AAPA 2012 Convention Report for Saturday, July 28

AAPA members who have arrived at the convention site in Dayton, Ohio since the Thursday evening Chinese supper include Arie Koelewyn, Mark McComas, Jim Patterson, and Bob Tauber.
The first activity for Saturday was the visit to the U. S. Air Force Museum.  This museum is housed in a vast facility, and a whole lot of airplanes were on exhibit.  According to what I understand, it turns out that one of the jet airplanes on exhibit there was the very airplane that our colleague Jack Scott flew during his days as a jet pilot!
After lunch the combined members of the AAPA and NAPA assembled in the meeting room to view a demonstration of the LetterMPress app for iPads and Macs.  John Bonadies--the owner of Bonadies Creative, Inc., Molly Poganski, and Jeff Adams (who happens to be the cousin of our President, Susan Petrone) gave this amazing presentation.  For those who are not acquainted with this "app," all I can say is "Ya just gotta see it!"  Fonts of wood type are displayed on the top of the screen, from which the user can select the type face preferred.  It looks so authentic; these are actual photos of the type itself.  Having selected the type face, the user can drag the individual letters down to the bed of a Vandercook cylinder press--again, an actual photo of a Vandercook.  After assembling the type on the bed (and hearing the same clicks and clacks you would hear while setting the type up on a real press bed), you can select the paper you want, then the ink--even mixing inks, if you so desire.  When all is ready, you give the cylinder a little shove (actually a little swipe on the screen of the iPad), and watch the cylinder go rolling over the paper, pressing it against the inked type.  And the finished broadside comes flying up to your view!  What an inadequate description of a totally amazing piece of technology!  Connect with a printer and you can even print your broadside!
Members of the two groups began assembling in the lobby of the hotel at 5:30 p.m. for the social hour, followed by a group photo shortly after 6:00 p.m.  After the photo, the door into the meeting room (which had been transformed into the banquet room) was open, and members filed in and began sitting at the tables.  After a tasty meal, George Hamilton, a member of AAPA's Laureate Committee, announced the 2012 Laureate Awards, then Michelle Klosterman and Alice Brosey presented the Laureate Awards for NAPA.
The speaker for the banquet was Alex Heckman, the Director of Education and Museum Operations at Dayton History at Carillon Park.  Heckman's speech took in aspects of Dayton's history, the Wright Brothers' printing endeavors, and their subsequent flight achievements.
At the end of the banquet, NAPA President Alice Brosey officially pronounced the NAPA convention concluded, followed by AAPA President Susan Petrone's official pronouncement of the end of the AAPA convention.
Many thanks are due the planners of the convention:  Michelle Klosterman, Gary Bossler, and Lisa Branstetter Holt.  The success of the convention was the result of days and weeks of hard work, planning, and yes--probably a certain amount of stress.  Thanks also to the members who took the time and made the effort to attend.  Without attenders, the convention just would not be!
     Note:  Anyone who would like the list of everyone on the group photo, please let me know:  ivan.d.snyder@gmail.com.

Friday, July 27 Afternoon Convention Activities

Friday afternoon's joint session began with a report from Tom Parson regarding the status of the Graham-Wesson collection.  There is quite a history of how The Fossils came to be in possession of that collection; the late Stan Oliner, of Denver, Colorado had received it, and had begun to analyze the extent of the collection.  It included the Wessons' bound volumes of amateur journals, and also the four boxes of 3x5 index cards from the late Victor Moitoret, and his father Tony Moitoret before him.  Upon Oliner's death, Tom Parson offered to continue organizing the collection, since he also lives in Denver.  There are quite a few unresolved issues, which Tom is having to figure out with what little information he has.  Tom has inherited a massive task, and is hard at work cataloguing everything in such a way that information will be available by journal, publisher, organization (NAPA, AAPA, UAPAA, etc.), by city and state where published, etc.  If members have questions regarding specific journals, Tom is willing to try to find answers; questions may be addressed to librarian@amateurpress.org.  Please understand that the work of organization is just beginning, and it may be some time before some information is available.

Tom's report was an appropriate lead-in to the next subject of discussion:  how AAPA and NAPA can coöperate in the promotion of amateur journalism.  Tom's ongoing work in cataloguing the vast collection of AJ, supported by AAPA, NAPA, and The Fossils, is an outstanding example of intergroup coöperation.  NAPA President Alice Brosey led the group discussion.  Some of the ideas brought up included the integration of online blogs as part of ajay endeavors, since blogs are the present-day manifestation of the amateur journals published--often by young people--during the 20th century.  The fact was raised that one advantage of publishing a blog online is that it eliminates the need to turn out 200 or 300 copies of a journal, which can be a formidable task on a hand press.  This led to mention that some publishers in the past have used limited mailings; they privately mailed their journals to other members whose journals they had received, thus not having to produce a lot of copies to members who are not evidencing much interest in the hobby; but then hope was expressed that the work involved in privately mailing journals might lead to the conclusion that maybe the bundles are the easiest way, after all.  Another point brought up was the possibility that writing, printing, and publishing could tend to be a lone effort.  Instead of a lot of lone publishers sending something for the bundle, this should be a community of likeminded individuals together pursuing a common hobby.  Communication with those whose efforts appear in the bundle, and attending conventions and local gatherings could foster a spirit of togetherness and stimulate a deeper interest in participating.

