NDGA Annual Convention 2008

The 34^th Annual National Depression Glass Association Convention was held on July 19-20, 2008, in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, Missouri. St Charles Center The dates were a little later in the month than most past Conventions, but we had to accept the weekend where the facility had an opening. The last time the National Depression Glass Association held a convention in St. Charles was 1983.

The site was the St. Charles Convention Center (photo at right), a facility which opened in 2005. It is adjacent to the Embassy Suites St. Louis-St. Charles. It is about 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis, and only 10 minutes from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

The sponsoring organization was the Gateway Depressioneers, and 0ur Convention Chairperson for this year was Betty Buersmeyer. She and her helpers produced a world-class Convention, one that will be remembered by all attendees.

Special Pre-Convention Event

There was a special side-trip available for attendees and dealers at the 34^th Annual Convention. On Friday morning, July 18, the day before the Convention opened, at about 10:30am, we left for the Cupples Museum, located at Saint Louis University. Cupples House

The Cupples House (shown at right) was built in 1890 by Samuel Cupples, who made his fortune in the warehouse business (he had a virtual monopoly on warehouses in the St. Louis area). Saint Louis University acquired the house and in 1973 it was saved from demolition and restored. It is on the National Historic Register. The Eleanor Turshin Glass Collection was the focus of our interest. This is a magnificent collection of Art Glass, from American companies such as Steuben and Tiffany to Daum, Lalique and others from Europe. All of those in attendance were overwhelmed by the beauty of the house itself.

Schedule of Events

The show and sale opened with Early Bird admissions at 8:00am Saturday morning. Early Bird admission is at a premium and there were a good number of folks in line when it opened. General admission to the Convention, Show and Sale began at 10:00am on Saturday and 11:00am on Sunday.

Seminars and Speakers

Our featured authors this year were Danny Cornelius and Don Jones, authors of the book American Pattern Glass Table Settings. They presented a seminar on Early American Pattern Glass (EAPG) and displayed some fabulous pieces from their private collection.

A second seminar speaker was author John Walk, speaking on the topic of Fenton Rarities, Whimseys and Samples. John wrote the book Fenton Rarities 1940-1985 which was released in 2002, and he is a well-known dealer in Fenton and other elegant glass.

The third seminar was presented by Jim and Nancy Finley, collectors from Sedalia, MO. They have been collecting Cambridge glass for over 40 years. They began with Rosepoint. As their massive collection grew they began to branch out. They stayed with Cambridge glass and began to acquire swans, nude stems, the Marjorie etched pattern, Japonica, decorated opaques, bar and smoking items, rare and unusual pieces, and turkeys. As part of their seminar they displayed their collections of turkeys, gave a brief history of the turkey's manufacture, and explained how to distinguish a Cambridge turkey from other glass turkeys.

National Glass Organizations

The NDGA encourages all of the National Glass Organizations to participate in the NDGA Convention, and will provide space (conditions permitting) for any of the National Glass Organizations who wish to attend and staff a table to promote their group. This year we had the Morgantown Collectors, National Cambridge Collectors, Wave Crest Society and the Museum of Glass in West Virginia. Each organization was able to distribute membership information and sell literature and souvenir items at the Show.

NDGA Annual Meeting

The Annual General Membership Meeting was held in conjunction with the Convention. It began at 5:30pm on Saturday. The room was comfortably filled with members, and the meeting lasted about 1½ hours.

Election results were announced, with Ed Staley elected as Vice President, Robert Henicksman as Treasurer and the four at-large Board Members were: Danny Cornelius, Fred Meyer, Betty Buersmeyer and Jack Peacock.

Silent Auction

We again had a "Silent Auction", to raise money for the National Glass Collection. The results of this year's Silent Auction were the best ever. Thanks to Dick Ladd and his helpers for an impressive auction which required four tables to hold all the items (click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture). The proceeds from this auction will all be used for acquisitions for the National Glass Collection.

Glass Displays

Each year at the Convention, collectors share their personal collections of glass and pottery with the rest of us. It is often the only opportunity that we have to see some of the rare and unusual items that are in private collections. Also on display were the additions to the National Glass Collection acquired since the last convention.

Click on any of the small pictures to see a larger photo. Here is what Convention visitors got to see this year:

Exhibitor(s)	Display Title	Photograph
Richard Sater	1904 World's Fair items
Raymond & Shirley Wagoner	Rare Cherry Blossom
Danny Cornelius & Don Jones	Early American Pattern Glass
Betty Buersmeyer	Seascape
Gene Cooper & Brad Allen	Morgantown Decor & Freeform
Mike Tooley	Chocolate Glass
Don Rogers	Cambridge Variety
Kent Washburn	Orange Glass
John & Dovie Fields	Blue Fostoria Baroque
Scott Smith	Colored Nautical
Kathleen Booth	Multi Colored Jamestown
Richard Ladd	Indiana Glass Cream & Sugars
Dwayne Kuhnert	Swanky Swigs
Sylvia Bien	Delphite Kitchenware
Ken Sloan	Hazel Atlas Kitchenware
Willis Brand	Green Parrot
Len & Enid Waska	Wave Crest
Marilyn Kreutz	Cobalt Glass
Sarah Van Dalsem	Fire King Jadite Shell
John Braum & Wayne Alexander	Wildflower w/gold band

List of Participating Dealers

Here is the list of dealers who exhibited at the St. Charles Convention.

Linda & David Adams	Las Vegas NV	Helen & Gene Allen	Overland Park, KS
Rick Bakkum	Buffalo MO	Dale & Betty Buersmeyer	Pacific MO
Penny Reed	Des Moines IA	Rose & James Curnutt	Western Spring IL
Esther Mitchell	Little Rock AR	Pam Franscella	Gurnee IL
Pat & Sharon Ervin	Sycamore IL	Dovie & John Fields	Independence MO
Jim Davis	Springfield IL	Willis Brand	Waterloo IL
Arlene Goldberg	Greenwood Village CO	Rosemary Trietsch	Albertson NY
Helen Jones	Berkley Springs WV	Donna & Bert Kennedy	Balch Springs TX
Carol McEwen	Wichita KS	Fred & Pam Meyer	McKinney TX
Max Miller	Houston TX	Jack Peacock	Winston-Salem NC
Jane & John Schleinzer	Aurora IL	Penny Renner	Elkhart, IN
Cecil & Sharyn Taylor	Irving TX	Carolyn & Glen Robinson	York, SC
Kent Washburn	San Antonio TX	Leegh & Michael Wyse	Corvallis OR
John & Judy Bine	Troy MO	Janet Wasson	Highland IN
Danny Cornelius & Don Jones	Port Washington OH	Lee & Jean Spalding	Wichita KS
Marilyn Kreutz	St. Louis MO

National Depression Glass Association

Preserving America's Glass Manufacturing Heritage

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