Well, as a Southern California guy, I certainly knew Ira and enjoyed his friendship in the 1980's. What a wonderful guy! My wife and I enjoyed that infamous basement and his wonderful enthusiasm. I recall a large number of late 2-minute Edison with the original lids that he had beautifully stored behind glass if I remember correctly. He inspired my collecting focuses for sure. We had close relatives in Portland so it was natural for me to meet up with Ira and I am so glad I did. Michael Khanchalian ----- Original Message ----- From: "DeeDee Blais" <deedeeblais at yahoo.com> To: <phono-l at oldcrank.org> Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 10:38 AM Subject: [Phono-L] First Generation Collectors As I wrote my little story I thought about first generation collectors and realized that early phono collecting was probably much more regional than it is now. In the Portland, Oregon area there was the "Edison Club". Some of those members were Ira Dueltgen, Don Fenske, Wayne Yoder, George Donnough (sp?), Dona Lee, and Orville White. Orville could make anything and Ira could repair anything. It was nearly a self supporting group. I know that Ira corresponded with a few collectors in California but I doubt if he reached out much farther in the early years. I wish everyone could have known Ira. He was a mentor collector for Mike Stitt and myself. There was nothing better than spending a Saturday in Ira's basement. You meet many fine people in your life but few really rare ones and Dottie and Ira were a couple of the rare ones. They made the world a better place. ( I am curious... have any other long time collectors from outside the Northwest heard of Ira? ) It was the national clubs like the Michigan Antique Phonograph Society and publications such as Alan K's "Antique Phonograph Monthly" that helped change collecting from a regional to national pastime. Today, with the internet, ebay, and cheap cell phones, it's an international hobby. With everything available and a little patience, there's no need to make aluminum corner columns. Jerry Blais ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org