Greetings, All, Recently, I went down to San Diego to visit my Mom-in-law, and attend an extended family funeral. The Memorial service presented by the US Navy, to our fallen family member, was absolutely the most touching and heart-warming ceremony of its kind that I've ever seen, and I was honored to have been there!! Whilst down there, Mum and I went to "that same old swap meet", and well..... you guessed it: I found another stove!! As many of you CCS Old Timers have heard before, this swap meet has produced, literally, hundreds and hundreds of stoves for me in the last 30+ years, and though the great deals are far fewer than they used to be, they can still be had. This little gem is my second Enders Baby #9063!! It looks very little used, and is in outstanding condition. Of course, all the gaskets and o-rings need to be replaced, and I'll get around to that at the upcoming CASG8. But, until then, here is the little Baby that I found: This stove came with its original cellophane bag of spare seals, pips, and gaskets. However, the bag was so old, that it crumbled to bits when I removed it from the keeper slot! Nice to have all the spares, though, and they are now housed in a new bag, safe and sound. The asking price of this little Enders Baby, was $80, and the seller seemed firm on that. However, I offered him $50, cash, and after thinking about it for a few seconds, he replied that the least he could take for it was $65. I opened my wallet, removed 3 twenty dollar bills, and asked something like, "Can we call it a done deal at $60"? He was willing, and well, my second Enders Baby #9063 came home to live with us! I was very happy to have found this little stove, as it has seen very little use, and has all of its bits and bobs, including the oft missing, and rather rare threaded funnel. The seller also had a lovely Coleman 530, in its original can, WITH its original simmering plate, and was asking $55. But, in truth, I had no need of another 530, and left it there for another Stovie to find. 8) Thanks for checking out my new Baby, and I'm sure when its diapers (gaskets, pips, and seals!) are changed, it will really be a screamer!! 8) Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Hi Doc! Thats a nice one. Congrats We dont see many of those around here in my corner of the world. Thanks for sharing. Best regards Stoveuser Amazed by the variety of stoves.
That is a fantastic find! Congratulations! It always amazes me that there are so many pristine stoves to find, I thought the price was a bit high until I looked at the pictures! A good score!! While working in the area I visited that swap meet a few times, bought a lot of stuff at great prices. In those days I had all the stoves I would ever need so I never even looked. But the I was a young sprig of 30 and the only things in my head was science, surfing and guns and girls. All the best! Lars
Greetings, Friends, Many thanks to one and all for your nice comments!! Much appreciated. Lars, it's fun to know you visited "that same old swap meet", years ago!! Hey, depending on when you were there, I very probably was there at the same time!! 8) If we had met, I was also a Range Safety Officer, back then, and we could not only have had stove fun, but also we could have done some serious range time, shooting together!!! I now own three Enders Baby stoves, two of the 9063's, and one NIB #263, which I also got at "that same old swap meet, complete with everything, including the box, and in mint condition. Paid $20 for it, and thought it was a fine deal! It remains unfired. Thanks, again, Gentlemen, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. As I often say, regarding finding outstanding deals on stoves: "the more you get out and LOOK, the more stoves will FIND"!! 8)
Morning, 63notch, Actually, the celebration of Jack's life was what was emphasized, as per his last wishes. So, he would have loved hearing that I came down, talked at his ceremony, then found a stove at the swap meet! 8) I know there are plenty of Enders Baby stoves still waiting to be found out there. It's only a matter of going out and looking for them. Might take years of effort, but believe me, it's worth it! Good luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. To one and all: I apologize for the less than excellent photographs, as all I had with me that day, was my cell phone. Later, when this Baby is all fettled up, I'll take some better shots and post them here.
I love reading your posts Doc and am always envious of the results of your stove hunting efforts. I expect to be in San Diego in 2017 for a squadron reunion and was hoping to fine out just where this stove Mecca is located and its schedule. Who knows I might even see you there!! This November we meet for our reunion in Old Colonial Williamsburg. We hope to arrive a few day early to do some extra sight-seeing. Now I'm thinking how great it would be to find a comparable swap meet in that area. If anyone reading this knows of one, I'm all ears! As you might suspect I to have attended a few USN goodbye ceremonies for squadron mates and, although the loss is still felt, I always leave feeling a bit "healed" afterwards. The best to you and "Sweet Bride". Gordon
Gordon, Welcome Home Sailor. Once saw USS Enterprise flight ops off the coast of N Viet Nam. Awesome and disturbing at the same time. Ken in NC (USN Veteran)
