A little bit of nostalgia about the Oklahoma Bash

[Mike Jackson]

The Oklahoma Bash

Sometime in early 1982, I read about the original Letterheads in Signs of the Times. I was in fairly close contact with Tod Swormstedt at the magazine. I told Todd I really liked the idea and would love to be part of it someday. Tod mentioned it to Noel Weber who was planning a meeting in Boise later that summer. He invited Raymond Chapman and myself and a few other newbies to the meeting to be held in June.

Up until that time, the Letterheads were a relatively small group founded in Denver which held occasional small meetings. There were only about a dozen people involved during the early years. In the 1982 ST Sign Design contest, quite a few of the winning entries had a line “Member Letterheads” on the entry form. That prompted the ST article about the group.

Some of the original Denver group moved to different areas, including Noel and John Frazier heading to Boise. Bob Mitchell moved to Aspen. Noel’s Boise Bar-B-Q was the first “meet” outside the original Denver area. Noel expanded the original concept and invited a few people outside the earlier small circle of friends. That’s where Raymond Chapman, Steven Parrish, and myself came in. Carl Rohrs and a few other Californians were also invited. The meeting was a magical moment for me, and it passed much too fast.

Somewhere near the end of the meeting, I volunteered to host the next one in Oklahoma. Raymond and I brainstormed the event on our flight back from Boise to Oklahoma City. I picked a date in late October for the event. When I invited Steven Parrish, he said something like, “Sure, I’ll come down to your bash”. We officially titled it the Oklahoma Bash after that.

The Boise Bar-B-Q event happened with little fanfare in the trade magazines. Despite the earlier article in ST about the founding group, not a lot of people in the trade knew much about it back in 1982. My concept was to invite as many of the talented people I could find in the country and get them there at one time. Raymond and I covered some of the possibilities on the plane.

In reality, my toughest challenge for the Oklahoma Bash was to get people to pay for a plane ticket, stay in a motel, and waste a weekend talking about signs. It just wasn’t done. Some of the big companies went to the NESA shows once a year, but that was different. I poured through Signs of the Times and SignCraft looking for people making news and called almost all of them personally. It was a tough sell.

Imagine getting a call from some guy in Oklahoma inviting them to a little get together in which we’d all share tips and tricks, see demonstrations, and generally get to know each other. “Who are you anyway?”, they’d ask. “How much are you willing to pay?”….”Rooms. Airfare?” “Oh, you want ’me’ to pay to come talk to others and share my hard earned secrets?” “Thanks, but no thanks”.

Eventually, I was able to start getting a list of people that were willing to come out. I used those names to help entice others to come out. Almost all the original Denver group agreed to show up, but really, no one knew who they were either. Tod from Signs of the Times magazine agreed to come out to cover the event, along with the three McIltrott brothers from Signcraft Magazine. At some point things started gaining momentum as I could start to promise exposure to techniques such as sandblasting, glue-chipping, gold leaf techniques, calligraphy, show card writing, wood carving and so forth.

As a few people signed up, I constantly asked them to let me know if they knew of anyone else that “needed” to be invited. Back then, invitations were sent out by mail and they were usually followed up with phone calls. By September, the list was beginning to look pretty solid and I began to anticipate around 100 people. In the end, we had about 135 people sign the guest card.

After the event, both magazines did feature stories and lots of photos on the weekend bash. From that point on, many people knew about Letterheads and understood what might go on at a meeting. The next meeting was held in Kansas City in the summer of 1983 and the rest is history.

A lot of talented people made the Oklahoma Bash a tremendous success. I also had help from some of my best friends in Moore, Oklahoma, along with my parents and grandparents. Many of the sign makers that attended the event went off with their batteries fully charged and loaded with new ideas and techniques to try.

As I write this now, I am a bit worried about it sounding too self-serving, but I doubt many people know how difficult it was to break the ice with a bunch of strangers. It was worth every ounce of energy, every long distance call, and every hand addressed invitation it took. Looking back, we had a couple of people from New Zealand, plus sign makers from Florida to Maine, California to Washington, and even a few Texans.

Thanks to all who attended and all who helped make it happen!

[Raymond Chapman]

Great story, Mike. Actually, I had no idea that the process was that difficult. All these years I just thought that you invited folks and they just came.

The B-B-Q and the Bash will go down in history as the turning point of our profession. We went from a closed mouth group to an sharing society almost overnight.

