Newsletter Archives for the V.G.C.A.
V.G.C.A. NEWS August, 2002
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This Month's Topics:
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General. We haven’t had a meeting since May. We had the annual picnic in June and a vacation month in July. So it’s August, and the VGCA is back in full swing. The next meeting will be on 22 August at the NRA Headquarters. In September we will have our semiannual Gun Show at Hugo’s Skating Rink in Bealeton, Virginia on 14-15 September. The meeting in October will be on 24 October. The November-December meeting will be on 5 December. Our Gun Show in March 2003 will be on the 22nd and 23rd, which is the weekend after the Baltimore (Timomium) Show.
Next Meeting. To reiterate, the August meeting will be on the fourth Thursday, as it always is. The fourth Thursday is 22 August, NOT 29 August, and it will start at 7 p.m., just as all of the joint NRA-VGCA meetings do. So come on out and listen to George C. Neumann talk about Arms of the American Revolution. Mr. Neumann has written several books on the subject, is an accomplished speaker, and is coming down from Rhode Island just to talk to us. Those of you who collect arms from the period, please bring one or two to show the members.
Show Committee Premeeting. Phil Hill asks that all Show Committee members and volunteers be at the August meeting at 6:30 p.m. His premeeting will be in the small Conference Room outside the Conference Room where our regular meetings take place. If you have not yet signed up to help out at the September show and you would like to do so, please plan on attending Phil’s meeting.
Most Recent Meeting. The business part of the meeting concerned the picnic in June. Members were asked to sign up and, if attending, bring enough of a favorite dish to feed themselves, their guests, and four more.
Bill Chronister and Marc Gorelick presented a Program about military .22 training rifles. Those who were not there missed another well-presented and educational program. Some of the rifles displayed were a World War I Model 1885 Winder Musket, all models of the Springfield 1922, a Remington 513-T, a Stevens 416-T, three different Mossbergs, a Harrington & Richardson M12, a Remington 541-X, and a Kimber 82-G. In addition, they showed and talked about a Cooey Model 82, a Lithgow No.2 Mk.4, a French MAS 45, and a Polish WZ48.
Show and Tell. We were again treated to seeing little Adele Fischman talk about one of her guns. This one was an Israeli .22 rifle made by FN. She and her dad (Shelly) also showed a cut-down Enfield No.1 Mk3.
Addison Hurst showed his Krag-Jorgenson .22, Springfield 1 922M1, Springfield 1922M2, and 1940 Tech Manuals for all three. I showed my Cooey and Springfield 1922 with serial number 555. Larry Hare showed his Stevens 414 and Gary Holderman his Winchester 75 military rifle. Yes, that’s exactly what it is.
Others who took part were Jim Burgess with a USMC H&R Model 65; Ernie Lyles with a GECO rifle and Mateba .357 double action; Sonny Laine with a Navy Mark 5 Flare Gun, belt, and holster; Hank Hagenue with an 1874 French single-shot rifle rebarreled in 1914 to shoot 8mm Lebel ammunition; Con Rice with a .22 Walther pistol; Kelly Cook with a Portuguese Kropatchek Model 1886 made by Steyr; Charlie Rausch with a 1918 Winchester BAR movie gun used by the 20th Century Fox studio; and Bill Edwards with a WWII Simpson’s catalog from Suhl, a .22 from WWI, a Swiss cadet musket from the 1 840s, and a French percussion rifle that fired a detonating projectile.
Picnic. Picnic. I am truly sorry that I had to miss it. I had changed my schedule to ensure my being there, but something else came up that I could not change. From what I hear a good time was had by all, which is the way it is supposed to be.
Executive Committee Meeting. Your EXCOM met on 27 June. One of the topics of discussion was judging and displays at our shows. In the future, beginning with the March 2003 show, people who rent display tables must submit the title of their display not less than 90 days prior to the show. This is not meant as harassment or to discourage people from competing for the cash awards. It is meant to give the judges time to do some research into the areas being judged. The judges made the request; it makes it fairer for everyone, and the EXCOM agreed. The rule for the next show was to be 30 days in advance, but the timing of this Newsletter along with summer vacations more than likely precludes it, so please check with Phil Hill.
The EXCOM raised the limit on cash awards for the displays as follows: first place increases from $300 to $500 and second place increases from $200 to $300. Third place remains at $100, and Judges Choice awards stay at $50.
In addition, the show rules for displays and the criteria for judging will be reworded to ensure they coincide.
The show times have also been altered a bit. The Saturday hours remain the same: 9 am. to 5p.m. Sundays are changed as follows: closing is moved up3O minutes to 3:30, and the doors will close to attendees at 3 p.m.
Secretary's Subtleties. We are up to 349 members, and there is enthusiasm for the VGCA and for our shows. I am continually reminded at the shows I sell at in northern Virginia that our shows are special because we allow guns and gun-related items only. If you want hot sauce, cheap jewelry, or other unmentionable stuff— you cannot find them at a VGCA Gun Show.
As good an organization as we are, we do have a few cases where our membership is going to drop a bit. Since being elected as Secretary I have harped on ridding the membership list of those who do not pay their dues. Historically, the VGCA has let people go as long as two years. In most cases it is an oversight, and the member embarrassingly pays whatever is in arrears and in many cases, in order to preclude it happening again, becomes a Life Member. It has been nine months or more since the last letters were sent. Some have been dropped already, and some will be dropped in the future. Just like first-time applicants, members who are dropped who want to rejoin have to be nominated and voted on.
There is only one more meeting before the September show. Please help Phil Hill, Gary Holderman, Jim Burgess, and the VGCA by giving some of your time to help make the show a success. Come to the meeting, see one or all of the three, and volunteer to lend a hand. Let’s not become an organization where two percent of the members do 100 percent of the work.
President's Corner. Before I say anything, I want to thank all who attended the picnic and made both of the firing lines the safest they have ever been. It was that way because of more help and more paying attention to what was going on. Everybody I talked to about the lower firing line felt better about it. We have to do the same next year, and I know we will.
I am looking forward to another great gun show, and we can always use a few more helping hands. So as it was mentioned earlier in this Newsletter, please tell Phil, Gary, Jim, or me what you will be available for.
We will again have paid uniformed security at the show. Please understand that this doesn’t mean that we are out of the security business. We are in it more than ever, and the paid guards complement our VGCA effort. From what I hear stealing is on the increase at shows in northern Virginia. We caught people sneaking in at the close of each day the last time and, hopefully, if anyone tries it this time we will again catch them and throw them out. We didn’t have any reports of items stolen from the tables at the last show, but that doesn’t mean we should ease up on our vigilance.
There is one more very important thing about the next show. If any of you see a so- called customer place a cartridge in a gun, start hollering immediately, let the table renter know what just happened, and get somebody from Security or a uniformed guard, whoever is closer. Yes fellow members, it is happening.
I hope your summer has been great so far. Addison