The 2006 Gulf Coast Bottle & Jar Club show and sale was held on Saturday, June 24, 2006 in the Gulf Coast Ballroom at the Marriott Airport Inn in Houston, Texas. The day was steamy but sunny.

I arrived a little past the 9 a.m. opening time. Barbara Puckett welcomed me as I paid my admission and updated my mailing list info. I had been waiting several weeks for the show, and the smell of fresh coffee welcomed me into the ballroom. As I turned the corner, I had reached my destination.

There were three insulator entries to this year's show. N.R. Woodward's table featured a purple CD 102 B.G.M., a green CD 155 RYT with a dark bubble, a royal purple GNW beehive, an aqua 1893 patent Hemingray #62 Cable, a Foree Bain, a sky blue CD 122 Lynchburg, a green aqua CD 162 California, a purple CD 133 W.F.G., an aqua E.R. CREB beehive, an ice green McLaughlin #9, a swirly CD 103 B, a purple CD 102 B.T.C. MCANADAL, an 1881 patent CD 156.1, a CD 187 Brown patent, and two CD 162 McLaughlins, one in green, the other in green blackglass. Among Woody's porcelain were a brown U-152 beehive, a cobalt U-630A Thomas, and a brown U-3004 cable.

Jack Roach set up at this year's show. Jack's table had six L.S.V. CD 262 cables, an ice aqua 1678, a CD 128.4 Big Mouth, and a carnival Human Service commemorative. His Hemingray signals included cobalt, whiskey amber, peacock, Kentucky green, royal purple, golden amber, electric blue, orange amber, and a flashed amber from the Hemingray dump. Jack had a selection of CD 160 baby signals, including a #32 B, £ Sterling, a dark yellow green Brookfield, a near clear H.G.Co., and Stars in blue and yellow green. From Jack's table, Chris Renaudo picked up two CD 160 Brookfield signals with eight gas vents around the inner skirt instead of the usual four.

Another collector, Mike St. Nicholasy, had an aqua CD 281 Hemingray #1 High Voltage, a brown amber CD 167 Armstrong, and an 1893 patent CD 162 Hemingray Petticoat in root beer amber with a deformed inner skirt. Mike also had an antique toy crane truck and about a dozen bottles on his table.

Among the LSIC members who dropped by were Chris Renaudo, John and Leona Hall, and Keith Brooking. Jim Willis was also a visitor to the insulator tables. Soda bottles were big this year. Among the soda bottles seen were Circle A, Galveston Mignon, Snowy Peak, Jet, Pelican, Chaser, U and I, Pep-E-Pop, Texas Maid, Pommac, Vess Lemon Soda, Hollywood, Sky High, Arrow, Yosemite, Canyon City, Ten-Hi, Whistle, Made-Rite, Big Giant, Wapa-Koneta, Dixie Made, Winner, Buck, Wink, Petit Jean, Wible, Mahaska, Werbelow's, Magic Valley, Good Guy, Rola Cola, Moresi's, St. Helens, Crystal, Polar Cola, Chief Washakie, Herter's Top Rock, Dr. Enuf, and Tom Sawyer Root Beer. Bottle-works bottles included Brand's Better Beverages, Channel Bottle Works, Union, and Dillon. Doyle Bailey had a case of rare color pharmacy bottles, one of which was a cobalt veterinarian's bottle from the Dog & Cat Hospital in Houston. Mr. Bailey also became the proud owner of a wonderful yellow amber Stresau Bitters bottle from Courtney, Texas.

Door prizes had been raffled all day long, but the winner of the final raffle for the big quilt was LSIC's own Leona Hall, and Barbara called Leona to let her know. The 3:00 hour was, by and large, teardown time. There were plenty of hugs, shaking hands, and folks saying, "See you next year!"

Thanks again, Barbara, for a great show!