I might add that the following year Mike graciously agreed to come down to Texas and participate in a Letterhead gathering that I hosted - Lone Star Letterheads, Nov. '83. He paid his own way, did demonstrations using his own materials and shared openly with everyone. At the time I really didn't appreciate the company of greatness that was around me.

Lone Star Letterheads was on a smaller scale, but lots of folks were exposed to the Letterhead spirit for the first time. Alton Gilliespie showed up for his first meet and amazed everyone with his airbrush. My mentor, Ellison Edwards, from Abilene, came down and really made the event special for me. That was the last time that I saw him alive. Later, he died of a heart attack and I was honored to perform his funeral service.

Great memories and special times.

[Larry White]

Hey Mike, thanks for that little slice of Letterhead history! I was introduced to the Letterheads by Rick Glawson's annual California Conclave. I think the first one I went to was #4, and missed only one, through he 18 that he hosted. I've also made it to the 5 Memorial Conclaves that have been hosted. I've made it up to Ron Percell's Micromeet several times, and have done a couple trips up to Noel Weber's Classic Design Studio. People went to Rick's for different reasons. I just wanted to work in his studio. I wasn't the best socializer, heck, I wasn't even in the sign business. It seemed to me that it took just a bit too long to get that meet project going, so I would bring my own. I did a quick 30 minutes of "Hi" and "Good", then I would stake a claim and all you would see was the back of my head for the weekend. I've hosted several get togethers at my shop. Wow, I don't know what it would be like to host 135 people! It was hectic when I had 35! And Rick's could get pretty bussling when he had 75 or so.

I was just thinking this thread might be a good place to capture the history of Rick's California Conclave. Perhaps as you might recall it to be.

Anybody travelin' through the San Francisco Bay Area, is welcome to stop on by the Town of Machine (located within the Hayward city limits), have chat, see some gilded glass, and have a cup of hot, strong, and good coffee.

Hey Mike, what was the last Letterhead meet you went to? What's the next one you're planning on attending? Perhaps you could tell us about that too. Hey, why don't you come out here this weekend!

-Larry

[Mike Jackson]

Hi Raymond,
I don't think I ever talked much about the initial few months of invitations. Most people only ever saw the end results.

All we had to start with was a loosy goosy group of Denver based original Letterheads, some of which told me later they didn't originally plan on coming until they saw the invitations. Then there was you, Steven Parrish, and myself. I got Ken Millar and Bob Behounek on the list fairly easy and Keith Knecht was right behind them. Quite a few people knew who they were at the time as all of them had been featured in the trade magazines. After that, I started "name dropping" and once I got ST and SC to agree to come out, it became much easier.

Dusty Yaxley, from Florida, came by the shop in the middle of the summer and I told him I planned on having the event in October. He showed me his huge V-Chisel and I looked at his impressive portfolio. He came back and I had him scheduled to show how to sharpen chisels with is new fangled grinder. He also gave woodcarving demos along with a surface gold demo. That was fun to watch as he was so nervous, he was shaking enough to have problems keeping gold on the gilder's tip.

At some point, I started getting names of people in California including Carl Rohrs, Lande Weissman, and Bill Davidson. Carl agreed to do the T-shirt design including old Frank Atkinson's mug. As momentum built, I got a call from Colin Bloomfield in New Zealand asking if he could come over with Robin Mansfield. They sold their boat to help pay for the trip. Mike Seargent's name came up somehow and I invited him. He made the 2000 mile trip from Maine on a Grayhound bus, carrying all his chisels with him. He told the sory of sitting on one bus and seeing his chisels getting loaded on another bus, along with the panic that followed. He was also the guy in tears at the meeting when someone walked by and knocked all his chisels over, straight down into the concrete. Dusty Yaxley has them back up to tip top shape in just a short while.

It was fairly easy to get Roberto Lavadie to show up from Taos, as I had visited him a few times in the previous summer. He did several wonderful project pieces in his distinctive New Mexico style. As momentum built and the event got closer, it became much easier. I got a call from the Detroit Lakes Vo-Tech School and they asked if they could send a few of the students. Butch Anton brought that group down.

Lynn Hollinger worked for me at the time. Mike Stevens was just beginning to enter the public scene and he made his way out. Soon afterwards, Lynn moved to California to marry Mike. Mike began his monthly journals, followed by his book on design. The entire Denver/Boise group showed up, including Kent from Greely and Mike Moore who had moved to Joplin, MO. They worked on a piece of chipped glass Mike have salvaged from a local hotel.

