This installment of Left Coast Lines marks the end of our first season with Crown Jewels magazine. Almost one year ago we embarked upon this hunt with our eyes wide open, and we are still being surprised by the poles and wire that we continue to encounter along this toll lead. We greatly appreciate you, faithful reader, for seeking us out month after month. We would like to thank Howard and Linda Banks for giving us the opportunity to represent the Western Region in print, and we would like to thank Bill Meier for giving us the web server space to make LCL On-Line available to our Internet-active readers on the Insulators.Com front page. LCL would also like to thank Tommy Bolack for making the colored pages in Crown Jewels magazine possible.

Huge thanks are due to Dave & Shirley Brown, Louis & Deedee Hall, Bob Merzoian, Bill Ostrander, Colin & May Jung, Steve, Rosemary, Matthew Doyle and Keri Havir for their support. Most of all, I thank my wife Ruthann, daughters Melissa & Stephanie, and son, Christopher, who gives love and support with all he has, blindly and unconditionally. To all of the folks who helped LCL make it through this past show season, rest easy in the knowledge that it is you who represent the vast majority of great people in this wonderful hobby. Your time, generosity, support, guidance, feedback and patience as we developed and grew throughout our first year was appreciated and taken to heart.

Finally we would like to thank all of the field reporters and great camera men and women out there who generously contributed both written and pictorial content for the column. You folks are the BEST!

LCL's second season will begin next month with our report on the Merzoian Brother's Porterville Swap Meet, and we are looking forward to a great collecting season indeed. We'll see the Lancaster based Three Amigos throwing their first annual show, and we'll sneak up to Canyonville for a peek at what the JSIC folks are planning for a future NIA show bid out west. We will introduce an editorial segment called "Twisted Splice" in our column (provided that we can get our content approved by the executive editor).

We will also try to bring you more collector profiles this season, and we will continue to bring news from the Western Region as it develops. In the late summer of 2005, LCL will bring Crown Jewels readers extensive coverage of the NIA Convention in San Jose. That will be a BLAST! Congratulations again to Dave Elliot, Colin Jung, and all of the other hard working Nor-Cal club members that contributed to the creation of that winning show bid. As always, LCL will report show hap'nin's from as far north as Medicine Hat and as far south as Yuma. It's been a great ride so far, but hey, enough of this, let's get on to the Good Stuff 'cause....... IT'S SHOWTIME!

August Auburn Show Report 2004

The Northern California Insulator Club held its 20th annual show and sale at Auburn, California's Gold Country Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday, August 6th and 7th, 2004, in beautiful weather, under clear Sierra foothill skies. The show was very well attended by dealers and hobbyists and there was a great assortment of fantastic glass and porcelain (mud) available to anyone who came armed to the teeth with spendin' cabbage.

Left Coast Lines would like to thank Stephen and Rosemary Doyle for providing hotel services, and we would like to thank David (I want to go to Hot August Nights) Brown for transportation and cargo handling! This show had great dealer turnout as usual. The kitchen was staffed by our perennial lineup of lovely, capable chefs and servers. Thank you ladies for the great help!

This year's dealer list included Dave and Rebecca Campbell, Frank Feher, Tom Holbrook, Kathy & Paul Greaves, Dale & Art Huber (Panda & Tami, Art's dogs also joined the show this year,) Scott Prall, Deedee & Lou 'PinMan' Hall, Dave and Andrew Elliott, Colin Jung (our 2005 National show hosts!), Bill Rohde, Steve Marsh, Dave Brown, Ruthann & Mike Doyle, Alice & Larry Shumaker, Judy & Greg Bickford, and Arlene & Bob Jackson who have since moved to Idaho!

Our show host and hostess Pat and Shirley Patocka set up right in front of the door as usual. They were joined by Arlene & Bill Heitkotter, Bob McLaughlin, Bob Loftus & Jackie Cabrinha, Larry Reed, Dave Cross, Ian Macky (who is soon moving to Yreka, California,) Carver Mead & Barbara Smith. Lori & Ron Jenkins (one third of the Three Amigos) attended the show and passed out show flyers for their first annual, 16 October 2004, show in Lancaster, CA.

LCL was blown away to see Ray Howe, long time toll and radio strain collector, at this show for the first time in many years. This was also the first time that we noticed not seeing another regular, Ron Souza, at our show. He has recently relocated to the Midwest. We also missed Linda and Steve Viola who now live in Las Vegas, NY. Jim Anderson was set up for the first time, so welcome Jim! We hope you had fun. We were all surprised to see that the Oregon clan was represented in the person of Carl Scott who made the Bonsai run down from the Northwest to attend the show. (Great to see you Carl! Lou, Steve and I will be making a Bonsai run up to Canyonville to see you pretty soon!)

As always, there was some great glass to be had at the show. There were two cobalt, CD140.5 blobs (not CD126 blob-tops) for sale! There was a mint set of light SCA Cochrane bells, a teal CD738 hat with barnacles on the inside of the skirt, four super CD123 EC&Ms in olive, forest green, cobalt, and killer swirly amber in aqua. The Bickfords had a whole table full of EC&Ms for sale. They also had two nice Cutters, and a Gregory. There was even a Pluto for sale on Dave Campbell's table.

Ian Macky was' selling some spectacular pieces from his collection to help finance his planned relocation to Yreka, CA. These items included a CD200 California tramp in a nice plumy shade of SCA, and a killer light straw, 8" tall guy strain, and some of those cool sidewalk prisms that were SCA. Pat Patocka had a VVNM CD158.2, aqua Boston that sold very quickly. Idaho bound Bob Jackson had some great wooden items for sale. He offered a San Francisco groove-top wooden, wooden rams horn blocks and a wood covered wade.

No LCL show report would be complete without' mentioning the vittles. Nor-Cal works the food at this show like a pot-luck. Everybody brings something and we have a big dinner on Friday evening as well as munchies all day Saturday. Obviously this can't happen without help, and once again this year, the vivacious and energetic kitchen crew served up excellent chow both days. Special thanks to Deedee, Arlene, Alice, and Audrey for all of their slaving away in the kitchen!

Incidentally, we have a couple of corrections to make to our Rohde Ranch show report. The insulator that Larry Shumaker presented to Mark Merzoian was a green, CD190/191, B transposition. The Locke 25 multipart that was very generously displayed at the ranch is the property of Jerry Buckland. LCL apologizes for any confusion or inconvenience caused by the original report.

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 Corning Events, and click in the 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!