Prior Newsletters 2006 May 2004 November 2003 October September July May April February 2002 December November September May April March January 2001 December October September July June May April March February January 2000 December November October September July June May April February January 1999 November October September July June May

The iPunty Rod Internet Newsletter Of The Little Rhody Bottle Club May 2000 This page is updated around the 1st week of every month The next meeting of the LRBC will be held on May 9th at 7:30 p.m. The topic will be "Flasks" and will cover real and repro, historic and saddle, coffin and pumpkinseed, etc. Club News April Meeting There were 13 members and 3 guests in attendance. Apparently one of our members did not read the newsletter and came to the meeting with some friends for the program on Outhouses which had been canceled. They are true friends if they sat through our election process and are still talking to you!   Stepping up to the plate, Carl Pratt gave the presentation for the evening. He brought all of his photo albums of digs he's had in the past, and of various collections of bottles, not all his own. Many thanks to Carl for filling in on short notice.   Stanley Sorrentino presented Josie Carrier with a really nice gift. Josie has many labels from RI companies and Stanley had some of them superimposed with some Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, and there was also a large size poster with Orphan Annie on it. He made this for her because of her love of the hobby and her sharing that love with others.   Steve Bergquist had an eBay story for us. He knows someone who wanted a particular beer can that was being auctioned and this someone went in as a "sniper" in the remaining few minutes of bidding and decided to put a maximum bid of $4000.00. Even though the can was not worth that much, only valued at $300-400, the person didn't want to keep bidding little bits at a time, figuring that the bids would go up only $1.00 at a shot. What this person didn't take into consideration was that there was a reserve, and guess what the reserve was? You got it! $4000.00!!!! Sometimes high reserves are put on items just to see what others are actually willing to pay for those items.   Elections Held April is traditionally Elections Month and there are a few changes in the ranks to report. Steve announced he would no longer continue in the capacity of President and nominated Art Pawlowski for the job. He also nominated Rob Fahey as Vice President. Both nominations were accepted and the members in attendance approved the nominations and voted them into office. Quick and sweet. Steve said he would be glad to continue as the Treasurer and was met with no resistance. Maureen Kelliher took over as Librarian and Bob Lanpher will be joined by Russ Archambault and Pam Sroka as Program Chairpersons. The new Board of Directors are Stanley Sorrentino, Bill Norton, Steve Bergquist, Josie Carrier, and Chuck Richardson. Congratulations to all!   Membership Recruitment Newly elected VP Rob Fahey would like to see a committee formed which would be dedicated to recruiting new members and also to work on how we could get more members to attend the monthly meetings. There are a number of reasons why the attendance is low. One may be that Tuesday night is incovenient for some, another may be location. A number of our members are from Massachusetts including Rob and Pam and Arthur. Matt King is from Marshfield and Carl Pratt lives out on the Cape. One suggestion was that we alternate months between our RI meeting place and a convenient one in nearby Massachusetts. Another suggestion was forming an extension of the LRBC called LRBC North. The extension would hold monthly meetings on a different day of the week so as not to conflict with the regular club's meeting. Members would then be able to attend both meetings if desired.   I am going to throw my two cents in here. And I can hear some of you saying here he goes again but too bad. I'm writing this and you're not. First, arguments can be made and justified for both sides of this idea. An extension of the LRBC will definately increase membership and allow our little club to grow. There has been no local club in SE Massachusetts for quite a few years so this would be a good opportunity for collectors in that area to get invloved with a club again. The extension should be governed by the rules and bylaws of the LRBC and should not be considered a seperate club. The officers of the LRBC would be the governing body for both the main club and extension and both would abide by the officers' decisions. There are unforseen opportunities in this idea, one being the addition of a second bottle show, possibly nearer the Cape or closer to Boston. And I'm sure there are other benefits that will surface.   On the other side, there are possible complications to be considered. One, would the MA extension be covered under the legal liabilities of RI? We've been holding our show in MA for quite a few years now and have never had a legal situation that arose. Chances are that we will never have a problem but that's not to say it couldn't happen. Holding our show in MA is one thing, but organizing an extension of the club in MA would be something else. I would imagine that a situation like this would be handled in the same way that a company which is headquartered in Ohio and has a branch in Massachusetts would have to deal with. This is something we would have to check into. Another downside I see is that if an extension is formed, the club as it stands now might actually see a decrease in it's monthly attendance. Those members living in MA that drive to RI every month won't make the trip anymore, they'll opt for the closer meeting place. Afterall, isn't this one of the benefits of forming an extension, convenience for our members in Massachusetts?   