A friend of mine came by with his sandblasting equipment and we did a few sandblasted panels. I suspect that was the first time many people had actually seen the process. Bob Mitchell was about to write his book on glue-chipping and he helped with those demos. It was still very new to most of us at the time. My first exposure to it was earlier at the Boise meet.

But really, the untold story was that first month or two when I first started trying to get the thing off the ground. "I" knew it was going to be great, but I already had the fever. Aside from the Denver group, you, me, Carl, and Steven, the rest had to be convinced it would be worth the trip and time.

There was so much fresh talent assembled at the Oklahoma Bash. I only mentioned a few of them above but they all made the event something special. I am sure we all knew it at the time, but as all of us scattered, it became even more apparent as the years passed.

Cheers,
Mike Jackson

[Raymond Chapman]

Wow...great words, and such tremendous insight into something that we all tended to take for granted.

One of the folks that attended the Bash and was changed forever was Gary Anderson. He has told me that he was actually thinking of getting out of the sign business until he made the trip to Oklahoma. I'm not sure that I even remember him being there or meeting him, but he says that when he went back to Indiana he turned his business around. Just think, if it hadn't have been for Mike and the Bash, we might have never had the experience of seeing Gary's great accomplishments.

The Letterhead meets today are still something special, especially to watch the eyes of those that are there for the first time. Maybe I'm just getting senile, but today's gatherings just never seem to capture that spirit that was alive "way back there in the old days". Still, they are a place to pass along information and inspiration from one generation to another.

[Mike Jackson]

Hi Larry,
I certainly welcome ANYONE to write about their nostalgic memories of their first meetings in this thread, or go start your own thread with the topic heading of your choosing. Darla and I were traveling when Rick hosted his first meeting and I didn't get to go to it. I am pretty sure we were at the second one and made a few of them past that.

The Oklahoma Bash was the only event I hosted in Oklahoma. The Boise BBQ and the Bash were historically the kickstart to the big meetings that followed.

You can see the Letterheads Timeline on this page (supplied by ST):
http://www.theletterheads.com/lhparts/timeline.html

You can see how the "movement" simply exploded after those two meetings. WOW! The two trade magazines covered most of the big meetings for many years afterwards, so it kept its momentum or even got stronger.

I was young and single at the time, so I went to almost every meeting for the next few years. I gave demos or taught in most of them for quite a few years, though I opted to just relax at the next big one in Kansas City. Actually, there was a fairly good core of people that were at every meet for a long time. That's part of the story as all of us started developing a bond that went past the "techniques" being dispensed. The Conclave group share their own version of that bond.

When we moved to Jackson Hole in 1986, Darla and I had already been talking about having a few meetings out here. Instead of a broad based, cover all the techniques meetings, we wanted to focus on one or two areas at a time, plus allow lots of time for people to enjoy the Jackson Hole area. With that, the first one was in the summer called TotemHeads where we carved a couple of Totem Poles. Each person was assigned a two or three foot section of a pole. But that was mixed in with a float trip down the Snake River and downtown gallery walks.

We called another small meeting Casting Call. That one was focused on mold making and casting parts. It was well attended that winter. We were inside part of the time, but out snowmobiling and tubing/sleding. Lots of good things came out of that little meeting.

Both of those little meetings were EASY to get people to attend! All we had to do was mention coming to Jackson Hole to have some fun and the things filled up fast.

I never really kept count, but I am sure I went to over 50 meetings. I'd bet Kent and Judy went to twice that.

Again, this is a great place for people to reminisce about their meetings and experiences. ErikWinkler's posts and Raymond's comments stirred up a few old memories from the past it is more or less prompted me to write them down here.

As I look back over the whole thing, the most amazing aspect to me is the fact there is/was no governing body or even guidelines. Each meeting was the brainchild of one or two people who took upon themselves to go through all the work and effort for the benefit of so many others. And then again, there were other "large" meetings such as the two anniversary events in Denver and the one in Boise that took a huge amount of planning and cooperation by many people. All of that is totally, totally amazing to me.

Best regards,
Mike Jackson

[Raymond Chapman]

Amazing, indeed. What an "unorganized" group we are.

Can you imagine a bunch of plumbers or electricians getting together to teach others how to do their work and actually paying for the opportunity?

A long time ago I quit trying to explain to "normal" people what the Letterheads were all about. They would just listen and shake their heads.

