Left Coast Lines - News From The Western Region
By Mike Doyle
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", August 2004, page 16
The 8th annual Rohde Roundup was held on Saturday, May 15th,
2004, near Fresno, California. Saturday morning broke feeling brisk and looking
a bit bleak and rainy as Uriah and I finished loading up for the show. The hour
long drive to Don and Camille's ranch seemed to go by quickly and we encountered
one or two instances of sprinkles along the way. We arrived before the
traditional blue Mickey Mouse sign was set out by the road but we. knew the way
by heart. Bill Heitkotter and Bill Rohde were already in the process of putting
out the traditional fencepost insulators when we drove onto the ranch around
7am. Donuts, juice, milk, coffee and more breakfast fixin's were already
available, and there were tables set up with propane heaters in the garage for
folks to warm their bones.
The show quickly gathered momentum and sales picked up nicely as the morning
wore on and the weather cleared. Butch Haltman set up with some fantastic jewels
that he recently acquired from the A.L. Rash collection. There were many great
insulators and related items available on all of the tables. There was some cool
iron hardware and some vintage wooden items available as well. Other dealers
included Richard Dawson, with his awesome assortment of custom table-top glass
and oak display cases; Dave 'Let's All Go To San Jose' Elliott and his son
Andrew, Bob and Mark Merzoian, co-hosts of the September 18th Porterville,
California show; Dave Hall, Lee Lickliss, Lou 'Pin-Man' Hall and his wife Deedee
(the unofficial head of the Nor-Cal Insulator Widow's Auxiliary,) Bruce Young,
David Brown, Pete Fortier, Paul Alleeson, Colin Jung (Nor-Cal President), Don
and Elaine Bayes, Norm and Doris James, Dwayne Anthony and his partner Dave
LaForge, Bob McLaughlin and his friend Elizabeth Parker, Mike Guthrie, Denley
and Deanne Bryson (of gutter-top dump fame.)
Two of the Three Amigos, Ron Jenkins and Craig McLaurin, attended and handed
out their show flyers announcing the First Annual Three Amigo's High Desert
Insulator Thang and BBQ that will. be held in Lancaster, California on 16
October 2004. (If I missed seeing the third amigo, Jon Credo, I apologize...)
Larry and Alice Shumaker showed up with a wonderful gift for Mark Merzoian.
Mark and Larry had been going back and forth trading CD190s and CD191s trying to
match tops to bottoms, names and colors for quite a while. Well this year, Larry
blew Mark away by presenting him with a perfectly matched green Knowles top and
bottom. It was cool to see the look on Mark's face when he opened the protective
wrap, what a great surprise!
Dale and Art Huber look over Butch Haltman's
sales stock from the A.L.Rash collection.
Lou 'Pin Man' Hall tries to take in "The Barn" where Bill 'Mud Man'
Rohde has
many thousands of insulators and go-withs on display from floor to
ceiling.
Almost 100 insulator enthusiasts lined up for BBQ sirloin tip with all of the
fixins.
Railroad specialty collectors Norma and John Giudici have been attending
Nor-Cal shows for many decades. They have some of the best stories
you can find
at any western region show.
Show Co-Host Don Rohde uses his leaf blower to
dry off the show tables early
on Saturday morning.
Larry Shumaker presents Mark Merzoian with a beautiful
CD190/191 emerald
green Knowles two piece tramp.
Way to go Larry!
Another Larry, Larry Monroe, gave everyone an awesome and rare opportunity to
see an all glass multipart CD 342, Locke 25 power piece at the show. It was one
of the few very nice 'kitsulators' that Mike Spadafora has had an opportunity to
expertly reconstruct over the years. Very nice piece! Glenn "Don't take my
picture" McAdam was set up with a table full of nice mud for sale. Bob and
Arlene Jackson brought a killer, complete CD 723.X Wade with the wooden cover.
Bob told me that it was discovered by Al Perry 30 years ago somewhere along the
Nebraska, Wyoming border. Other folks in attendance both selling and drooling
... er ... buying were Gerry Buckley, Carver Meade, Barbara Smith, Norma and
John Giudici, Stan Severi (Oregon,) Paul Zentner, Curt Randles, Steve
'Hemingray' Marsh, Mike 'Rain' Spadafora (Washington), Mike McGuire, Brad Nickel
and the JSIC contingent: Bill Ostrander, Nathan 'I Love Mud' Lamkey, and Gary
Michener.
