ORCA Travels to Waupaca, Wisconsin for 2011
By Richard K. Lodge
Reel News editor
More than two dozen Old Reel Collectors Association members and a few family members and friends turned out at the Comfort Suites in Waupaca, Wisc., in early August for the annual convention.
Robin and Heather Sayler, Wisconsin residents, hosted the event, which featured an abundance of room trading, the second annual ORCA benefit silent auction, the traditional antique tackle fishing contest, precision casting competition and a public show and sale on Saturday, the last day of the gathering.
Dan Basore put his precision casting skills with collectible rods and reels up against half a dozen competitors and went home again with first place in the antique tackle casting competition. Dan also notched first place in the fishing contest, hauling in four bass and a pike, measuring more than 60 in total. But Don Buchbinder, who paddled out into the lake with his wife Sue in a canoe, caught a hefty 29-inch pike to get honors for the largest fish. Quite a few of the dozen-plus anglers caught fish, with several pike, bass and the occasional sunfish hooked and released.
Evenings were reserved for room trading, with ORCA members perusing hundreds of reels, dozens of bait, spinning and fly rods and a decent assortment of antique lures, catalogues, artwork, and tackle available for purchase or play. Green Bay, Wisc., duck and fish decoy carver David Charles arrived Friday night and opened his roomful of realistic and whimsical carvings to the crowd.
Club members took advantage of several interesting reel seminars presented over a two-day period. John Elder, the newly elected ORCA president from California, gave a talk on reel restoration; outgoing president Jim Schottenham spoke about the early and unusual sidemount reels of Alonzo Fowler and Charles Clinton; and Bob Halvar, who had just unveiled his comprehensive book on Airex reels, gave a talk on the many models and variations of Airex reels.
Len Sawisch, whose interactive Marhoff reel display won first place in the display category, which was judged on Saturday, presented a seminar called “What Willy did to Walt’s Stuff,” about William Shakespeare and Walter Marhoff, inventor of the original level-wind for casting reels.
Your humble editor rounded out the seminars with a slide show and talk about the varieties of spike and clamp reels, handing a few of examples of clamp reels around the room so members could get a close look at them.
Richard
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Registration Form for
2011 ORCA NATIONAL CONVENTION
August 4th, 5th and 6th, 2011
To make room reservations, contact:
The Comfort Suites Foxfire
199 Foxfire Drive
Waupaca, WI 54981
715-942-0500
Or E-mail @
Gm.WI108@choicehotels.com
Please use the promotional code “ORCA” when calling or booking your reservations!
Website: www.comportsuites.com
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The 2011 ORCA National Convention will be hosted by Robin and Heather Sayler. For details about the Convention, visit us at orcaonline.org
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To Reserve your spot at the Convention complete this form and mail it along with a check made out to ORCA to: Roger Schulz, 160 Shoreline Walk, Alpharetta, GA 30022
Name (please print):___________________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________________
City_______________________________ State:__________ Zip Code:_____________
Phone:______________________________ Email_______________________________
ORCA Membership $35.00 for US residents – Canadian residents $40.00 and other foreign memberships $50.00 (If not already a member)) $_________
Convention Registration $10.00 $_________
Show Tables @ $25.00 each (Subject to availability)___________________
TOTAL ENCLOSED $_________
To assist us in planning please answer the following:
It is likely that I will_____ or will not______ participate in the fishing tournament.
If you are bringing a display for the show, please indicate the number of tables needed (no charge for display tables).______
Please consider donating an item to our annual silent auction, held Saturday August 6th