There are literally thousands of things in Nate Bekemeier’s glass topped display cabinet, and he has a story for almost every one.

“Most of these things have reasons for being in here. Some are stupid, some are personal,” he said.

There are sheep teeth from a French archeological dig he went to in 1975, a marble eye Bekemeier purchased at a market, a movie pin from a recent showing of the Academy Award-winning “Whiplash” and a number of wishbones.

“There’s a lot of pretty weird stuff in there, believe me,” he said.

Bekemeier was one of several exhibitors at the Mattapoisett Historical Society’s "Sharing Your Passion: Personal Collections" night on Thursday.

Katherine Gaudet, vice president of the society, was inspired by the Brooklyn Historical Society's annual Collectors' Night where her son has showcased his interesting and unusual findings from the streets of New York City.

Gaudet has a few collections herself. On Thursday, she brought her assortment of tins, some from her four years spent in France.

With four boys, the unbreakable collection served her well.

“I love it because it’s utilitarian,” said Gaudet.

One tin holds coffee, another photos and still another pins collected while traveling.

Gaudet said the tins are on display around her home, though she quit collecting new ones a long time ago.

Leda Kim, however, isn’t sure if her collection will ever be complete.

Kim has been collecting Chinese turquoise figurines for about 35 years.

“As far as I’ve been able to determine, there’s no comprehensive catalog of what figurines were made,” she said.

The bright blue hue attracted Kim to the porcelain statutes, which come in a number of shapes and sizes. She has Chinese gods, the traditional fu dogs and geese. Many are small enough for a curio cabinet, but Kim also has a pair of geese that measure more than a foot tall, she said.

Kim estimates that most of the pieces in her collection were made from the 1900s to the 1940s.

She has searched flea and antique markets for the figurines and drives to the large antique houses in Pennsylvania twice a year in search of them.  Kim said she only finds one or two on any given trip.

“I’m not discriminatory,” said Kim. “If it’s turquoise and Chinese, I buy it.”

While Kim’s collection hails from China, Ellen Flynn is a connoisseur of china from around the world.

Flynn began collecting porcelain pieces in her 20s and always loved blue and white patterns.

“I do remember when I was a young child, my godmother had a lot of beautiful china in her home. I think that influenced me when I decided, as a young person, that I was attracted to china,” said Flynn.

Her collection includes pieces from Czechoslovakia, Portugal, France, England and Japan. The sugar bowls, creamers, tea cups and plates were family heirlooms, flea and antique market finds and gifts from friends.

“You do get sort of addicted,” said Flynn. “I had to stop collecting at a certain point because I had so much.”

But the collection doesn’t go to waste.

“I use everything you see here,” she said. “Occasionally they get chipped because I use them all the time.”

In the future, the Mattapoisett Historical Society hopes to hold another personal collections night and will try to uncover more residents with interesting possessions until then.

“Mattapoisett has got to have some amazing collections,” Gaudet said.