Yankee Bottle Club 49th Show Still Great After All These Years

Remembering New Hampshires Past Through Glass

11 October 2016

This past week end I was lucky enough to travel to the Yankee Bottle Club’s 49th annual show and sale in Keene, New Hampshire. The Keene Show, as most collectors and dealers call it, has been one of my favorites for years. This year was no different and it was well worth the trip.

I have always taken the fall colors in the northeast for granted but I finally realized just how stunning they really are. Everyone should get to see it for real. The photos just do not do it justice!

The worst part over the years for me has been dealing with the “leaf peepers” driving slowly to look at leaves. I guess growing up in the Northeast and living on top of a mountain, I never really understood what the big deal was over the changing of the colors in the fall. However, this year there did not seem to be many people out due to the late changes in most areas. As Linda and I drove along coming out of Bennington, Vermont, I realized a part of me missed the “leaf peepers.” It had become part of the trip and the trip seemed somewhat funny without them. I have to say the colors in the southern part of Vermont were as nice as I ever could remember. The reds and purples just stood out. When I pulled over to take a photo for the article, I told Linda I never really thought about it, but we are lucky to see this each year. So I wanted to share a photo for the people who don’t get to see the hills and mountains of the Northeast in their true beauty.

The workmanship of this sign is just top notch and I had to include it.

Well, back to the show. The Yankee Bottle Club holds their show at the Keene High School at 43 Arch Street. The show puts most of the 80 dealers into the gym but some are in the lobby attached to the gym. They say dealers from over 12 states come to the show. I believe that and ran into a few West Coast guys that have made the trip for years. It is so nice to have people travel across the country to support us in the Northeast. That’s one reason I went to the FOHBC 2016 Sacramento National Antique Bottle Convention & Expo this year. It seems like the western guys come here and we should go there as well whenever we can. It costs a lot, but we made it our summer vacation and had a great time.

Overview of the main showroom floor.

The lobby space in front of the showroom was full of dealers as always.

I have to say I felt so badly for the club this year when the school failed to fix the lighting for them. Many of the gym lights were out and with the overcast rainy weather, the skylights did not help much. Nothing to do but ride it out. The dealers and attendees seem to handle it fine and just joked about it. That’s what makes the hobby so much fun. No matter what we have to deal with, we get it done and still have fun.

I handed out over a dozen contracts for the FOHBC 2017 Springfield National Antique Bottle Convention & Expo. The talk was heavy about the convention and many people were asking me questions. The main question was how many tables have sold? The answer is about a third of the 350 tables! Contracts keep coming in steadily and I look to be sold out by early spring. Do yourself a favor and if you plan on coming, get signed up now. We can’t expand any bigger and when the tables are gone they are gone. We want everyone as happy as we can get them. Remember, our contract’s No. 1 rule is come and have fun!

If you have never attended a Keene show, you should. There are always bottles there for all levels of collecting and the scenery is to die for. I will see you all there next year. Mark your calendars.

Jim Bender,
FOHBC Historian,
2017 Springfield National Co-Chair