Of course, while I was in Long Beach last week and saw all the body wrap folks demonstrating their procedures I just stood back and shook my head, too. Another sign of old age, I guess, but to see a bunch of twenty somethings with tatoos, body piercings and four inches of their underwear showing and their caps on sideways telling me that this design (that you couldn't read) is the best thing since sliced bread....well, it just didn't seem like we are in the same ballpark.

Must be time for a nap.

[Larry White]

Heard a rumor of a meet this fall, somewhere up in Idaho, "The Boar Shank Redeption". ...but I don't know.

[Mike Jackson]

Raymond,
The closest thing I have seen to a Letterheads meeting is a Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Expo. They have them quite a few times a year in different areas of the country. Fly tyers show up from all over to sit at tables for an hour each to show anyone interested their best fly patterns. I mean, they actually sit there and tie the flies while people watch, and then give that fly to the person who sat closest in front. They all pay their own way and stay in the motels. Besides the fly tyers, there are commercial vendors around the four walls of the convention center selling supplies, rods, reels, boats, float tubes, fishing art, and anything related. Darla walked into the convention and made the comment that it looked like a Letterheads meet. I did it a few years, but slowed down on it as I started taking wildlife and scenic photos.

Some of the other professions do meet, but most of them seem to be there to get a week off and play golf more than to be there for the seminars. Well, at least that is the way it appears when I have seen them at the hotels.

I had to run people out of the place at 1:00 am at the Bash.

Mike

[erik winkler]

Hello you Ole'timers

What about that meet in Athens Greece i think? I saw it in an isue of the amal magazine. How did that came around?

It is of a special interest for me, because it was held in Europe and a lot of Americans did go there.
How did that Greek guy came to know about you guys, how did he heard about the sandblasting on wood technique?
For me it is still a riddle that somewhere in Greece 'knew' and here in Amsterdam (which i thought was a cosmopoliton city in almost every field) signmakers were a sleep and hardworking with Gerber plotters at the time...
I only heard about the signcraftmagazine 5 or 10 years ago!!! Amal 6 months ago!
Eventhough our company was the Avery price winning company for the whole of europe for 5 years in a role, somewhere from 1984 till 1989.
So we were in the scene, but probably not really. strange.....

[Mike Jackson]

Erik,
ST and SC have been covering Letterheads events since 1982, so it wouldn't be much of a strecth to find a meeting of some sort anywhere in the world during that time. Some of the (older) Letterheads look for opportunities to see other parts of the world and still be able to write the trip off as a business expense. The challenge for any host in any other country would be to hype the event enough to entice people here in the states to spend the money, time and energy to go to the meeting. Hmmmmm....seems like I was just writing about that very thing yesterday.

Still, we sometimes find it ironic that countries with world renowned traditions of excellence and precision in their skills and crafts have let them slip away. Maybe the skills were never passed along and they disappeared as the old timers passed away? I have to plead ignorance of this whole phenomenon, as I have been to those countries to see for myself. Dave Smith and some of his associates seem to be doing a great job of preserving those old crafts in England.

Maybe the world travelers in this group can expand on the situation more than me.

In the years following the Oklahoma Bash, there was always one "International" Letterheads meeting plus quite a few smaller regional meetings, and countless mini-meetings. I was trying to remember the last big one I went to last night. To the best of my recollection, it was at Noel Weber's Y2K meeting in Boise in 2000. I don't remember if that was before or after the one hosted by Gary Anderson in Bloomington.

Here's a link to the FUTURE EVENTS as posted by Steve Shortreed on his Letterville site:
http://www.letterville.com/events/

If you jump on a plane, you can go to a Walldogs meeting in Minneapolis, MN starting TOMORROW!!!!
If you miss that one, go to the one in IL next year.

There are upcoming meetings in Australia and New Zealand.

And....the tradition continues.

[Doug Bernhardt]

Thanx for a great read guys......I also was thinking of leaving the sign biz before meeting the Letterheads and the ideals. I have Craig Nelson, Noella and Nancy to thank for that conversion. This conversation has gotten me in the mood for a meeting to attend. It just seems so many interests are competing for my time and travel dollars these days.....most of which are sign related anyhow. I look very much forward to getting up to Larry's at some point although it just falls at a bad point in time. Rick's February dates were always so good and the adventure of Fine Gold so appealing....appealing?, irresistible!! I just loved his place and all the folks, and miss it very much even now.

[Larry White]

Well, come on, if you're comin'.... there's still 26 hours!

Ya....someday......

