Who is this man? What is his award for? What does his award look like? We shall attempt to answer these and other questions about one of Florida's grandest gentlemen. Many pages could be written about him. Here are our efforts to pay tribute to a fine person.                                                               
                                                          

George C. Scott

Slender, over six feet tall, and sporting a perfectly groomed handle-bar moustache, and wearing his Stetson, George stands out in any crowd. A Buckeye, he was born in Columbus, Ohio, but has lived in Sanford, Florida, for many years. He started collecting forty to forty-five years ago, and his interest has never waned. He noticed his grandfather's bottles, and that started him on a hobby that has spanned many years. George collects many things. In fact, he said he collects everything -- including all kinds of bottles, Indian artifacts, button hooks, he even has some insulators, and barb wire for starters. George added that he mostly collects friends. We can vouch for that -- if friends were dollars, he would be a millionaire many times over.

George started digging and looking for Indian artifacts in the Banana River in Florida and kept finding bottles. And thus began his love affair with bottles.

As his interest grew he found himself joining clubs. At the present time, he belongs to the Sanford Bottle Club, the Central Ohio Collectors Association at Columbus, the M-T Bottle Collectors Association at DeLand, Florida, the Mid- State Antique Bottle Collectors Club at Orlando, Florida, the Central Florida Insulator Collectors Club, and he is the current Vice-Chairman of the Association of Florida Antique Bottle Clubs.

We asked George what gave him the idea to start awarding the PROBE. He said as he attended the various bottle and insulator shows he noted that there was very little, if any, information on the articles being displayed. There was nothing with the displays to educate the public about what they were observing. He recalled something his grandfather had told him many years before -- that you really have to probe for information. And so the idea for the Probe Award was born. He felt an award might be an incentive to have better information on displays, and the displayer would be seeking or probing for more information. 

So, in 1966, George awarded his first Probe Award at the Sanford, Florida, show. It was in the form of a wall plaque. Being a very gifted craftsman, his award evolved to its present illustrated form. These are made by hand -- George's hand. The Probe, as it is now, was first awarded to Mac Gifford in 1968 at the Mid-State (Orlando, Florida) show.

George usually uses a material that has some historical significance. In one instance he used some wood from a pole dating back to 1880 in Volusia County, Florida. He has used wood from old historical railroads such as the Seaboard Airline Railroad. He has also used cuts from many other old poles and old crossarms.

As of this writing, George has presented over three hundred of his Probe awards. He has received requests for the Probe from many clubs in many states, including Hawaii, Alaska, and Panama in the Canal Zone.

This fine award has been presented at several National Insulator Association Conventions, with the most recent displayer being Jeff McCurty for his fine display of Corning Pyrex insulators at the recent National Insulator Association convention in Rochester, New York It was our privilege to do the judging for George at this show.

To receive a Probe award is a great honor. Excellence in education is a criterion not to be forgotten.

This delightful to know gentleman gives freely of himself. Whenever asked to, he will travel to schools, libraries and junior colleges giving lectures and setting up displays to help educate the younger generation and to help get them interested in collecting. 

GEORGE C. SCOTT -- a truly gifted man of many talents. It is a pleasure to know him and be counted among his many, many friends.