The family of the late Richard Porter, a veteran and the proprietor of the now-closed “World’s Only Thermometer Museum” in Onset, has been reunited with Porter’s long-lost dog tags. 

A man named John found the tag in the sand on Little Harbor Beach. 

Porter’s grandson, Danny Minkle, said John initially tried to call Porter. When that line was disconnected, he did some research and found Minkle through Porter’s obituary.

John called Minkle and left a message explaining the situation. 

“I was shocked and I got goosebumps when I got the voicemail,” Minkle said. “Especially because my grandpa has been gone for a couple years.”

Porter, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 89, served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He was a career teacher, and he continued that work after his retirement through the “World’s Only Thermometer Museum,” which he operated out of his home in Onset.

“He was always teaching,” Minkle said. “He was one of the most selfless people — everyone that met him loved him. He was a very happy, outgoing man.”

Minkle said that the thermometer museum, which displayed Porter’s collection of more than 5,000 thermometers, was his grandfather’s claim to fame. 

“He got plenty of publicity,” Minkle said, explaining that Porter was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for amassing the largest collection of thermometers. Minkle said that his family has joked that the unlikely return of the dog tag is Porter’s attempt to get “another five minutes of fame.”

“He’s looking down on us smiling,” Minkle said. “If that’s not him saying hello, I honestly don’t know what is. That’s a sign.”

Minkle said he plans to keep the tag with him in his truck so “go with me wherever I go.”

Porter was also a lecturer, and traveled with his collection to four continents, 20 countries, and all fifty states. 

The majority of Porter’s collection is now at Accuweather headquarters in Pennsylvania. A spokesman for Accuweather said in 2018 that some of the thermometers are on display while most remain in storage — The company plans to add them to a weather museum at a later date.

A few of Porter’s thermometers are still on display in Onset at Marc Anthony’s La Pizzeria and at the Ace Hardware store.