[Jerry Berg]

For the life of me I don't know how I missed all of this. Believe me when I tell you this stuff is my life! I lived in Huntington Beach, Ca. while all this was going on, not too far away from Rick's. Even drove by there before. I guess I was too busy lettering and building my business. I would give anything to get to a meet. I feel like an island, learning and growing all by myself, self taught, and no one to share with. Anyway, sorry for my sniveling here, haha. Someday though I would really like to go to a meet and meet you all. As it is right now it could be a long time before that could be possible for me. Till then I'll just have to keep on keepin on.

[Kent Smith]

I clearly remember getting the invitation to the Boise BBQ, still have it in my archives along with so many other great memories. We were already scheduled to be in Chicago that weekend for the National Tumbling Finals for Audri so we could not attend (she placed 6th by the way). When I got Mike's invite, I said we just cannot miss it, and didn't. Although I lived close to the origins and some of the originals visited my shop when they first got together, I had not been to a meet until we went to Moore. It is so true that your first meet is the best because that is where you are converted. I made so many life long friends in Moore and reinforced them in Kansas City that next summer. In those early years there was just one national meet as Mike said and we all felt like we just could not miss one or they would disappear or we would miss meeting some one. In 1985 the Colorado Letterheads hosted the 10th Annual which holds the record of 785 attendees and the 20th in 1995 was 503 but big meets are a big job and may not be appropriate every year. The smaller local and regional meets have helped to keep the movement alive and are the real grassroots that keep the craft alive as well. In the last few years the Letterhead venues have grown beyond what any of us in Moore could have imagined and that is such a great thing. Remember that when two or more Letterheads get together, it is a meet.

I found the tank car photo the other day and was identifying everyone for my grandaughter who has seen more recent photos. The reality is that the attendees in the early 4 or 5 years have been the movers and mainstays for Letterheads overall obviously with notable later additions.

The best part is we are non-organized which does not mean disorganized. I think that has been a major contributor to the expansion of the movement in so many creative ways. Afterall, creativity is what we are all about.

As to the first Conclave, Lola kiddingly blamed me for years and it was true. I had been in touch with Rick for a number of years and had never met. We were to be at the Disneyland Hotel for the regional NESA convention as was Tod and we made arrangements to see Rick the next weekend. Noel was to be in town and adjusted his schedule for the same weekend (don't remember his details) and Dusty and June had planned a trip west too and everyone mentioned to someone else so that, according to Lola, I "showed up and brought 50 of your friends along", who of course became her friends too. We clearly saw that at Rick's funeral. Rick took to having a meet and started plans for more that Saturday afternoon. I loved the guy and we had so much in common that Judi and I helped get the first meets organized. I spent a lot of time there between too while Cassi was in dance classes in the LA area and as we traveled for Chromatic etc. we were at Ricks 8 to 10 times a year plus the Conclave which outgrew anything we invisioned that first Saturday.

[Kent Smith]

I forgot to mention that my oldest friend Scott, well at least I have know him the longest. (We met when he was a month old and I was 6 months or so.) Anyway, he came to the 1985 Denver meet and stood up at the afterluch big gathering and said, "It strikes me as a master plumber, that we would probably not get together to discuss the proper way to assemble a p-trap much less what to charge to do so, you all are so blessed to be here."

I will never forget that quote.

[Mike Jackson]

I ran across this photo from the TotemHeads meet in Jackson Hole. That was probably around 1987 or 1988.

I can identify Rick & Lola, Tod Swormstedt, Zank and Vicki, Carol Chapel, Darla (holding Tyler), Noel and Lucy and family, Debbie Richards, Bill Hueg, & Susie Butler. I think Gary Anderson, Carl Rohrs, Doc Welty, and David Butler are in the photo, but it is hard to tell. I am pretty sure they were at the meeting anyway. We had just moved the finished totem pole to the front of the shop.

Fun times!

[Mike Jackson]

Here's a shot of Raymond Chapman giving a showcard demo to some equally talented bunch of folks at the Oklahoma Bash. Actually, there were quite a few females at the meeting. Sherry Steen and Lynn Hollinger were working for me at the time. There were two or three girls from the Detroit Lakes VO Tech School there, also.

The photos on the table were from the ST Annual Sign Design Contest that year. Judging for the contest was done at the shop later that day.


My old shop was located right beside the railroad tracks. As if I asked them to do it, the RR left a tanker right beside the shop that weekend. It got tagged with signatures from all over the country, and was used for the group photo.

