Today I wanted to wrap up my personal hobby history from the 1970s by posting a few of the first photos that my dad took for photo showing. 
Sunday afternoon I tried to find those pictures. A quick, "I'll just grab the box and be done in a few minutes" turned into hours. (Part of that was because who can resist looking at old hobby ephemera? Especially when it is all from your own childhood?)
I began pulling boxes out of my office closet and going through them to no avail. (Can you find Pepper among all that chaos? Looks like she's taken refuge!) I had to quit when family started arriving - we always do a family Sunday dinner and even though I'd put the roast in a crock pot and Craig was preparing the side dishes, it was time to stop.
These boxes and tubs are still left to go through today
On another note, I had a surprise as I read blog comments and got ready for today's giveaway drawing. In the entry, 50th Anniversary: Photo Showing Records & Ribbons, I mentioned that I wondered where Charlotte Rogers and Cynthia Gardner were now. Cynthia commented on that post - she's a blog reader and still in the hobby! Now Cynthia Perry, she wrote,
Wonder no more! Cynthia Gardner is here, alive and mostly well, except for some severe spine issues which may require a spinal fusion.
My married name is Cynthia Perry. I still have a collection (china), but haven't live shown for awhile as the last few years have been a bit Rocky (and that's no Bullwinkle)! Knee troubles, a fall with BOTH wrists broken, severe dry eye syndrome and now the spine stuff, which started last summer.
Nevertheless, I love your blog, read regularly! I scanned some of my old photo show results a few years back, and I did have some handwritten ones! Some of the mimeograph varieties were barely legible though.
I have a model descended from *Alconbury Hill, I also own a model that was once owned by Marney. And I got to meet Marney once when she came to CA to judge at a live show! I remember just about all the names you mentioned here!
I wish I had been able to keep more of my early hobby stuff, but multiple moves and some very small living spaces made that impossible. I'm very much enjoying your memories!
My married name is Cynthia Perry. I still have a collection (china), but haven't live shown for awhile as the last few years have been a bit Rocky (and that's no Bullwinkle)! Knee troubles, a fall with BOTH wrists broken, severe dry eye syndrome and now the spine stuff, which started last summer.
Nevertheless, I love your blog, read regularly! I scanned some of my old photo show results a few years back, and I did have some handwritten ones! Some of the mimeograph varieties were barely legible though.
I have a model descended from *Alconbury Hill, I also own a model that was once owned by Marney. And I got to meet Marney once when she came to CA to judge at a live show! I remember just about all the names you mentioned here!
I wish I had been able to keep more of my early hobby stuff, but multiple moves and some very small living spaces made that impossible. I'm very much enjoying your memories!
It was great to hear from her and get caught up a bit. (Sorry for all those health issues, Cynthia!) She also mentioned something that I have heard from several other folks, both in blog comments as well as privately - the wish that they had kept more of their early hobby things.
There is a reason that I did, and that is my mother. My mother was a historian, author, and hosted a TV show about history.
She also wrote several books on our local history - the Battle of Tippecanoe was fought here between Tecumseh, his brother, Tenskwatawa (also called the Prophet), and William Henry Harrison who became the ninth President of the United States.
Taken from Google Images.
Mom kept meticulous notes. When she passed away there was an overwhelming treasure trove of papers and documents and ephemera that my siblings and I had to go through. (Not gonna lie, my kids think that I will do the same thing to them. It's possible!)
Because of her, I had an early sense of what might be important for future reference, and as a result, I have those boxes of Pawnee Stables and early hobby ephemera. (Thanks, Mom!)
Hopefully tomorrow I will post some of those early photo show pictures. I'll also reveal Giveaway #3. Stay 'tooned!
The winner of the circus horse haversack will be posted on the blog later today.
It's funny that your mother was the reason you kept so much from your early hobby days. My mother was the reason I don't have much. She was always very into recycling, even before it was common, and anything paper quickly got recycled. It collects moisture after all and just about everyone in my family is super allergic to mold! The other thing I got from mom was the need to try to keep things simple. If it was not regularly used it should be potentially given away (in my case, maybe sold) to someone who would enjoy it more. I still envy you your early ephemera Lynn!
ReplyDeleteMy mom is a saver, and so am I. I don't have quite as much hobby ephemera as Lynn, but close. There's no doubt that my kids are going to be left with a treasure trove of papers when I pass. Sorry in advance, Ryan and James!
ReplyDeleteMy mother is the reason I don't have as much early hobby stuff, because my mother was more than a bit of a hoarder.
ReplyDeleteI inherit some of that tendency, but also a bit of a horror of same! So I do tend to go through my stuff and part with what I no longer feel I need at intervals.
Although I'm glad there are folks who have every bit of their hobby history intact, on the other hand, I'm relieved I personally don't, because with 2021 being *my* 50th hobby anniversary, I'd be buried in paper!
Which is why I finally bit the bullet, bought a document scanner and have been scanning old hobby paper stuff. I figure that way, I clear out some paper, but still have the memories on my computer if I want them.
P.S. My dad was involved in my early hobby photography moments as well. He lent me and later gave me his SLR camera. Before that, I had a pretty awful little point and shoot Kodak camera, closeups of model horses was NOT an option.
ReplyDelete