The Porter Thermometer Museum is no more. Richard T. Porter, 86, who holds the Guinness world record for amassing the largest thermometer collection in the world, has parted with his prized collection and is no longer operating his quirky little museum in Onset. Porter, a retired schoolteacher, is known for putting Onset on the map as the unofficial “Thermometer Capital of the World,” and curiosity-seekers came from far and wide to visit his collection of more than 5,000 thermometers, which he kept in the basement of his home on Zarahemla Road. Porter said a few years ago he sold his collection to Joel N. Myers, the founder and president of AccuWeather, Inc., and most of his thermometers were shipped to State College, Pa., where AccuWeather is headquartered. Porter held onto some thermometers and continued to operate the museum until recently. On May 1, Porter bid goodbye to the rest of his collection. He said the remaining thermometers — about 900 of them — were wrapped up and shipped off to Pennsylvania to join the rest at AccuWeather, where they will be put on display. Porter said he’s glad that his thermometers have a safe home and will be exhibited for people to see. “That’s quite a thrill,” Porter said, in a telephone interview. “I’m very happy and actually very proud to know where they went.”
Wareham