Bare Naked Bill: Postcard Pay Dirt!

As I mentioned in last Saturday's blog notes, I was in Kalamazoo at a postcard show. It's a twice-a-year event for me, if I have the time.

I often find a card or two that I pick up and feel satisfied that I'm returning the cards to their home -- Pigeon, Michigan!

This Saturday was a warm sunny day in Southwest Michigan, so I stripped off my jacket and headed into the Expo Center at the Kzoo Co. Fairgrounds. I was side tracked by a flea market on the opposite side of the show.

The flea market was, well, for fleas.

I wandered into the show, paid my two bucks and sat down at the vendor closest to the door: Wally Jung. He's the show organizer, so he gets the best spot. He usually has a few cards of interest to me.

For the record, my collection focuses on cards from my college alma mater: Ferris Institute/State College/State University as well as my hometown of Pigeon and several surrounding communities in Michigan's Thumb region.

Wally's booth lacked anything that I wanted, so I moved on. And on and on and on.

After two hours at the show, I had picked up a couple cards that had nothing to do with my primary card collection. They were simply interesting.

I took a break to grab an iced tea and ponder the day's lack of purchases, then returned to the show floor.

These shows can be a pain in the butt with people vying for space to belly-up to the vendor's tables. I had bypassed one vendor because of the crowded situation, but I needed to see what he had for me.

As any good salesman knows, you don't let a potential buyer get away.

"May I help you find something?" came the voice from behind the row of tables.

"I'm looking for cards from a little town in the thumb. Pigeon, Michigan," was my reply.

He scanned the neat boxes with tabbed dividers and pulled out a STACK of cards, handing them over to me.

I had hit postcard pay dirt!

Here are five of the 14 cards I added to my collection. Many of them I have never seen before, so there's a personal added value to these cards.