out my box of good guys/bad guys" shakers. While most of her collection is in boxes, she knows of others who display all they own. A couple in New York displays all 6,000 pairs they own on shelves throughout their house. She said one hazard of the hobby is the dust that settles on the shakers. Some people hold "dusting parties." Johnson said collectors vary. "You can go cheap. I have friends who don't go beyond $10" a pair. The tendency, she said, "is you start out with quantity and then ease up." She figures a salt and pepper shaker set of Jonah in the whale's stomach is her most expensive pair, the price of which, along with her collection, she declined to cite. "Might be grounds for divorce court," she jested. She even has a display of shakers in the bathroom, of course, they all have a related theme, like ducks, tubs and a set that she said are called "Billy Cans." One of the figures seated on a commode is smiling because he can; the other's not that happy, as Johnson explains it. With the absence of antique shops and estate sales in the immediate area, she buys most of her shakers on e-Bay. As for her children, Beth, 21 and Greg, 23, they don't exactly relish their mother's condiment container collection. "Some kids fight over who's going to inherit" a parent's treasures, Johnson said. "Mine fight over who's not going to" get the shakers. "It keeps her busy," Greg said diplomatically. He offered that he's not totally opposed to the shakers "that don't look like shakers." Like the antique-looking yellow glass pair of light bulb shakers - "those I'll take," he said. SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at 508-236-0398 or at slahoud@thesunchronicle.com.