A collector of curiosities

Editor's note: This is the first in a series of stories about local business owners and the unique merchandise and services they have for sale -- just in time for Christmas.

Walking the amply stocked aisles of Bullet Bob's antique store in downtown Clovis, you will find military field telephones from the 1940s and 1950s, an ancient glass-slide projector, an anvil from a farrier's shop, cameras and lenses, guitars, trombones and a cello, even a collection of old bedpans.

That, and large selections of vinyl records and books. And that's just the beginning.

You'll usually find owner Bob Vilandry in the space within a square lined with display cases of even more pre-owned merchandise near the front entrance. When he's not in the store, he's likely to be with his family or on a motorcycle.

Vilandry is a native of New Hampshire who discovered Clovis while in the U.S. Air Force and stayed in town after he retired from military life.

The News interviewed Vilandry on Tuesday after he finished arranging merchandise on the sidewalk in front of his store. Here are our questions and his answers.

Q. Where did the nickname Bullet Bob come from?

A. When I was 10 or 11, I bought a Kawasaki three-cylinder motorcycle at a garage sale. I had it fixed up in a few hours and I was riding it all over town. The cops couldn't catch me, so they called me the "little bullet." The cops did catch me eventually, but the name stuck.

Q. When did you retire from the Air Force?

A. In 1995. They offered an early retirement after I had been in for 15 years.

Q. What did you do in the Air Force?

A. I was electro environmental – heating, air conditioning, pressurization for the aircraft.

Q. Did you get into this business immediately after retiring?

A. No, I dabbled. I had a motorcycle shop and I sold that in 2008-2009. I had a bad motorcycle wreck in 2008. Then I went to work as a contractor for a company called Grancor that contracted with the Air Force, I was a DJ at KICA radio for a while, the morning DJ.

Q. So what got you into the antique business?

A. I got laid off from work at Grancor. They were going to move to Louisiana, but I've got my kids and grandkids here. I went to an estate auction with $200, and 10 years later, there's so much stuff you can end up with.

Q. So that's where you get most of your stuff?

A. Yeah. Estates, mostly estates. I traveled with a friend. We went to Brooklyn, N.Y, and Bangor, Maine, and picked up estates. We went to North Carolina, and all over Texas.

Q. Are you still doing that?

A. Not so much. I've got enough stuff.

Q. What do you like about this business?

A. It's the people. I love the people and then I like looking for stuff, People come in and they're just amazed at the amount of stuff I have. They find something they've been looking for for 10 or 15 years. That's my satisfaction. I'm not a collector. I just buy to resell. I like the buying part as much as I like the selling part. I'll have a milestone – 10 years in this place – on Jan. 4. It's a coincidence, because I joined the Air Force on Jan. 4, 1980 at the age of 20.

Q. You are still enthusiastic about motorcycle riding, even after your accidents?

A. My last accident was on July 1, 2018. I'm still recovering, but it's all good.

When I joined the Air Force, I was living in Daytona Beach, Fla.,and I always wanted to be a professional moto-cross racer.

I went to Florida a month ago on my bike, a Harley Davidson Tri-Glide. I met some friends from here. It was beautiful.

Q. What do you like about riding motorcycles?

A. Golly, I guess it's just the freedom. I like to ride alone, but I also ride with Thunder Ally, a local group. I'm going with friends in June to Laconia, N.H., for the 100th anniversary of the Laoconia Motorcycle Week. It's the oldest motorcycle rally in the world.

Q. What else do you like to do in your spare time?

A. My grandsons race motorcycles, so I go watch them race. My grandaughter likes to play basketball, so I go watch her games. She's 10 and in the junior league. My son still races I like to go watch him ride, too. My wife Donna likes to travel, so we bought a travel trailer.

Q. Does your whole family live in the area?

A. They do. I have two kids, a son, Sean, and a daughter, Sarah and four grandchildren, three grandsons and a granddaughter, and one on the way. Donna retired this year from Cannon after 40-plus years in civil service. We met at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque.