|
|
|
convention 1999...
The 1999 Convention was held on April 15th through April 17th in Indianapolis Indiana. The convention was held at the Indianapolis Marriott and was attended by over 200 members. Accommodations at the hotel were fabulous and the food divine.
On Friday, registration and commemorative pick up continued. Members attending the convention for the first time attended a meeting where they were oriented to the ins and outs of attending the convention. All during the convention, hospitality rooms were available where members could visit. Renew old friendships, make new ones, browse through all the photo albums that members brought in. Coffee, tea, pop, juices and cookies and snacks were always present.
In the afternoon, Frank Chiarenza and Jim Slater gave a talk on all the "fun" they had putting together the wonderful book, The Milk Glass Book. This book is filled with beautiful photos, and the most comprehensive descriptions of any book out there, of milk glass items not previously recorded in any of the known milk glass books. All items in the book were provided by members of the National Milk Glass Collectors Society. The book is published by Schiffer Books and is available at most book stores or on-line book stores. Of course no book talk would be complete without a book signing by the authors. A long line quickly developed for that event!
Now for the good part, auction preview time. Members had a couple hours to drool over the 300 pieces that would be auctioned later that evening, making careful notes as to which pieces they most wanted to take home. The auction was held on Friday evening and consisted of 300 pieces of
quality milk glass. The auctioneer, Ed Kulhman,
once again did an outstanding job. Ed has traveled from his home in Minnesota for the past
12 years to be our auctioneer. Saturday morning found everyone up and early to be in line for the dealer's room when the doors opened. What a treat that is. And once more, the dealers did not disappoint us. Table after table of milk glass and it is all for sale. Some dealers even brought in pieces from their personal collections of items you just don't see everyday.
That afternoon, the annual business meeting is held followed by speaker, Tom Felt, subject, "Finding Milk Glass Rarities on Paper". Tom works for the Library of Congress and has access to a wonderful treasure trove of information. During his lunch hours, over many years, Tom has poured over old advertisements, making careful notes and photo-copying when needed. Through Toms' efforts many pieces of previously maker unknowns have now been identified. In the evening, a social hour followed by a banquet topped off the convention. A very relaxing evening with lots of conversations. Everyone was already talking about next year's convention. On Sunday morning, some members were checking out and heading for home. But for those lucky members that could stay an extra day, they were in for more memories. They were out front boarding buses and heading down the road to the Greentown Museum. There they were taken on a first class tour of the museum. Our thanks go out to all the volunteers that make these conventions the success that they are. Host and hostess for this year's convention were John and Kathy Vosevich. They did a superb job and we look forward to a return trip to Indianapolis for what John and Kathy aptly called the Indy 300. Hope to see you at an upcoming convention. They only get bigger and better every year. Don't miss out. If not a member, please go to the membership page and join now. Next year the convention will be held in Dublin Ohio. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus Ohio. Continue to check back for additional details as they become available. Back to Top |
|
|
|
The convention was kicked off this year with an extra
day. Members that could arrive early came on Thursday. After registration and picking up
the 1999 Commemorative members sat back and watched the expert's panel identify milk glass
items that members brought in for identification. There were also some show and tell items
presented. The fake McKee pieces were shown to members so they could see them first hand.
Look for an article on the fake pieces under Reproductions on this Website. Later in the
afternoon members enjoyed an ice cream social and all the talk about milk glass they could
stand. 
In the morning, member, Irene Dockery, gave a talk on toothpick
holders that was simply fascinating. Irene brought examples of the original toothpick and
the reproduction and explained how to tell the difference. If you left that talk and did
not learn something, shame on you. 
Ed claims to not have known
anything about milk glass before becoming our auctioneer. He sure has the knowledge base
now.Look for an article about Ed on the auction pages. Noteworthy among the pieces was the
Flaccus Dining Pig and the Vallerysthal Dromedary Camel. The auction was filled with
pieces from all types of glass houses, just to mention a few - Vallerysthal and Portieux,
Atterbury, Challinor Taylor, McKee, Westmoreland, Kemple, and the ever-present maker
unknown. There were toothpicks, match holders, table sets, plates, child sets, covered
dishes, bottles, inkstands, candle holders, books, the list is endless. Everything from
$15.00 items to $5,000.00 items a little something for every level of collecting. 
Not to be outdone by the dealers, members were also allowed to place items on
a member's table for sale. There is even a tops and bottoms table where you can find that
top or bottom that either you don't have or yours is broken. No article would be complete
without mention of the wonderful members that faithfully, year after year, handle this
service for the members. A huge thanks go out to Judy and Jim Reynolds, Doris and Jim
Keenan and Betty Dunlap. The efforts of this group make the work of the treasurer much
easier. 
