× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Ward Milligan's love for stamps started because of jealousy.

His older sister was diagnosed with severe asthma in the 1960s and was unable to participate in physical activities. Instead, she began collecting stamps.

"Stamp collecting can be a window to the entire world for someone with a mental or physical disability," the Hastings man said.

After seeing his sister's collection, he was determined to start his own. When he was 8, his grandfather gave him a beginning set and the collection is still growing today.

Milligan frequently travels for work and attends five or six stamp shows across the country every year.

On Saturday, he reconnected with Jim Woods at the Lincoln Stamp Show. The two met more than 20 years ago at another show.

Woods started collecting 71 years ago when he was 10. He retired early from Western Electric in Omaha and became a full-time stamp dealer.

He used to go to 15 shows across the country each year, but travels to fewer now as he's gotten older.