Dear Bob,
It is a genuine pleasure to hear from you. When I reflect upon my introduction to, and lifelong journey in, collecting baseball cards, you are among my top 10 mentors. Your contributions to the hobby have been immense, and my archives (largely extracted from vintage SCD and BHN) include dozens of your articles and on-line narratives.
I have a number of catalogs and missives from the 1970s and the old Trader Speaks. When traveling rom Southern California to the East Coast (to visit relatives) in the early 1980s, I hit a number of baseball card shops in New York and Connecticut. I didn't acquire a huge amount of cards, but the conversations with the "old salts" who frequented those shops were priceless. As you well know, hobby pioneers like yourself could not contain their love of the hobby and recounting their extraordinary experiences in pursuing or divesting of cards. Naturally, some of the pioneers recounted those experiences fondly, and some -- well, "not so much".
So, you actually enjoyed Oat Flakes? Gosh, I think you are the first person who has something positive to say about the variety. Perhaps if you and others had acquired greater quantities in 1962, maybe Post wouldn't have withdrawn the 15 ounce size from the 1963 Post baseball card promotion. [smile]
I have a classic photo showing the Oat Flakes (with the baseball card panels) being packaged at the Post cereal plant in Battle Creek. Perhaps I'll post it, just to get your reaction.
Thanks for your note and being an all-time "good guy" in the hobby.
Dan
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