>> Cookies.
>> Jerry Oscarson has a secret.
It gets under your skin,
you know.
I call it my sickness.
[laughs]
>> Most everyone has one,
a cookie jar in the kitchen,
maybe on top of the
refrigerator.
>> They're chefs.
They belong in a kitchen.
[laughs]
>> Or Grandma's old jar on
a shelf in the hallway.
>> You're gonna see this.
This is Mother Bunny, and
she's checking on her babies.
>> But over the course of
two decades Jerry has let
cookie jars take over his house
outside of Janesville.
>> I looked at this entry way
and I thought, hmmm, there's
a lot of empty space there.
Then I started going
into there.
And then it just kinda moved
downstairs.
You know, so it took over
the downstairs.
>> A collection of dozens
grew to 1,300.
>> This is a small collection
compared to some friends.
I know people who's got
3,000 jars.
And I think they're crazy.
[laughs]
>> He's picked them up at
flee markets, auctions, and
cookie jar conventions.
Yes, there are conventions
for people who collect
cookie jars.
Many of these cookie jars
are worth too much to fill
with actual cookies.
>> It's Herbert the Lion.
One's worth like $1,200,
one's worth $100.
I just about tripped over it.
>> Part of the thrill for Jerry
is finding the hidden gem.
>> It's the hunt.
I get in the car and I look
through my book, and it's a
$900 jar just bought for $24.
That's exciting.
Well, this is a real McCoy.
>> But Jerry will never forget
his first cookie jar.
It was May of 1991.
>> When my grandmother
passed away, I didn't even know
she had a cookie jar.
At her estate sale I bought this
cookie jar.
After auction, the auctioneer
said, "Do you know what that's
worth?"
And he said, "It's worth a lot
of money."
I'm thinking, oh, my god,
I paid $20 for it
and I thought I was nuts.
But he said it was worth
about $100.
The next week I went
to another auction and
then there was another
clown cookie jar
and so I bought that.
>> The death of Jerry's
grandmother's led to
another life change,
bigger than just
collecting cookie jars.
>> When my grandmother died it
was the point where I thought,
you know, I need to be
honest with myself.
I was 35 years old.
And I just--
It was time.
I just felt like her blessing
and her energy was there
telling me, it's ok.
>> It took the loss of his
grandmother for Jerry,
who was living at the time
as a married man with
a wife and three kids,
to be honest with himself
that he was gay.
But even yet, Jerry wasn't ready
to tell anyone else.
>> The cookie jars were
a diversion for me,
'cause I still wasn't ready
to come out.
And the cookie jars were a way
for me to escape my life.
My wife would always say, "Well
why you buying these cookie
jars?
How come you're doin' this?"
And I couldn't tell her.
>> It took time, but Jerry
eventually found the courage
to share his secret.
>> The hardest thing I ever did
was to come out to my wife.
It's something I have a hard
time forgiving myself for.
But she was a phenomenal woman.
Stood by me.
She never said anything
bad about me.
And we supported our kids
together.
>> When the divorce was final
Jerry held an auction
and sold off most
of his cookie jars.
>> That's when I started
collecting again,
and it's for me.
I didn't have to worry about
coming out.
It was just fun.
>> So Jerry is once again
adding to his cookie jar
family.
>> This is one I just bought
two weeks ago.
>> His real family has
grown as well.
>> He's been with his
partner, Gary, for more than
20 years, and just added
his third grandchild.
>> It's just something special.
It's like adding a piece
of your family.
>> After all of these years,
Jerry's hoping he can share
with others some of the
happiness his cookie jars
have brought him.
>> I've enjoyed them
for 22 years.
And I want to pass on that joy
to somebody else.