THE FOURTH ANNUAL MERZOIAN BROTHER'S TAILGATER

was held among the lush, picturesque Porterville vineyards and orange orchards of the San Joaquin Valley, on September 6, 2003. After a summer of bright, clear, sunny Ca1ifornia skies, the juicy plums and sweet Concord grapes were ripe for the pickin', and a whole, bunch of enthusiastic dealers, collectors, and family members turned out for the largest tailgater yet. Fresh breakfast breads and cakes, juices, milk and coffee were on the house and available at 7 AM. Mark and Dianne Merzoian's 10,000 square foot pole barn comfortably accommodated all of the crown jewels on, under, and around about twenty insulator tables.

For those of you not familiar witl1 a pole barn style structure, it is simply a huge roof that is held up on all four sides by (in this case) about thirty stout telephone poles. It is an open-sided hay storage area that Dianne has converted into a valley-formal, outdoor entertainment venue. It has soft, shredded walk-on-bark footing that is perfect for butter fingered sellers and buyers who like to bounce test their insulators. Some of us here at LCL are nodding like, "Yeah, we resemble that remark!" Anyway, this pole barn has all the natural lighting that a clear, summer day can deliver as well as great electric lighting, seating, stage, sound system, bathroom and kitchen facilities, RV accommodations, and more. This venue is perfect for a late summer outdoor show and the hosts are actually tossing around the idea of putting together a western regional bid for this venue. Stay tuned to this space for more on that story! 

As some of you may know, the pre-show party is often a festive event for any show host and his or her early arrivals. Once all of the preparations are made, everyone has a couple of hours to relax before the real business of the show begins. Left Coast Lines was privileged to attend the Friday night fiesta this year which included a sumptuous Mexican munch-out and an extended tour of Bob Merzoian's awesome insulator collection. It was a very late, very enjoyable evening but our hosts were right back at the business of show-hostin' by six-thirty, Saturday morning. 

Trading and selling was brisk all morning and shortly after noon, the show hosts and hostesses were ready to offer the crowd of sixty hungry show-goers a free lunch of pit-roasted, shredded pork and turkey, fresh bread with garlic or rosemary, tossed garden salad, assorted dressings, Bob Merzoian's award winning Armenian spiced beans, three pies, two cakes, cookies, candy and two different flavors of fresh churned ice cream. There were juices, sodas, water, milk and coffee to drink as well. Special thanks to Dave and Shirley Brown, Ruthann Doyle, Stephanie Bennett and all of the other helpers that made the breakfast and lunch so special!

Left Coast Lines (LCL) recognizes that there are many of you out there who like to see who's who in the show reports and we believe that it is important to recognize those who attend and support their local shows inside and outside of the NIA's Western Region. To that end, we thank the following folks for the generous donation of their time and energy that made the 4th Annual Merzoian Brother's Tailgater a huge success.

Steve and Linda Viola (soon to be relocating to Las Vegas!), Carver Mead (We all missed you Barb!), Barbara Smith's brother Wayne and his wife Danita, Larry & Alice Shumaker, Pete Fortier (who was married to Lauralei over Thanksgiving weekend --- Congratulations you guys!!!), Bill Kemp (What was that NlA membership number, Bill? 1? or was it 2?), Richard Wightman, Lou (pin-Man) Hall and his wife (and Nor-Cal club expert on cooking cake and cookies) Deedee, Dave (I tumble Insulators) Hall, Paul Aleeson (The Cayucos show host), Richard (I lost my beard!) Dawson, Mike & Bob Stafford, our Mountain View show host -- Dave Elliott, Steve Marsh (We missed you too Lisa -- Thank you for the awesome breakfast breads!), Ian Macky, Bill & Lulu Harrison, Bud and Christian (Laugh Lines) Willis, Jerry Buckland (We only have 16 fingers between us!), Mike and Cindy Guthrie (from Fres-burg), Bob & Mieke Hendricks (Congratulations on your award at the Western Regional!), Paul Reberry (Maker of the nationally famous electric meter lamps), Uriah Anderson, Renard Perucho, Sid Marquez (master chef for the Cayucos show) and his wife Isabel (Thanks for the excellent brownies!)

We'll take a break and catch our breath at this point to make an important announcement. There are three amigos from Lancaster, California who let it be known at the show that they were seriously considering plans to have a Lancaster show in 2004. Ron Jenkins, Craig McLaurin, and Jon Kredo are putting their heads together to start a new show in the October timeframe. Left Coast Lines will closely follow developments in this story, and' keep you all informed if things become more concrete. You Lancaster guys be sure to give LCL a holler when you know something. Our email address is in the masthead at the top of this column.

OK, where were we? OH -- yes, thanking those whose participation and support make our shows possible. We'd also like to thank Mike Middleton, Leif Kloster, Andrew & Daniel Brown, Christopher Bailey, Ray Schwab, Vickie Burcham, as well as Agnes, Neil, Rosemary, Michael, and Sarah Merzoian. All of you made a significant contribution to the show and we are really glad that you helped to make it a great day for all of us. 

Well, the show report wouldn't be complete unless we shared some of the quiet details, sale highlights, and sort-of-secrets with you. First of all, did you know that every year Bob Merzoian raffles off a free weekend in his 2,500 square foot beach house near Cayucos and Pismo Beach? Yessirree. The place is awesome, it's huge! Half of Nor-Cal stays there every year for the Cayucos show. This year Bob and Mieke Hendricks won the free weekend! Also, Dianne Merzoian raffles off a very limited number of original, serialized art works at each show. LCL has learned that a dead mint, CD123, F-mold, cobalt EC&M change hands as well as a dead-mint, CD154, milk-glass Cristalerias and a depression green, CD145 HGCo beehive. We also saw a dead-:mint, CD162, screaming yellow Hemi signal go for two grand! Once again, the late-afternoon clean-up crew, comprising the show hosts and a hand full of generous friends with servant's hearts, was invited to attend the annual post-show Mead Feed. The Brothers would like to take this opportunity to thank their dinner host and benefactor for his generous contribution to the whole show effort! It really was an exciting show for everyone, but Ian Macky summed it all up when he said, "This show was WAY better for glass! I found all SORTS of stuff that I was looking for!" 

Left Coast Lines agrees with Ian. It was a killer show and it is sure to be just as good next year. Now, all you thread-heads listen up: Getcher glass and mud traders into a good, sturdy box. Getcher swap lists and price guides updated. Flip open yer Crown Jewels to Coming Events and click in the Show Finder for details on the next swap meet or tailgater in your area. Dig that dusty wad of cash out-a-the Fred Locke pinhole and get all yer friends together for an insulator road trip because....

IT'S SHOWTIME!