No final conclusion was reached, and the assembly was dismissed amid thanks to Tom Parson for the work he is doing with the Graham-Wesson collection.

The auction was scheduled for 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.; actual start and end times were a few minutes after what was scheduled.  Auctioneer George Hamilton went through several tables full of items that had been donated.  Member Stan Pekala had printed bags stating that "I bought all this wonderful stuff at the AAPA/NAPA Auction Friday, July 27, 2012 - Dayton, O.," and each bid winner was given a bag (or bags) in which to carry off the loot.  Some items generated vigorous competition among bidders; however a great number of journals were purchased at super-bargain prices, partly because the volume of them precluded extracting what they should be worth.  Also on the auction block were books, type cases, cuts (including a beautiful wood engraving for which Austin Jones won the bid--but he had to pay dearly for it) and a few other miscellaneous items.

Following the close of the auction, a number of members retreated to the hospitality suite, where West Virginia member Mark McComas was sketching caricatures of anyone who wanted one, for a donation to be split between AAPA and NAPA.

Tomorrow's agenda include a visit to the U. S. Air Force Museum, a demonstration of the "LetterMPress," an iPad application that allows near-letterpress printing on an iPad; then group photos and a buffet style banquet in the evening.  Stay tuned.

Friday, July 27 Morning Convention Activities

The 2012 AAPA convention continued this forenoon, starting with an informational session, which included introduction of attenders, officers' reports, and other miscellaneous discussions.  Arrivals since yesterday include Jim Patton and Bob Tauber.

President Susan Petrone opened the session welcoming attenders to this convention, and thanking each one for sharing their weekend with the group.  She also thanked the AAPA for entrusting the group to her leadership in last year's elections.  Her first goal, she stated--somewhat "tongue in cheek"--was to keep from damaging the association.  But further, she would like to increase activity and the fun we can have together as a group, participating in our hobby, amateur journalism.  She would like to increase online participation among members who do not own printing equipment, those who are no longer able to or interested in operating printing equipment, and those who just like to use computers to have fun in amateur journalism, whether they do or do not have the availability to printing.

Secretary-treasurer Ivan Snyder, the only other officer at this convention, gave a brief report of membership statistics and the financial status.  The report included five members we have lost to the grim reaper in the past twelve months, and sadly, that number has now increased to six, with the death of Santa Clara, California member Charles H. Hinde, Sr. on July 22.  Membership as of the end of June 2012 was 222; we obviously need to do more recruiting, and every AAPA member is "deputized" to work on that task.  The financial section shows that the balance is remaining fairly stable, hovering around the $7000 mark.  This is a positive statistic, given the increased cost of mailing all bundles first class.  Two factors which have made this possible are the generosity of some members who make donations to the organization--and some of them quite generous; and proceeds from the annual convention and its auction.

 Some of the discussion which followed dealt with possibilities for next year's convention.  Susan is open to receiving bids for members willing to host the 2013 event.  So think about it!

After a short break, both AAPA and NAPA members gathered in the convention room for a very interesting demonstration of an easy method of bookbinding, led by Columbus, Ohio member Bob Tauber, Book Arts Specialist at the Ohio State University Libraries' Center for Book Arts and Logan Elm Press.  Bob was capably assisted by Jim Patterson, also of Columbus, Ohio.  Each one present was given materials for a book:  paper components cut to size and binding thread; needles, wax, scissors, and bone folders were provided for the hands-on demonstration.  Bob showed each step of the folding, sewing, and assembly; so that at the end of the session, each one had a small bound booklet.

Scheduled for this afternoon is a joint AAPA-NAPA session which will explore ways the two groups can coöperate, as well as a report from Tom Parson on the status of the Graham-Wesson collection.  The joint auction is to be held this evening.  So stay tuned for more reports from the 2012 convention.

2012 AAPA Convention Underway

The 2012 AAPA convention, held concurrently with the National Amateur Press Association (NAPA) in Dayton, Ohio, started off, as it often does, with the Charlie Bush Chinese supper, held at the Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet.

Present at this event were (in alphabetical order):
Marti and Guy Abell (NAPA)
Gary Bossler
Bill and Ruth Boys (NAPA)
Lisa Branstetter-Holt (NAPA)
Alice and Marc Brosey
George Hamilton
Kim Hamilton
Austin and Jean Jones
Michelle Klosterman (NAPA)
Jiyani Lawson
Jon McGrew (NAPA)
Tom Parson
Susan Petrone and Ella Daugherty
Stan Pekala
Peter and Connie Schaub
Barry and Kay Schrader
Jack and Maurine Scott
Harold Shive (NAPA)
Ivan Snyder
Clarence Wolfshohl.

(If I left anyone out, I shall get the missing name(s) added ASAP.

Back at the Courtyard Marriott afterwards, many of the members of both groups found their way to the Hospitality Suite on third floor for chatting, tales of members we have known in past years, reviewing photos of past conventions, and looking over journals.  (Not to mention snacks!)

Tomorrow the AAPA convention proper begins with an informational session, then the programs that have been planned.  Reports will follow as events unfold.