'70s shows
When I got back into collecting in the mid 1970s, there were regional shows. Cincinnati, Willow Grove, St.Louis, Cleveland, Detroit....SCD would review the shows, which were considered a big deal.
The Detroit show was never, in my time, held in Detroit. Troy and later Plymouth, Michigan hosted the Detroit shows. Charles Brooks would do shows at his store on the East Side of Detroit, but the decent shows were in the suburbs.
Detroit held an early National in 1982 or so. This was in the middle of one of our recessions (Paul Volker had just pulled the plug on money). I mention this because there was an auction on Friday night, the opening bids were very high and nobody would bid on the lots.
There were always a lot of veteran collectors, guys who had been doing this since the 1930s. That was pretty cool. Sellers would come from all around the midwest for these things. There was no Mr. Mint in those days, the closest thing to a high-profile dealer was probably George Lyons, who also wrote for SCD. I remember a guy from St. Louis (his name escapes me), who wore a replica uniform of the 1887 St. Louis Browns. It seems to me he glued 19th century cards to heavy stock so people could view them better. Can you believe that?
The scene was very laid back. It was a hobby for a short time. It makes me crazy when people use that term to describe what's going on today.
lumberjack
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