Mike has always been known as Mike the Junkman in Boonton, NJ. As he puts it, “For people interested, Junk Man is my last name.” But there’s a story behind how he developed an eye for all things vintage and became forever known for his excellent pickings.
How Mike got started
“Growing up in Brooklyn, my grandparents taught me the love of old things in the city. Later on, I moved to Newark and 280 was being built and it came into our neighborhood, taking down a lot of old homes. I was 10 or 12 years old, and I got a shopping cart and I just started collecting bricks for the local lumberyard. They were paying a penny a piece and that’s how I started my little junk business.
Then in high school, I worked on a garbage truck making $15 a day. I started finding things and bringing them to the local thrift shop in town and the owner would sell them. Then I would go by at the end of the week and she’d give me a check for like $25 more than what I worked for.
I always had an eye for it. I found out about the auction in Boonton—the old feed mill auction which is still here. That was 40 years ago. I would just drive around, find things, and bring them to the auction.
I just couldn’t see these things ending up in the dump. I was saving them, giving them a new home. ‘Reuse and repurpose’ has always been my motto.
My wife, my high school sweetheart, was with me from the beginning. Back then, I had a pickup truck. We’d go to flea markets, set up a booth, and sell what we found. It was great—it was like found money, like the streets were paved with it.
Then, it just snowballed and I became Mike the Junkman in 1989. I got a truck, put a logo on it, and registered the name. It’s been rolling ever since.”
What Mike does today
“About seven years ago I gave my business to my boys, James and Alex. They were working with me when they were 10 years old, they’ve always been working with me. So they have an eye for everything.
I still work with my sons, I’m never going to retire from junk. It’s in my blood, it’s in my bones. I turned 71 in February, and I just got done working eight hours today. When you love what you do, it’s not like going to work. Every day is an adventure—you don’t know what you’re going to find. Some houses are a mess, but you put your gloves on, put your mask on, and get it done.”
How Mike got his name
“When I was growing up in Brooklyn we had the milkman, the ice man, and the junk man. The junk man would walk the street, yelling out for scrap. I just thought that was the perfect name for me.”
Favorite story and picks
“I’ve found two Dodger Yankee baseballs from the World Series. My friend and I were working on the garbage truck when we found them in a shoebox. He took one, and I took the other. After he passed, his mom gave me his ball. So now I have both of them and I gave one to my son and one to my other son.
I’ve found Picasso paintings and Salvador Dali’s sketches—lots of art. I once found a couple of old Harley Davidson police bikes in a junkyard. I bought them for $2,000 and today they’re worth $40,000. People throw out a lot of stuff they don’t want, and they don’t know it’s worth anything.”
Mike the Junkman’s advice is simple: picking isn’t just about making a profit. He does it for the love of antiques and the hope of finding forgotten items a new home. If you love it, pick it.
Stop by Mike the Junkman’s storefront at 210 Myrtle Ave, Boonton, NJ. Call 973-299-0883 for an appointment.
