GOFF ? As a child, Melvin Swart kept his toys with the care of an adult. As an adult, he collected toys with childlike enthusiasm.

The extensive collection of this farmer who never outgrew his childhood love is now on display at a museum tenderly created by his brother.

“I had to do something,” Gerald Swart said. “I knew how well he enjoyed those toys.”

More than 2,000 toy tractors, trucks and cars of all types are exhibited in a building located on Gerald Swart’s farm just west of Goff. The museum, open by appointment, is called Skeezix’s Farm Toys. Gerald Swart explained that their uncle nicknamed his brother “Skeezix,” a cowboy word for a motherless calf and a character in the comic strip “Gasoline Alley.”

When Melvin Swart passed away in November at age 80, Gerald Swart considered selling his brother’s toys. But his family, as well as members of the community who had seen the collection, urged him to keep it together.

The result is a museum that chronicles agriculture history, with reproduction toys of John Deere, International, Allis Chalmers, Ford, Oliver and many other makes of tractors and farm implements.

“I didn’t realize there was so much till we started moving it,” Gerald Swart said.

There are several toys that the Swart boys played with as children, including cast iron Arcade trucks and tractors. Gerald Swart said his brother was fascinated with toys as a child and often persuaded his mother to buy one when she went to town on Saturdays. Gerald Swart, the youngest of six brothers and 16 years younger than his brother Melvin, got to play with many of the toys that were passed down.

“When he was growing up, the horses were going out and the tractors were coming in,” Gerald Swart said. “He enjoyed talking about the tractors the neighbors and family members had.”

As a farmer, Melvin Swart used all different types of equipment, which is reflected in his varied collection. He began acquiring most of the toys in the early 1980s, when he retired and had time to devote to his hobby.

Skeezix’s museum also holds a number of unique pieces that Melvin Swart made himself. He welded toy reproductions of old combines, a corn binder and horse-drawn rakes and plows, complete with carved wooden horses.

“He loved to make stuff. He could do anything,” Gerald Swart said.

Model cars, a cap gun display, antique chicken figurines and an assortment of music boxes round out the display, offering a wide appeal for the exhibit. There’s also a corner dedicated to Melvin Swart, who served in the Navy during World War II and was a 50-year member of the American Legion.