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Photo by Jim Craven Abraham Lincoln Elementary School third-grade teacher David Hagemaier shows off a tiny part of his "Star Wars" memorabilia collection. He started acquiring the items after he saw the first "Star Wars" movie as a high-school student. Movie visit changed his life Teacher shows toy collection By CHRIS BRISTOL A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away lived a teenage boy named David, who loved "Star Wars." OK, so it wasn't all that long ago (1977) and not so far away (although Southern California certainly seems like a different galaxy). But David Hagemaier really was a boy and he really did love the movie. And the toys. Today, as a modern-day Yoda of sorts -- who looks more like a younger version of Obi-Wan Kenobi than a puppet -- Hagemaier owns one of the most extensive collections of original "Star Wars" memorabilia in the Rogue Valley. He's got action figures, from major characters such as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo to minor players -- Boba Fett and Lobot. He's got a Death Star. He has a battery-powered AT-AT (the evil Empire's dinosaur-like ... oh, forget it) and a battered Darth Vader mask. He has coffee mugs and a bathroom kit, complete with Luke Skywalker shampoo. He even has a Millenium Falcon that's bigger than his Death Star -- and several little ones, too. "This one here," he says, holding up a box containing a limited-edition Kenner action figure of Luke Skywalker, "cost me $3.79 in 1983. Now its worth $200 or $300." `Star Wars' invades Teen Library In case you can't get enough of the Jedi Knights and their use of the Force, the Jackson County Library is here to help. The Teen Library, a sort of library-within-a-library at the downtown Medford branch, has some 185 titles related to "Star Wars" and the moviemaking magic of director George Lucas. From the giant "Star Wars Encyclopedia" to dozens of novels recounting the further adventures of Jedis such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, the Teen Library has it all. And what it doesn't have, the staff can get. Go ahead, laugh: The library is even plugging books and authors who influenced Lucas. Suggested reading ranges from the frantic fantasy of Jules Verne ("Journey to the Center of the Earth") to the mythical mentality of Joseph Campbell. Teen Library clerk Kenton Gould says the staff decided it was wise to be ready after the blockbuster film "Titanic" ignited a huge demand for information about shipwrecks and the movie's dreamboat star Leonardo DiCaprio. "We just had a rush for six months on anything Titanic," Gould said. "This time we're ready." The Stormtrooper-disguised Luke isn't his most valuable piece. That honor belongs to his movie poster worth more than $1,000. Much of it's on display this week outside the library at Abraham Lincoln Elementary, where the affable Hagemaier, 37, masquerades by day as a third-grade teacher to a never-ending cast of little Lukes and Leias. The display seems especially popular with boys. They look for all the world like Crusaders who just stumbled upon the Holy Grail. Or maybe they wonder if the collection includes a light saber or two. "This isn't even half his collection," breathes a reverent Conner Stephens, a fourth-grader and Jedi hopeful. Altogether Hagemaier guesses he has "thousands, just thousands" of "Star Wars" toys worth more than $10,000 in today's collector-crazy world of tie-ins and merchandising. He is a frequent visitor to eBay, the Internet auction site. But of all his toys, none are so valuable right now as the pair of tickets he has to the new prequel, "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." The super-hyped movie in the fabled Lucas series opens today across the nation, and not even wild tauntauns (those kangaroo-horse things from ... oh, forget it) could drag him away. "Not until school's out, of course. I'm not irresponsible," he says. The native of Huntington Beach, Calif., began collecting soon after his first trip to see "Star Wars." It was his 16th birthday, and the movie changed his life. "After it was over, I wanted to see it again right away," he says. "I wanted to experience it again. And I have, many times." Pressed for a firm number, he guesses 100. The point is, he never set out to become a collector. Too old by then to play with toys, he only wanted the pictures on the packages -- a bit of good luck, because it's the packaging that makes the toys especially valuable. So when's a good time to sell? "Not until I need money to send my kids to college," he replies. "Hopefully they'll be track stars or something, so I won't have to." Why? Because, like many accidental collectors, he can't bear the thought of parting with his prized possessions. The profit motive, as Yoda might say, he has not. "I used to collect sports cards when I was a kid, but it got too crazy," he says. "I gave it up for this." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA