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Niagara Falls Memories

By Jane M. Puzine

This year's national convention, hosted by the Northeastern Spoon Collectors Guild, was held at Niagara Falls from Sept. 6 through Sept. 9. The welcoming dinner, on Wednesday, featured guest speaker Paul Gromosiak. He spoke about the history of Niagara Falls tourism from the time when the American Indians first visited the Niagara Falls area to the present time.

Thursday afternoon was Auction Day with 168 lots making up the sale. Several bidders acquired some very nice spoons at very reasonable prices. Everyone was happy with their winnings. The afternoon ended with a wine and cheese reception. This was a result of using the remaining funds left from the "Send Owney to Washington" campaign several years ago. This gave everyone a chance to visit with friends they hadn't seen in a long time.

Friday many people took a trip on the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride to the Falls, or went on the "Cave of the Winds" tour, took a guided tour by bus to the major attractions or just walked around the Falls either on the American or Canadian side. Of course the spooning room saw activity with as many as 10 dealers selling/swapping their spoons to those anxious to add to their collections. A surprise event topped off Friday's activities. Convention coordinator Helen Shelanskey had the honor of turning on the colored lights that illuminate the Falls at night. Helen shared her joy and excitement with other friends who also turned on the lights.

Saturday morning the Display room was open for everyone to wander through. There were 12 displays falling into 3 catagories: People, Places and Miscellaneous (see sample portion of one prize-winning display at right). All of the displays were unique, many having "props" outside of the case to accompany the spoon display. All of the convention attendees had an opportunity to vote for their favorite spoon display.

Saturday afternoon Chris Siwirski and Helen Shelanskey each gave a slide presentation about the greater Buffalo/Niagara Falls area using spoons, postcards and other material in their program. Both ladies told tidbits of information about scenes on their spoons that related to pictures of Buffalo or the Falls. Both programs were very informative, especially to those that were not familiar with the Niagara Falls and Buffalo area.

Saturday evening brought the convention to a close with a wonderful dinner. Following the dinner the display competition awards were presented. Congratulations were extended to all of the display participants, their efforts were appreciated by everyone. The evening ended with farewells, hugs and promises to meet again next September in Oklahoma City for next year's national spoon convention.

Members of the Northeastern Spoon Collectors Guild met on Saturday, May 13 at the Days Inn in Chicopee for their annual spring meeting. We welcomed several new members including Nancy Junkins, a descendent of the Shepard Manufacturing Company. We approved reports from the Treasurer and the Membership Chairperson, as well as re-electing several Board members. As the spring meeting coordinator I announced that we would meet again next year in Chicopee on May 12, 2007. Rick Marek, our club’s NLC member, reported that the Southwest Spoon Collectors would host the 2007 national spoon convention in Oklahoma City. And the Southern California club will host the convention in 2008. Debbie Pankey has received all of the national spoon library material and is ready to help spoon collectors with their questions. Helen Shelanskey reminded us that this year’s convention would be held Sept. 6 through Sept. 9 at the Comfort Inn at the Point, Niagara Falls, New York. The convention includes an auction, spoon display competition and several workshops. There will be plenty of time to do some sightseeing of the Falls as well as antiquing and shopping in Canada and New York State. At the conclusion of our business meeting I gave a presentation called "A Visit to Colonial Boston" using some of the spoons in my Boston collection. We concluded the weekend with a dinner at the Ivanhoe Restaurant where almost everyone "hung a spoon."

Fall Meeting Held in corning, New York
November 4 and 5, 2005

Last year's fall meeting was held Saturday, Nov. 5 in Corning, New York. Twenty members and spouses gathered together to share in the wonderful weather, a nice town with great restaurants and shops, and to tour the Corning Glass Museum.

Thursday evening 14 members gathered in the spooning room where spoons changed hands as people spent the evening catching up with each other. Friday morning everyone headed off in different directions to go antiquing, to visit several of the many wineries in the area, or to shop in some of the small, quaint villages that surround the Finger Lakes region of New York. By Friday evening everyone gathered in the spooning room and were joined by several more members that had arrived earlier in the day. Saturday afternoon saw all of us descend on the Corning Glass Museum for a guided tour. It is a great museum, with exhibits that contain glass objects dating back to 80 BC. The CGM also offered a program in which you could fuse a sun catcher and blow a glass ornament. Most of us took part in the program and had a great time being creative!

Our members meeting was held Saturday at 6 o'clock during which various topics were discussed including election of officers, and the upcoming national convention which our club is hosting at Niagara Falls, New York. That will be Sept. 6 through Sept. 9, 2006. For more information about the convention, please contact Dorothy.

Our weekend concluded with a wonderful dinner at our hotel, followed by more spooning.

Annual May Meeting 
2005

By Jane Puzine

A group of NSCG members met again this May during Brimfield Week. It began Thursday night with attendees from Texas, New York, New Jersey, Michigan and New England. We met and exchanged/sold spoons, swapped stories and caught up on spooning news. Friday night saw the addition of several more people and more spoons to look at and decide if we wanted to add them to our collections.

