Happy Trails V/Dan Patch: Show & Memorabilia Pictures

First, for those who asked, yes, "There and Back Again," was a reference to The Hobbit. The full title of J. R. R. Tolkien's book is,  The Hobbit, or There and Back Again.

Now, onto those show photos! I'm breaking them into two blog posts - show photos and Dan Patch memorabilia, and then the toilet paper races.  Today we are looking at the first two.

Show Photos

Because this was a small show, I was in charge of everything. And that meant I did not take nearly as many photos as I'd have liked. I'm grateful to Kelsey Kramer, Kammie Fenwick, and Shannon Rodgers who lent me their pictures and said I could put them on social media. 

Kammie Fenwick and her husband Patrick came up from the Indianapolis area. (It is always fun to see your own work in use - I made the two pony pads on Kammie's table!)

Liisa Etrita from Illinois. She came with Shannon Rodgers, who is also from Illinois. (I see my work on her table, too.)

Kammie in the blue hoodie, Michelle Evans (Indianapolis), and Shannon Rodgers. Michelle is looking at the Dan Patch memorabilia that Shannon has in her collection and brought to show us all.

See those round metal disks on the floor? They are lids from tin cans. As Brooke explained when speaking to us, they were used to repair divots and holes in the floor. Because the wooden floor slats are tongue and groove, they can't just be pulled up and replaced. So, in the 19th and 20th centuries when the building was in heavy use as a department store, the solution was to nail various tin can lids over the holes or damage.

An ingenious solution and a cool part of the building's history.

Shannon's table - she also brought stickers and candy for us all!

Some of the models up for the Halterish Fun Classes championship and reserve. It may have been a fun, non-NAN card show, but the competition was top notch.

Michelle Evans on the left talking to Kelsey Kramer (partially hidden, and from Lafayette) and me, sorting out some ribbons.

Caught admiring! This may have been the only entry in the class, but it was lovely. I took a moment to just sit there and enjoy looking at a beautiful model.

Feeling a little sheepish that I was snapped while admiring it.

It actually took Reserve Champion of its division. It was really a nice piece. (That's the raffle in the background and it did very well. Even at only $1 a ticket, $311 was donated to Brooke and Tom for more building work expenses.)

Kammie and Michelle checking out their models' placings. This was a fun class for the mare most likely to catch Dan Patch's eye. That's Pat Reed (Indianapolis) you can barely see behind Michelle.

I was pleased to see the photo booth get a lot of use. Kelsey is photographing her winning model in the fun class for highest knees.

Like I said, the competition (and as a result, the judging) was tough. So many beautiful models. There were many times when the top three or four ribbon winners could have won the class!

This Dan Patch model was a bobble head and was in several classes throughout the day.

He was named the champion of the Funish Halter division.

Dan Patch Memorabilia

Brooke and Tom brought their own Dan Patch memorabilia downstairs for us to see. It ran the gamut when it comes to ephemera. I think there are plans to have a small permanent display of Dan Patch artifacts in the building in the future.

I love this tray. If I ever find one, I think I'd hang it on my wall.

A display case with assorted memorabilia. I never had a chance to ask what was in the box in the middle of the top shelf that had spilled out when it was brought downstairs.

Books, magazine articles, newspaper clippings, and more.

A 1957 Messner family wall calendar! That's on my "search eBay" list right now.

Several modern things that Liisa bought in the shop across the square. (I want to wander that shop the next time I am in Oxford.)

Some of the items that Shannon brought to show us. See those Dan Patch bridle rosettes? 

More of Shannon's things. The teeny tiny standardbred with sulky (foreground) most likely is a charm for a charm bracelet. (Also added to my search eBay list.)

Not knowing that Shannon had some bridle rosettes, I brought mine to share.

That wraps up the first part of the show report. Not everyone there is in these photographs, but I did get them all in the toilet paper races. Tomorrow we will watch those unfold unroll.

Stay 'tooned!