Bottle Show Report 2010 Heckler Tailgate Show and Auction

Always happy to see bottle collecting getting covered in the press. Target-ball collector and author Ralph Finch has a long article in the February issue of the Maine Antique Digest, about last fall's outdoor bottle collector's picnic/swap/auction/gathering at the Heckler's Woodstock farm.

Here's an excerpt:

Heckler Tailgate Show and Auction

"... It's not Max Yasgur's farm, but for bottle collectors, it's even better. Norman Heckler hosts seven to ten live sales yearly, but it is his annual autumn outdoor extravaganza that attracts the most attention. In the pasture of his 320-acre farm—the period farmhouse dates to 1757—collectors and dealers gather to offer antique flasks, medicine bottles, demijohns, poisons, milks, and colognes, often while chatting on their cell phones or checking details on their laptops.
Although the initial planning begins 364 days ahead, with the volunteer crew asking, "Are we crazy enough to do this again?" 98% of the work is done in the last 48 hours, usually including a final mowing of the field. In past years, topnotch glass experts Holly Noordsy and John Pastor have had the pleasure of riding the big 1963 International Harvester Farmall 140 tractor. We'll return to the tractor(s) later.
It was an incredible gathering with more than two rows of cars, vans, and small trucks lined up so 70 to 80 dealers could tailgate their wares at 9 a.m., when the 800-pound 1848 church bell rang out to signal the start of the event. Wheeling and dealing, as well as chowing down on chowder, wolfing wieners, and dunking doughnuts, were the order of the morning until 11 a.m., when the bell rang again, the tailgaters started packing, and Heckler began auctioning some 75 lots of antique glass inside the Civil War-era barn. ..."

The FinBotClub Blog is published by the Findlay Antique Bottle Club of Ohio