Your comments on this idea are requested. You can email Rob or Pam if you have an opinion or suggestion, or better yet, show up to a meeting and give them an earfull!   Show Report - Baltimore by Matt King Here is an overview of the Baltimore Bottle Show. This is a legendary show, incomparable in size to any of the New England shows. It is probably like 3 or 4 of the Chelmsford shows put together. The quality this year was not too bad at all but the ground rules are changing a little. The internet and lack of new finds are putting a little hurting on the shows and Baltimore was no exception. Not quite as good as previous years, but it was still a very large, diverse, and interesting show. My saales were down but so was my merchandise. Carl Pratt had nice stuff and nice sales. It's all proportional! If you have it, they will buy it these days. It has never been so easy to sell a good bottle. Finding one is a different story, though, although I did have 5 chestnut bottles brought to me this week. Is there a chestnut god? Highlights at the show were: moonstone scroll flask - $1100.00 blue green Townsends - $385.00 puce soda - $175.00   A Message From Your President At our recent April meeting we had our annual club elections. To my surprise, Steve nominated me for the Presidency. After a brief discussion, I accepted the nomination and was voted into office. Let us be thankful for the excellent job Steve Bergquist has done for the club as President for many years. Steve will continue to serve as Treasurer. Thank you, Steve. Our new Vice President is Rob Fahey from Franklin, MA. Rob has been an active club member for two years. He is an avid digger and is very active in the hobby. He rarely misses a meeting. I will do my best to keep the club both fun and educational. Together we can share the passion and excitemnt of bottle collecting. As a group we can learn much from each other. Spring is here with many good opportunities for finding bottles. Yard sales have started, Brimfield is in May, and numerous shows are schedules for on the East Coast for the balance of the year. I urge every member to attend the meetings. Please feel free to bring in bottles to trade, sell, or show off. After all, bottles are what it's all about! Sincerely, Art Pawlowski   Little Rhody BC Online A few things of interest. The club and it's web pages have been registered with the Bottle Collector's Webring, an organization that links collectors and clubs throughout the world over the internet. I believe we are #81 or #82 on the list so you have to scroll a ways to find us but we're there. We've also been registered with OSO.com which is RI's intrastate website. (OSO is OceanStateOnline.) People in RI looking for our club will be able to type in bottles, club, collectibles, etc., and we'll come up on a list. This should go into affect around the 20th of May. Links to both of these organizations can be found on the LRBC homepage. In regards to the club getting it's own domain name, this issue has been approved but further discussion regarding the domain name itself has been requested. A decision will be made at the May meeting.   Upcoming Events June 4 - Saratoga Springs, NY National Bottle Museum Annual Bottle Show & Sale 9:30 am - 2:30 p.m. Saratoga Springs City Center 522 Broadway (Rte. 50) Info: National Bottle Museum, 76 Milton Ave., Ballston Spa, NY 12020. PH: 518-885-7589 June 18 - Millville, NJ 3rd Wheaton Village Antique Bottle Show & Sale 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Wheaton VillageExit 26, Rte. 55, 1501 Glasstown Rd. Info: 800-998-4552 or www.wheatonvillage.org   June 18 - Stratford, CT So. Connecticut ABCA Annual Bottle Show & Sale 9 am - 3 p.m. Boothe Memorial Park Pavilion Boothe Memorial Park Info: Greg Mills, PH: 203-271-1845   July 14 & 15 - York, PA Pennsylvania Bottle Collectors Bottle Festival 2000 Fri. sunrise to 5 p.m. and Sat. sunrise to 2 p.m. York Interstate Fairgounds Info: Fred Uffleman, 416 Corbin Rd., York, PA 17403. PH: 717-843-4531, or Jan Hall, PH: 717-244-6618   Classified Ads Wanted: RI Bottles of all types. I am looking for ALL bottles from RI, common and rare, clear and aqua, colored, medicines, sodas, anything I need for my collection. Special interest in Rumford bottles and go-withs. Contact Dave at 401-942-6634 or on the web at: oaklawn@earthlink.net Do you have RI bottles which are not listed in Antique Bottles Of Rhode Island? Or maybe you have a bottle in a color or size that is not listed in the book? If so, please send the information to me for inclusion in a future revision of the LRBC's bottle book. Proper credit will be given and all information is greatly appreciated. Send by email to: oaklawn@earthlink.net or write to: David Andrews, 192 Wilbur Ave., Cranston, RI 02921 Toy marbles. Will pay cash. Call Jerry Biern: 401-826-3933 Bitters, Peppersauce, and Demi-Johns. Call Jan Boyer: 401-539-2051 1/2 gallon spring water bottles with arched slugplate. Preferably with bail and closure. Call Art: 508-399-6427 or email: blobtops@aol.com Seltzer water bottles. Wanted in various colors such as red, cobalt, pink, and yellow. Please call Angelo: 401-421-3782 For Sale: Scarce RI fire related bottle!! I have several of these scarce bottles for sale. Click here to see a representative photo. All are in excellent condition with some very light cloudiness inside. Bottles are 5-3/4" tall, clear, cylindrical with an eight paneled mug base and are embossed COMBINATION / LADDER CO. They do not say RI on them but the company was in business beginning in the late 1800's in Providence. Company tradecard shows proof. Price is $15.00 (add $3.20 for shipping and $.85 for insurance if desired). Contact Dave at 401-942-6634 or email at: oaklawn@earthlink.net. Please direct comments or corrections to: dandrews@littlerhodybottleclub.com Back To Top