NY Airport Displays Custodian’s NASA Collection

A former custodian’s expansive collection of NASA memorabilia is currently on display at Albany International Airport in New York, Times Union reports.

The collection is part of an exhibit titled Souvenir, which runs until December 27. The display features more than 50 years of published materials related to NASA space missions, as amassed by Virgil Sager, who spent 24 years at the airport as a custodian.

Now retired from his custodial duties, Sager, age 68, is the first employee to be involved in one of the Albany airport’s art exhibits.

“Virgil was thrilled to share his collection in the exhibit,” Kathy Greenwood, Albany International Airport’s art and culture program director, told Times Union. “I thought it was a fitting inclusion in the show and a nice tribute to his passion for documenting America’s fascination with space travel.”

According to Times Union, Sager, who spent his workdays as any other custodian would—cleaning restrooms, mopping floors, and emptying trash cans—also dreamt of space travel, a lifelong obsession that manifested itself into his collection. Sager said he still vividly remembers the day in 1967 when he and his fellow classmates watched the launch of the Saturn V moon rocket on the classroom TV, which in returned ignited his passion for space travel. “It was amazing,” he told Times Union.

After that day, with encouragement from family members, Sager started to clip various magazine and newspaper articles on space missions, filling seven binders with 53 years of memories. With Greenwood’s help, Sager is now hoping a museum or archive will take custody of his scrapbooks.

“I’m running out of room for my collection at home,” he told Times Union. “I want it to be enjoyed by people.”