- Who
- Holly Goudie
- What
- 3,399 total number
- Where
- United States (Troy)
- When
The largest collection of squirrel-related items is 3,399, and was achieved by Holly Goudie (USA) in Troy, Michigan, USA, on 17 October 2021.
Holly's first squirrel was a Sandicast figure that she had purchased using gift money in 1981. Her mother then gave her a squirrel necklace and a shirt which evolved into the start of her collection.
For many years, Holly says that squirrels were difficult to find, but through online resources, there was an abundance to choose from. However, this sometimes makes it difficult for her to stick to her purchasing limit of just one or two items per month. Many of her items bring back memories of places traveled to, special friends who have gifted her items, or special occasions.
There are currently over 200 different types of squirrel items in Holly's collection. She explains "I prefer to find squirrel items that are functional, such as my Jonathan Adler squirrel shoehorn. There are many favorites such as the first one I purchased, the ones from my mother, jewelry from my father, and a vase my best friend gave me for my 25th wedding anniversary."
Being a school librarian and loving books, items depicting squirrels with books are always of interest to her. Many in her collection have been gifted by people over the years once they learn of my squirrel collection. As a friend of hers once said, “You provide a home for wayward squirrels.”
Over the past four decades, Holly has purchased Guinness World Records books for the school to satisfy the interests of her students. This lead her to discover the existence of this record title. The next year she counted and photographed her collection to see how many there were. Once she knew her count was more than the current record, she applied.
Holly explains her record attempt experience in further detail "Getting my official guidelines made me realize this was truly an epic event. Once a zoologist agreed to take part, I had to see the project through. It was truly a challenge to find ways to display all of my collection in order for my witnesses to verify that every item was in the squirrel family and to count them. Everyone involved said it was a fun and totally amazing experience."
