THE BOTTLE CHAPTER NEWSHello everyone, Here we all are again in the midst of a hot summer. For almost all of us it has been either extreme heat and monsoon weather or extreme heat and drought. That says something about the reality of our global warming worries. Before you know it though, the Holiday Season and 2003 will be upon us. Isn't it funny how when you are a child, the years seem to take forever to pass by and when you are an adult, they just seem to fly by? For those of you that were unable to attend the TCCCC National Convention in Palm Springs, CA, here is a recap of our new 2002/2003 Executive Board. One of our Bottle Chapter members and also the publications Director for the Windy City Chapter, Catherine Latturner, lost the District 3 Representative race in a very close election. Once again,this shows the importance of everybody getting out and voting. We wish Catherine the best and hope she will run for a Board position again in the future. From all reports that I have heard, the annual convention went well and everyone seemed to have a great time in the desert/resort oriented atmosphere. Contrary to some early fears that were expressed, we had NO reports of any collectors, or their merchandise melting. This was the first annual convention that I was not able to attend in quite a few years and I really missed being there. I am looking forward to Chicago in '03! The winners in the 'Most new members referred to the National Club by a Chapter' contest were announced at the National Convention. Your Bottle Chapter came in at second place and was awarded a Vintage Child's Beach Chair, which was picked up for the chapter by members Al and Barbara Rhyne. (Thanks, Al and Barbara!) Coming in at first place was the Great Get Together Chapter. During the early part of July, your Chapter Executive Board conducted an online meeting and passed our first official motion. Late in June, the question came up as to in just how much detail The Bottle Chapter should go in advising our general membership about specific new bottle issues. After several days of online discussions, your Board passed the following motion, which is self-explanatory: "The Bottle Chapter shall primarily be responsible for advising the general membership about the issuance of special bottles and classifying them on the Chapter's published lists, as per our present guidlines: C, C+, G, L, etc. The Chapter shall not get involved, as a Chapter, into the actual dollar pricing of bottles. Should it come to the attention of the Board, that an error has been made in classifying a given bottle, then, and then only if a majority (at least 4 members) of the Board feels that it is correct to do so, the general membership shall be advised of such a re-classification." Our Chapter continues to grow and our membership numbers have now exceeded 350. We are happy to also be increasing the number of international members, with some recent additions from Australia and Brazil. The next 2002 8oz bottle update list will be coming out at the end of August or in the beginning of September. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact one of your officers if you have any questions about a specific issue. Have a great summer! Hi Everyone, Carole & I have just finished attending the National Convention in Palm Springs & are still on the road. We will be home around August 10th. We are going up to Sacramento to visit my brother. Of course I will have to bring back several cases of the Hot August Nights bottles. We really enjoyed the convention. Was it hot? YES!!!! The only real bad times seemed to be loading & unloading. It was great to see many people that we hadn't seen in over a year. Some people thought it was a very good show, others didn't. I think that is the same with every show. There were about 1000 registered. The convention bottle was very nicely done & colorful after the 2nd run. Unfortunately some of the logos are offset. The Lucite bottle is extremely nice. I hope everyone will get behind the next convention in Chicago next year. I encourage everyone to support our National Convention wherever it happens to be. A lot of time & effort goes into selecting a site & it is not always easy to come up with a place that will satisfy most people. Don't forget the 2 shows coming up in September: Elizabethtown, KY & Atlantic, IA, and the Old Dominion Fall Fest in Virginia Beach starting October 3rd. Get ready to for fun at all of them. I 94 West to I 35 South...Kansas City & Independence here we come (again). We have now made this trip countless times and always look forward to the drive. Twenty-five years before these highways could support the numberous autos & trucks that now use them; five people started paving their own road to success. No doubt it started similar to that of others: a conversation, a newspaper ad, an interest and affection that needed to be nurtured. Through their perseverance the Kansas City Chapter of TCCCC has grown many fold & spawned one of the better events available. Remember a few months ago our article concering that Gene Harris Coke auction that was listed right here in Collectors Journal? The collection that was offered for sale was that of the late Bob Morriss....one of the Kansas City Chapter founders! Interesting bit of trivia: When first formed, this group of collectors had the nickname of "Big Macc's". The terminology was later discarded due to possible trademark infringements with Ronald & the gang. Now we know that Ebay has allowed many of us to expand the search for the items that interest us, but has that affected this Kansas City convention? Absolutely not from what we could see! The number of people registered this year once again increased and inclement weather did not keep folks from the Saturday swap meet. Amazing how we as collectors will brave the "Postal Service" elements for an auction, swap meet or sale. There were at least a dozen