[Raymond Chapman]

Ok...now I'm not going to get anything done again today because Mike keeps bringing up these special memories.

Doing that showcard demonstration was one of the most frightening things I've ever done. Mike just said, "would you do a showcard" and like an idiot I said yes. I didn't know if I was supposed to explain what I was doing or just paint, or what. To add to the pressure you will notice Bob Behounek just behind me and I thought he was one of the best sign writers around...and then there was this piece of artwork on the easel next to me done my Mike Stevens. Nothing like a little pressure.

The pressure must have really got to me because I misspelled a word.

Back then I even had hair.

The tank car photo was just one of those rare events that only happen once. In that little space was assembled most of the sign talent in the United States. Next to me on the bottom row was Mike Stevens and Gary Anderson. Two guys that have influenced our profession immensely.

It would be interesting to find out what all those folks are doing today.

[Kent Smith]

Golly, were we all young or what? I might note that the tagging on the tank car was done in white chalk. That weekend was a blurr with so many things happening at once. I look fascinated though Ray so you were doing a good job as always. Wish I could name everyone in either photo. My badge from the meet is still right above this computer on the wall, reminding me that "I'm a Letterhead".

I would be neat to have a listing of where they all are now.

I must have missed the photo with the totem. Was that when we had Sybille with us? If so, yes Gary was there beccause he had the sofabed in our room. Raft trip too. One blends into another.

As to the earlier thought, yes we have been to so many meets we have long since lost count. When we travelled so much and our income from the paint etc paid the way, we were able to attend many more than now. sure miss the "family reunions".

[Mike Jackson]

Kent, I thought you and Judy were here for the Totem Poles. I think Neil Hayes was here, too. That was a pre-"cheese" shot with people running all around, so you might have just been inside the door ready to come out for the photo. I am sure I have other shots of the group here, but it might take a while for it to pop out of a random, huge stack of photos. I made a couple of photo albums of the Oklahoma Bash, so those were easier to find. That was the same weekend we did the Snaker River whitewater trip, so your recollections can all tie to that one meeting.

I just sold a pile of coroplast signs, due tomorrow, so I better get back to reality. There's an Edge pictorial get print out, and two MDO panels to letter. We want to get as much completed today so I can go photograph burrowing owls tomorrow.

Mike Jackson

[Raymond Chapman]

Is it just me or what, but Mike Jackson and coroplast just don't seem to go together. My, the times they are a changin'.

[Doug Bernhardt]

Well as I wasn't there and can't vouch for authenticity but I recall hearing Rick Glawson say that the whitewater raft experience was the only time he stopped thinking about signs for 5 minutes

[Kent Smith]

Doug, the quote is exactly correct.

[noelbweber]

Hi Mike and All
I guess I don't spend enough time on your site here and see some of you are reminiscing. After spending an incredible weekend with the Deadmen, the expirence reminded me of the good old days. It was a true Letterheads meeting with serious work being executed at every easel. We laughed as much as we learned and Larry's studio is filled with georgous work on every wall. We drove from Boise nine hours each way and camped in Larry's courtyard. We were as comfortable as the family of owls nesting in the fourty foot crane above us. Ya I would say these still are the good old days I felt priviledged to be invited, inspired by those around me and will always be proud to be part of the Letterhead movement.
In Love of the Craft
Noel B. Weber

[Mike Jackson]

Hey Noel B. Weber,
Nice to hear from you again. Don't be a stranger!

Here are several quick comments to you personally.

A: Thanks for helping start Letterheads originally. Same to all the original group.
B: Thanks for hosting the Boise B-B-Q, and thanks for inviting the rest of us oustiders.
C: Thanks for hosting the Y2K event. That was a huge undertaking and your team did a wonderful job.
D: Thanks to you and the original Letterheads for your continued participation.

Lastly, I started this thread originally to write a little about the Oklahoma Bash. It took a little more to get if off the ground than what many people saw in the results. There were plenty of stories from the weekend. If you have time, I'd love to see you write down some memories of the Boise B-B-Q. Several of us only saw the results! Also, the OK Bash was tiny by comparison to the Y2K Boise meeting. I remember talking to you just prior to signing the contract with the convention center. Yikes! Talk about a lot of trust that a bunch of people will come to an event! If you do take the time to write about it, start a new thread with a title something like "Nostalgic Memories of the Boise B-B-Q". Say hi to Lucy and the gang for us.