One of the greatest thrills of attending an American Political Items Collectors/Conservators (APIC) show is the chance to get to know fellow collectors better and to spend quality time with people who share the same passions of collecting political memorabilia. This weekend, it was Greensboro, NC that witnessed a large group of collectors from around the country come into to town to trade, sell, and buy political items. It was an honor to have our current APIC president, Chris Hearn, attend, along with all the other APIC members who made this show an enjoyable experience. One of the highlights of the weekend was having some of Chris Olmstead's items on display, some of the rarest buttons in the hobby. There was an entire frame of Charles E. Hughes items that he displayed as well as a case with some rare Teddy Roosevelt, John Davis, James Cox, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and William H. Taft buttons. I have included pictures of a lot of these rare items. The weekend started off with the traditional hospitality room, in which show coordinator and Region 7 VP Charlie Hertlein offers up his wife's famous meatballs, along with other delicacies. After everyone had their fill of food and talking with other collectors, it was time to room hop. Several dealers open up their rooms and give a preview of things to come, and this is a good time to buy a few buttons before the general public sees them on Saturday. One nice thing about most sellers is that they don't have prices on their items, so they may be flexible on the asking price, or give you a discount if you buy several items from the same seller. When it finally came time for the main event on Saturday, I was more than looking forward to the bourse. I could tell it would be a great show when I walked in to the ball room and saw wall to wall of riker mounts and cases of buttons, posters, ribbons, tabs, plates, sheet music, and 3-D items. It was a nice site to see all the collectors enjoying themselves by mingling with fellow collectors and seeing what deals they could find and add to their collections. Another treat was having former Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode attend the show, and he is also running for President for the Constitution Party. I believe this was one of the better shows that have been held in Greensboro, and I want to thank Charlie Hertlein and the others who planned the show and made it a success. This show is one of the highlights of my year and I am already counting down to next years show: 364 days away!