first timers signed up for this year's event. So maybe it is either just a general increase in interested parties or a secondary influence that is generating untapped interest. This internet thing may be indirectly responsible and more than just a passing fad. As expected of this well run event, the quality of items at the swap meet was high and again ran the full spectrum of new and old. With the cross-section of lookers and buyers the KC event generates, there was something to keep all parties interested. And just when you think you have seen it all something always seems to pop up out of nowhere. Case in point and offered at swap meet: Coca-Cola and a chicken (see the picture). Not too much Coke advertising was done with animals but definitely a really cool piece. This KC event again lived up to its reputation. From the convention packet, banquet centerpieces, specially designed commemorative bottle given to the attendees, auction and swap meet - it's all first class! And we do have to include this mention. If you ever went to a convention where you left the closing banquet wondering why you are still hungry and what you just ate, this was not it. For the second year Stephans Apple Orchard Restaurant catered the banquet. Next time in the Kansas City/Independence area make time to stop at their restaurant. We are certain it will not be a disappointment. So until next time we again wish you all good collecting. Questions and comments are welcome as always. Bruce & Candy Warhanik, 1566 West Young Drive, Onalaska, WI 54650. Phone...608-783-4526 or Email to brucanfly@prodigy.net    
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My name is Xavi and I live in Barcelona, Spain (the Olympic City). I am glad that this special chapter has been formed for Coca-Cola bottle lovers like myself. My family gives thanks to all those that have collaborated in the creation of this new chapter, especially its board of directors. HAPPINESS! As for myself, I am crazy about commemorative bottles. Although, I collect commemorative bottles from all over the world, my special weakness is bottles that are not American because they are more difficult to find. The American bottles that I do collect are the more expensive ones such as McDonald's, the opening of Coca-Cola Plants, Special Editions, etc., only premium bottles. This is mainly because I don't have the space to collect them all and because I don't live in the United States it is more difficult for me to collect them. At this moment, my collection counts with more or less 1,800 bottles. In my humble opinion, I believe it to be one of the largest in Europe. It is difficult to constantly count them and even more difficult to clean them! I believe that this is a problem we all have! Why do they get so dusty? This is definitely a trivia question. Luckily, I have been able to visit your nice country on three occasions. The first time was for my honeymoon, where we spent ten days in the fantastic city of New York. We arrived in New York with three suitcases and my wife and I departed with six suitcases. The World of Coke New York was open and we were able to spend two days there, thus, the three extra suitcases. It was a dream come true.  One embarrassing moment was when my wife Marta and I entered the New York Sheraton Hotel carrying a yellow wooden box from the 1960's that I had bought in a street market (I don't remember the neighborhood) and everyone turned to look at us. I didn't care though, I was the happiest person in the world with my Coca-Cola box! This is the way of collectors. My second visit to your fantastic country was for the 2000 Greensboro Coca-Cola Convention. It was an incredible meeting with great people. I also took advantage of the trip to visit Atlanta and The Coca-Cola Company. I was with my great friend Donald Reagan (thanks Don!) at the Coca-Cola USA building. We visited several parts of the building including the office of Robert Woodbruf, which is intact, some offices, the employee dining room, where we ate and more. Brilliant! Those were big moments full of emotion that I will never forget. Last July was my third trip to the USA for the National Convention in Atlanta (thanks again Don!). I have wonderful memories of that convention. I will return of course! It is my dream and my predilection. Why commemorative bottles? For me, the bottles are like a great photo album where you can discover what society was like at the time the bottle was made or the importance of a certain event. Ultimately, a simple glass bottle can explain many things about a country or specifically about an event. The only problem with the bottles is that they cannot stay in albums and need to be put up on shelves. You really need a lot of space which is one of the main problems that the bottle collectors usually have. Each bottle has its history and its own life. What I am also crazy about is telling all my friends and visitors the history of each of hte bottles in my collection. When it was made, how I obtained it, etc. I have a website that features my collection and of course all of you are invited to visit. The address is www.xavicoke.com...I hope you like it! I hope I haven't bored you with my words and I hope to see you soon at a Coca-Cola Convention, with a smile and bottle of Coke in your hand of course! Best Regards, Xavi Picarin |
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We've decided to take the Newsletter Naming Contest out to you - our membership! Here are the entries we've received. Please vote (one vote per primary member and a vote for one adult associate - with a maximum of two votes per family membership) for your favorite newsletter name by emailing me at ahf686@aol.com or writing to me at 10526 Pebble Cove Lane, Boca Raton, FL 33498 no later than September 15th. Please include your TBC membership number with your vote. The winning name will be announced in our next newsletter. |