On Saturday afternoon President Anne Marek called the members' meeting to order at 3 PM. Various committee reports were presented for discussion, and were accepted as read. Anne also told the members about the "Owney" spoon presentation that was held on April 2 at the Smithsonian Postal Museum in Washington, DC. Eleven members were on hand for the presentation of the spoon to be displayed with Owney in the museum. This was the culmination of many spooners' contributions to the fund to donate the spoon to the Museum. Look for an article about the presentation in a future issue of the Smithsonian Magazine.

Helen Shelanskey announced that our fall meeting will be Nov. 4 and 5 at the Radisson Hotel in Corning, New York. Part of the weekend will include a tour of the Corning Glass Museum. Our members' meeting will be on Saturday night prior to the farewell dinner. Helen also brought us up to date on plans for the 2006 national spoon convention which we are hosting at Niagara Falls. 

I announced that next year's May meeting would be held at the Park Inn, in Chicopee on May 13, 2006.

After the business portion of the meeting was over, Connie Halket gave a talk entitled "Revisiting Mixed Media Motifs on Spoons". Her slide presentation related facts about the use of different types of material (wood, stone, gems, porcelain etc.) that have been used to create numerous types of spoons. It was a very informative talk that was enjoyed by all.

We concluded the weekend with a dinner at the Ivanhoe Restaurant in West Springfield where we shared good food, and plenty of laughter.

Spooners Gather in Gettysburg

The annual fall gathering of members of the Northeastern Spoon Collectors Guild began on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004, at the Days Inn in Gettysburg, PA. Club members and their spouses spent the early part of the week touring the battlefields of Gettysburg, the historical museums as well as visiting the many antique shops in Gettysburg and the neighboring towns.

The spooning room opened Thursday afternoon with a flurry of activity as people sifted through the many bags of spoons spread out on several tables. We owe Donna Felger and her daughter Kimberly Johnston our thanks for a job well done preparing for the weekend. By the time the "Welcome Party" started at 7 PM on Friday we numbered 35 attendees coming from as far away as Florida, Michigan and Texas. Both evenings saw many spoons change hands. Members also exchanged spoon stories, and generally got caught up with old friends.

The business meeting of the NSCG was held Saturday afternoon. As Spring Meeting Coordinator I reported that we'll meet at the Economy Inn (formerly the Ramada Inn) in Chicopee. The spooning room will be open beginning Thursday, May 12 with our membership meeting on Saturday May 14.

Rick Marek, our representative to the National Liaison Committee, reported that Ed Bathke will maintain the newest endeavor of the NLC, the National Spoon Database. Rick also reported that next year's national convention will be held in Kingsport Tennessee, hosted by Chris and Nancy McGlothlin. The NSCG will host the 2006 convention at Niagara Falls, the Southwest Club will host the 2007 convention and the Southern California club will host the 
convention in 2008. Joyce Lashmit spoke about the services she provides to spooners as the Librarian for the National Spoon Library. Rick concluded by thanking all those who have made donations to help support the National Liaison Committee.

As co-chairperson of the National convention to be held in Niagara Falls, Helen Shelanskey spoke about the plans that are being made now. She has made a firm commitment with the Comfort Inn at the Point for lodging and the meeting rooms. Helen will have more information at our meeting next May.

Norma Bowen gave an update on the "Send Owney to Washington" program. She has received many donations and welcomes more from those that have not made one and still wish to. Norma will be in touch with the Postal Museum of the Smithsonian to see what the next step is in getting a plaque made as well as setting up a time and date for the dedication.

After a short break we were treated to a wonderful power point presentation given by Donald Tritt. He spoke about his collection of "Swiss Spoons and Other Collectibles". He also had a marvelous display of numerous pieces of enameled items from Switzerland including pins, shields, buttons, serving spoons and other items.

We met again at 7 PM for a nice buffet dinner. As always, we ended the evening by "hanging spoons"! Even our waitress "hung a spoon" and thus concluded another wonderful gathering of spoon collectors. 

Fall Meeting, October 24-25, 2003

First time visitors had a beautiful day on Friday to view the falls, but the rest of the weekend was cloudy and wet. However, as one person put it, we were wet anyway from the spray, so what was a little more water from above. Meeting facilitators, Chris Siwirski and Helen Shelanskey found us a wonderful hotel, The Comfort Inn at the Point, which was within easy walking distance to the falls.

We were greeted in the “Spooning Room” Friday evening with a lovely reception of cider, donut holes, pretzels, etc. What a nice way to start the weekend. Thanks Chris and Helen!

 Thirty-five members and friends attended the Saturday afternoon meeting. Membership chair Norma Bowen reported that we have our first member from Russia. With Canadian and Australian members, we are truly international.

Dues for 2004 are now due and Norma will be sending out dues bills to those who were not at the meeting to pay. Spring facilities coordinator, Jane Puzine reported that the 2004 meeting will be May 14-15 at the Ramada Inn in Chicopee, MA. Rick Marek, our representative for the National Liaison Committee, reported that Helen Shelanskey is its new chair. A list of the topics currently catalogued in the National Spooner’s Library was distributed. To reach the National Website, put the following in the address box: spooncollector.com. 