We think it is important to mention that Art and Dale Huber, who are still
celebrating their recent sale of an American CD145 recovered in Mexico for over
$7000, brought a very cool looking, unlisted Mexican style to the show. This
thing was a CD155 CTC Texcoco De Mexico S.A. No 45 in teal. Schweeeet.
By the time Don and Camille rang the chow bell the weather had improved
nicely, and nearly 100 people queued up to wait patiently for their turn to dish
up some shredded, deep pit BBQ'ed, sirloin tip steak (YUM!!) extraordinary ranch
beans, fresh toasted garlic bread, tossed salad, pistachios, almonds, walnuts; 3
kinds of chips and dips, 3 different kinds of cookies, cake, ice-cream
sandwiches, milk (white and chocolate), water, soda, OJ, and much more! MAN,
WHAT A MUNCH! No one goes hungry at the Rohde Ranch. During the meal, Bill and
Don literally walk from table to table offering hot seconds and making sure that
everyone has exactly what they need to make their lunch extra special. Our hats
are off to Camille, Don and Bill Rohde for another fantastic show.
Well, Eight Years of the Rohde Roundup are in the books, and now we turn our
attention to the next shows that are right around the corner. Watch this space
for Western Region reports on the Cayucos and Mountain View, California
shows. After a short break for the National and Regional, Left Coast Lines will
bring you a summer and fall line up of show reports including Auburn in August,
Porterville in September, Lancaster in October, Tulare in November, and Auburn
again in December. Before you know it, you'll be reading about the 2005 Yuma
show in these pages. OK, Ok, ok ... Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself...
Right.... A good recovering Insulator junkie has to take life 'one show at a
time,' right? RIGHT!
So, all you thread-heads listen up: Getcher glass and mud traders into a
good, sturdy box. Getcher swap lists find price guides updated. Flip open yer
Crown Jewels to Coming Events, and click in the Insulators.Com Show Finder for
details on the next swap meet or tailgater in your area. Dig that dusty wad-o-cash
out of the Fred Locke pinhole, and get all yer friends together for an insulator
road trip because.... IT'S SHOWTIME!
MORE LEFT COAST LINES....
The beach weather for the 12th annual Great Insulator Show and BBQ in
Cayucos, California was the best that it had been all spring. The gentle waves
were curling, the light breeze was blowing, and the white beach was speckled
with color while 'children' of all ages enjoying a day in the sun. The doors to
the Lion's Veteran Hall were opened a little early on Friday, May 14th by our
show host Paul Alleeson. Paul recently finalized a long term contract with the
supervisors of the Veteran Hall that guarantees us access for the third weekend
in May every year. Great job Paul! A group of fellows was already in the process
of setting up tables and chairs when Dave Brown and I drove up in his sky blue
'56 Nomad. LCL would like to take this opportunity to thank Dave Brown for
transportation and Bob Merzoian for providing bunk space for your starving LCL
correspondent before the show. Without Dave and Bob's generosity, Left Coast
Lines would not have been represented at the show.
(l-r) Superb examples of the CD130,
CD120, CD123 were brought by Kevin Meehan.
As Dave and I unloaded and found our table, we saw Dwayne and Ofelia doing
the same thing. Clarice Gordon was sitting out front of the hall offering her
greetings and encouragement while Isabel and Sid Marques got the kitchen in
order and set up refreshments. It didn't take long for the set up crew to finish
their job and before we know it, the show was open to the public.
Everyone pitched in to help build a "New Finds" display. LCL
especially liked the CD 140.5
in light purple-cobalt donated by Dave Brown and expertly repaired by Paul
Greaves.
The dealers and buyers were most active on Friday and there was plenty of
great glass and mud to be had. Kevin Meehan and Tom McGlenister were setup with
some very nice glass items including an apple green CD123 C mould EC&M, a
really fizzy, aqua Cal Electric Works CD130, and a nice tall CD120 CEW pony. All
were as close to mint as anyone could hope. I know that the apple green EC&M
sold and I believe that trades, barters, or deals were worked on the others.
