National Depression Glass Association
Preserving America's Glass Manufacturing Heritage
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NDGA Convention 2006 - Waxahachie, Texas
The 32nd annual National Depression Glass Association Convention was held on July 8-9, 2006, in Waxahachie, Texas. Waxahachie is located about a half hour south of Dallas, on I-35E.
This year's Convention was sponsored jointly by the Fostoria Glass Society of North Texas and the North Texas Cambridge Study Group. Kent Washburn was the Convention Chairman. This was the first time that the NDGA has held the Annual Convention in the same location two years consecutively.
In early 2006, Cecil and Sharyn Taylor set up a display in the large cases in the Civic Center Lobby featuring a wonderful mix of Depression-era glassware and pottery. The display advertised our Convention, and was prominently visible for attendees of every event at the Civic Center for nearly half a year! You can see a photo in the section below listing the displays.
New Convention Schedule - Introducing "Early Bird" admission
This year's Convention schedule differed from past Conventions in that we did not have a Friday night Preview, nor a Banquet. Instead, there was a Saturday morning "EARLY-BIRD" admission to the Convention and Glass Sale, from 8:00am to 10:00am on Saturday. The admission for this "EARLY-BIRD" timeframe was $15 for NDGA members, $25 for non-members who signed up in advance, using PayPal®. The admission for the "EARLY-BIRD" session at the door rose to $20 for members, $25 for non-members.
Convention open hours
The Convention and Glass Sale then opened to the general public at 10:00am and ran until 4:00pm on Saturday. Admission after 10:00am reverted to $8 for everyone. Early Bird and regular admission were good for both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday hours were from 11:00am until 4:00pm.
NDGA Annual Meeting
The Annual General Membership Meeting began on Saturday, at 4:30pm, after the Glass Sale closed. It ran until about 6:15pm, allowing members plenty of time to plan for a nice dinner at one of the local restaurants. Election results were announced, resulting in a number of changes to the Board of Directors. Jim Rose was elected Vice President in the only contested election. New Board members were Helen Jones, Dick Ladd and Jack Peacock. The new treasurer is Robert Henicksman. The membership chairperson is now Carol Staley, the By-Laws Chairperson is Rosemary Trietsch and we have a new News & Views editor, Dean Lowry from Houston, TX.
Silent Auction
Last year we introduced a new item to the Convention, in the form of a "silent auction", to raise money for the National Glass Collection. We continued this fund-raising project this year. The proceeds from this auction will all be used for acquisitions for the National Glass Collection. Over $600 was raised. Thanks to Jeannie Moore, Silent Auction chairperson.
Video
During the whole time that the Snack Bar was open, a TV was set up
(thanks to Ralph Rider) with a VCR playing a tape that showed how glass
was (and is) made at the Fenton factory in Williamsburg, West Virginia.
Many of our members stopped and stood through the 25 minute presentation,
which detailed the manufacturing process. Everyone was impressed by
the "Handler" - the worker who attaches handles to glass pitchers. The
video gave spectators an appreciation of the work that goes into making
the glass we all love.
Seminars and Speakers
The 2006 Waxahachie Convention had a full schedule of educational opportunities. This was your chance to see some of the finest glass in the country and to hear directly from leading glass experts.
- Philip Hopper, author of "Royal Ruby", was the Guest Author. He conducted a seminar on Hand Painted Glassware Saturday. He displayed, from his museum collection, a number of rare metal plated (including gold, silver and platinum) items. The Hoppers have built a museum in San Antonio, Texas, to house their awesome collection. Their museum at selected times is open to the public for their enjoyment and education.
- Danny Corneilus, Treasurer of the Central Florida Glassacholics and Co-Show Chair of the Lakeland, Florida Glass Show, conducted a seminar on "Victorian Table Settings" on Saturday. He provided a large number of pattern glass table settings from the Victorian era in the center display as you entered the show, including many colored pieces. His collection is under consideration for being featured in an upcoming book on Victorian Pattern Glass.
Len Waska represented the National Wave
Crest Collectors' Club and conducted a seminar on "Wave
Crest" on Sunday. Enid and Len are better known
throughout Texas as the "The Bookworm." They are the book dealer at
most local shows and are the people to go to when searching for that
special antique reference. Len and his wife Enid supplied many fine
examples of Wave Crest in their display. For many of us, this was
indeed an eye-opener, as we had not seen very much of this type of
glass, and their display was two full eight foot tables. Wow !- Ron Ostrom conducted a Seminar on Greentown Glass on Sunday. Ron and his wife, Sydney Ostrom, serve as roving ambassadors for the National Greentown Glass Association. They displayed rare colors, rare pieces and those elusive treasures that make their collection unrivaled in Texas and a leading national collection of this early American Glass. Their massive display of Greentown was unquestionably one of the largest public displays of Greentown Glass anywhere in the country and certainly the largest displayed in Texas in many years. In fact, the display was so large that we were unable to photograph all of it in one picture.
National Glass Organizations
We encourage 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, the National Cambridge Collectors, Fostoria Glass Society, Morgantown Collectors, Heisey Collectors, the Indiana Glass Society, National Greentown Glass Association, National Wave Crest Collectors and the Anchor Hocking Museum in San Antonio were all represented. Each organization was able to distribute membership information and sell literature and souvenir items at the Show.
Glass Displays
Each year at the Convention, collectors share their personal collections of glass and pottery with the rest of us. The consensus of many old-time members, some of whom have attended nearly every NDGA Convention, was that this year's displays were absolutely the best we have ever had. Thanks to all who brought glass to share with all of us.
In addition to the displays
listed below, there were seven tables of glass
displayed by youngsters - children or grandchildren of NDGA members who are
sharing their own collections with all of us. Click on the thumbnail at left
for a larger picture of some of these young folks. Check out the displays
below that have the names marked with asterisks to see those displays done by
those who represent the future of glass collecting.
(click for larger image)
Provided by
List of Participating Dealers
Here is the list of the 32 dealers (plus the sponsoring Clubs' booth) who brought their best glass for sale at the 2006 Convention. There were several new dealers who had never before exhibited at an NDGA Convention, and they definitely added some exceptional glass for our members and visitors to select from.