At a rather substantial cost saving, the Newsletter will have a new format. Rather than double folded sheets, they will be single, 3 hole punched sheets. Please submit articles to Joyce Wright. Remember that spoon ads are free, but please update them regularly.

The 2006 convention, which the NSCG will host in Niagara Falls, will be held the weekend after Labor Day. This will substantially reduce the hotel rates, as well as the crowds of visitors found in the “tourist season”. 

Following a short break, Helen Shelanskey presented her program on “Spoon Feeding a Niagara Falls Collector’s Appetite”, showing slides of her wonderful NF spoons and other NF collections. Also available for our pleasurable viewing were several cases of Ed Potter’s Pan Am Expo spoons and Chris Siwirski’s Niagara Falls and NF in the Pan Am Expo spoons.A very delicious buffet at the hotel ended a delightful day, and we are looking forward to the 2006 convention which will be held here. Of course the spooning room beckoned one last time following the dinner. 

Dixie Prittie, Secretary

Fall Meeting, November 1 & 2, 2002

 In lieu of a Sat. meeting and program, the time was left free for tours of Winterthur Museum & Gardens, or visits to antique shops or whatever. The weather was clear Sat. afternoon but cool (cold—we thought we were going south!), and Winterthur was a fascinating place to visit. The membership meeting took place before the delicious evening dinner, which was attended by about 26 people. 

President Anne Marek gave a tribute to founding member Ann Rolfe, who passed away the evening of her retirement. She was our club treasurer and an extremely active member. She will be missed by all spooners.

Norma Bowen will step in to be the combination Treasure/Membership chair. She reported that our membership is 167, with one new member added this weekend. The Board voted to make Bill Boyd and Dorothy Rainwater, both very influential in bringing recognition to spoon collecting, Honorary Members. 

Dorothy Goldman reported for Spring meeting facilitator Jane Puzine that the next meeting will be May 16 & 17, 2003 at the Ramada Inn in Chicopee, MA. The cut-off date for reservations is Apr. 28. Note that this is not the hotel where we have been previously. The Sat. night dinner will be at the Hadley House in S. Hadley.

National Liaison Committee member Rick Marek announced that the upcoming conventions are scheduled: 2003- San Antonio, hosted by the Dallas Spooners; 2004- Alaska Cruise, hosted by the Northwest Spooners; 2005- Asheville, NC, hosted by Chris McGlothlin; 2006- Niagara Falls, hosted by the NSCG (us!); and 2007 hosted by the Southwest Spooners.

Alicia Burke is helping the NLC with a National Website — spooncollecting.com. She is asking members to put on a spoon that they have researched. 

Joyce Wright, newsletter co-editor asked members to submit more articles, and remember spoon ads are free. International Spoon Link representative Joe Unger is in India, so no report. 

Our Fall 2003 meeting will be Oct. 24 & 25 at the Comfort Inn at the Point in Niagara Falls. Helen Shelansky will do the program. Following the meeting some spooning and much talk took place. Thanks to Donna Felger for setting up this meeting site, and Bill Wright for his map and info on Winterthur. 

 Dixie Prittie, Secretary

Spring Meeting, May 2003

A small group of NSCG members attended the spring get-together of May 16-17. Small maybe, but nonetheless intent on getting the best spoon deals to be found at Brimfield. Thanks to spring meeting facilitator Jane Puzine, we enjoyed a new motel, the Ramada Inn at Chicopee, which was one exit closer to Brimfield, and much quieter-no late night wading through a dark, noisy bar to get back to our rooms. Although there was as yet no restaurant at the motel, most attendees enjoyed the "Fifties Diner" next door.

Eighteen members and friends, including a new member, Linda Wilford, attended the Saturday afternoon meeting. Our membership stands at 167. Members were reminded to update their "Covens" as corrections and additions are printed in the "Cauldron". The National Liaison Committee Website, www.spooncollector.com, is up and running, thanks to the expertise of Alicia Burke. Each club will provide info for the website.

The NLC will be re-doing the "club cards". Alicia will be including one with each spoon order she ships, and it is suggested that members include one with payment when buying spoons on e-bay or in person.

This year's convention, hosted by the Dallas Spooners, will be in San Antonio in July.

The NSCG Website, with Helen Shelansky as webmaster, is souvenirspoons.com/nscg. Jon Caron is the host for our website. 

Our fall meeting will be in Niagara Falls on October 24-25, 2003 at the Comfort Inn at the Point. Joe Unger reported that the International Spoon Link has been dissolved, and money from its treasury has been donated to Queensland Medical Research. 

Next spring's meeting will be May 14-16, same place, same rates. After a short break, Jean Tomlinson presented a slide program on "Transportation Spoons", starting with our own Witch's broompower. She also set up a display of the spoons shown. An interesting category to pursue. 

Dinner was a delicious buffet at a delightful restaurant, the Hadleigh House in South Hadley. Nice choice, Jane, and thanks to Jack for assisting her. Of course, following dinner, the spooning room was waiting for us back at the motel.

Dixie Prittie, Secretary

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