Dave Brown brought a smoke and sage two tone CD196 tramp that became part of a
cash and trade deal. Dwayne Anthony sold a Chartreuse CD&P Tel Co and a
green SBT&T. I am not sure of the CD numbers on those though. Frank Feher
and Tom Holbrook sold a nice deep green CD145 HGCo Petticoat and a killer
yellow-olive green CD126 blobtop. There were some other really nice pieces at
the show as well. For instance, Glen Adkins brought some big power glass
including a Coolie Hat and a Muncie. He also had a few! CD178s in various colors
and a very nice CD194/195 Hemi' tramp in SCA. (Has that piece taken off in value
or whatf?!) Bruce Tuley and Al Gianolini from Paso Robles brought some nice
cable insulators and transpositions which were sold or traded away quickly.
Richard Dawson's display won first place.
Pretty crown jewels
Everyone was surprised to see Keith Auchter and his son Tyler
show up late on Friday night with three tables worth of glass and mud. Keith was
so late arriving that the security crew that stayed in the show hall overnight
all had first shot at Keith's loot. Sometimes there ARE advantages to sleeping
on the floor! Some of you may remember Keith as a partner with Ron and Patti
Norton in the creation of The Rainbow Rider's Trading Post insulator magazine.
Other dealers and show goers included Carver and Barbara, Christian 'Laugh
Lines' Willis and his pop Bud, Mark and Bob Merzoian (Their Porterville, CA show
is coming in early September!) Bill and Lulu Harrison came down. Don &
Elaine Bayes came up, and The Three Amigos came over from Lancaster, California.
Remember the Three Amigo's First Annual High Desert Insulator Thang & BBQ is
going to be held in mid-October. Co-hosts John, Sandy, Ron, Lori, Craig, and Sue
are all looking forward to a great get-together so let's all plan to be there!
For more information check the Coming Events section in the back of this issue
or visit the Amigos on the web using
http://www.av3amigos.com/events.html
The citrine hues in this CD164 McLaughlin were really dark.
Glenn Adkins finishes setting up his nicely lit sale cases.
Richard Dawson brought a wonderful assortment of display cases and he set up
a fantastic insulator display that won first place at the show. Bill and Arlene
Heitkotter made the show as did Clarice Gordon and her friend Cammie Hawkes. We
also saw Norma and John Giudici. Paul and Kathy Greaves were set up across from
Larry Shumaker. Alice Shumaker was seen periodically during the show but she
spent most of the weekend shopping and hanging out with her granddaughter Audrey
around town. Arroyo Grande natives Fred Champion and Madonna Oxford are Cayucos
show regulars and they were set up in their customary location against the south
wall with their fine assortment of locks (not Lockes!) dolls, buckles, badges,
jewelry and trinkets. Dale Huber and Pat Patocka were there as well as 'PinMan'
Lou and Deedee Hall.
Paul & Kathy Greaves come from Granite Bay, California to set up at the
coast.
Once the show wound down on Saturday afternoon, the Central and Southern
Counties Insulator Club held their customary meeting during which they discussed
how they would help Nor-Cal prepare for the 2005 National Insulator Convention
in ...(oops, that has to be announced at this month's National over on the Right
Coast.) Then the BBQ started. Folks, this BBQ is an absolute throw-down. The way
it works is that about 2 hours before the show floor is actually fully cleaned
up and finished, the grill cook's helpers carry around dishes piled with fresh
grilled home made pork and beef blended sausage in both seasoned and hotlink
flavors. While that's going on, there is an opportunity to sample some of Sid's
excellent homemade wine in the kitchen. After about an hour and a half somebody
announces chow and everyone lines up out back in the picnic area by the grill.
The BBQ is free for all of the dealers and their helper. This year's meal
included tri-tip BBQ, pinto & chili bean soup, tossed salad, French bread,
and all of the soda and water anyone could drink. It is always a great meal and
a great, relaxing way to end a 'way mondo bitc***n' weekend at one of central
California's best beaches.
So, 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 Insulators.Com Show Finder for
details. on the next swap meet or tailgater in your area. Dig that dusty
wad-o-cash out of the Fred Locke pinhole; and get all yer friends together for
an insulator road trip because....
(l-r) Kevin Meehan watches as Dale Huber and Pat Patocka peruse his table
stock.
Dale Huber brought a great Locke Multipart
gutter-top to sell.
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