Greetings, Stovies, and Stovettes! We have just returned from the California Stove Gathering #8, and still can't believe that it's over already!! Sweet Bride and I had a fantastic time, and have to say that this particular Gathering was amongst our most favorite of all those we've held and attended!!! We were joined by a great group of old and dear friends, and some excellent new friends, and together, we shared fettling, fun, food, and friendship!! As mentioned in another thread on this event, I took, and will post, quite a few photographs at our event. But, right now, work demands are very pressing and quite demanding, so I cannot post them all right now. Instead, here are a few preview shots, which will, hopefully, whet your appetite for more, as soon as I can get the time to post them! Our great group consisted of, left to right: Big Jim, Hikin' Jim, Mr. and Mrs. Mac, Flivver and Mrs Flivver, our new friend and fellow Stovie, John, Mrs. and Mr. TrojanDog, Sweet Bride and Doc. We enjoyed a huge camping space at Cottonwood Group Camp, which included four very shady, and quite comfortable covered verandas, each with permanent tables for our use. Here is a shot of our entire camp. The fettling area was under the largest veranda, on the front left side of this photo. It had four large permanent tables, where we joined every day to fettle our stoves, lanterns, and other goodies, and just to enjoy being together! We also gathered together to share our nightly meals underneath this big veranda. Here's a side shot of the huge fettling area we enjoyed. Plenty of room for lots of stoves and lanterns, and getting together each day. This shot was taken when we setup our display stoves on Saturday, before the pot luck dinner. Here, TrojanDog (Terry), pauses whilst fettling his new/old Primus 210, to advise Doc (Mark) on how long to make the brass chain in his new/old copper kettle, which was a lovely gift from Terry, a few years back (Thanks, Terry!!)! And, the little copper kettle, paired perfectly with a British Monitor Touring stove, fettled that day by Doc, showed that it was truly a match made in heaven!! Brewed up a nice cuppa with the new set, which was proof positive of the good match! Last, and most certainly NOT least, a shot of the entire fettle and display area, with Hikin' Jim on the left, and Mrs. Mac on the right. The rest of us were either leaning over to get a tool, or back in our camps, retrieving some needed item for the display. Back to work for me, Mates, but I hope you enjoyed at least a glance at our very enjoyable Stove Gathering! I promise to post many, many more photos, showing the vast range of the myriad brillant stoves and lanterns we displayed, used, and enjoyed, as soon as I have more time to resize and post the photographs. Heartfelt thanks to Big Jim, Hikin' Jim, Mac and Mrs Mac, John, Flivver, Mrs Flivver, and Furry Flivver, TrojanDog and Mrs. TrojanDog, and my lovely Sweet Bride, for making this recent CASG event one of the very best ever!!! As we all discussed at the event, we'll plan next year's Gathering very soon, and hopefully, we can all make it once more, and even add a few more good folks to our happy family!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. For those who had planned to join us, but ended up not being able to make that happen, you were greatly missed! Hope to see you all next year!!
what a heap of gear,it looks like you had every Coleman on a stand that still exists! great "people shot"..it puts faces to names.
Doc, This year I was touring the south during this event. I won't miss it next year. My wife will just have to get used to the idea. Thanks for the photos, I can't wait to meet "my people" as she my CCS geek friends.
Morning, Dave, Ben, and All, Thanks, Gents! Dave, yes, I counted over 130 stoves on display, and then Hikin' Jim put out quite a few more!! So, I really don't know, exactly, how many stoves we setup for the Camp Stove Display. Ben, if you send me a PT, with your email address, I'll happily add you to the CASG Mailing list, and you will get emails about any and all future events. Very soon, our little CASG family will be discussing dates and places to consider for next year's event, and it would be great to have you come and join us! More photos to come, as I get more inventory made for our business. We have two huge jobs looming ahead of us, and I have lots of work to complete before those jobs are upon us! In any case, I began gathering the photos that will be resized and posted here, last night, and eventually, there will be quite a few!! Thanks, again, Guys, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. Anyone else who wants to be included in email discussions of CASG events, please send me your name and email address, and I'll be glad to add you to the list!
Morning, Ken, It would have been great to have shared it with you!! But, hopefully, one day, we can do just that, and I'll look forward to that coming to fruition!! I have tons more photos to post, and will be doing so as work demands allow. I made sure to get shots of all the stoves on display, and am planning to include the info on each stove, as the photos are posted here at CCS. By the way, at the event, some of us were talking about planning some fun hikes and backpacking trips, and if you ever could get out this way, and were up for it, you would be welcome to join us! We talked about doing part of the Grand Canyon, and also some interesting trips in Death Valley. Fun stuff, and we all hope it will come to pass! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Mark
I put out at least 20 stoves, so we had to have at least 150 stoves out. It's fascinating to see the diversity of designs and styles, everything from the smallest pocket alcohol stove to the biggest suitcase stove. HJ
great pictures, I would like to attend but its about a 4 day drive, each way, but I could have added another 20 or so OLDIES Jan
A fantastic gathering, made even better by the humour and friendship of everyone there. The generosity we received from people who had never met us before was quite overwhelming. It was great to see so many stoves and lamps, most of which I have never seen before. Highlights were seeing Flivver's Clayton & Lambert going full throttle, Hiking Jim's amazing collection of micro alcohol stoves and Doc's "watch this Coleman light straight away after 25 years storage" followed by 2 days of fettling & cussing! Hopefully everyone has recovered from the sight of a Brit having to warm his beer in the sun to make it drinkable I'm typing this one fingered on an iPad mini so I'll post more with pics when I return to a keyboard for grown ups. We are in Prescott, AZ at the moment and have just picked up a leaflet and map showing 12 antique and junk shops so will have a wander round them later. Best wishes, Terry
Evening, Mates, I truly appreciate your kind comments, and hope to have many, many more stove and fettling photos for you to peruse, soon. Still have 275 pieces of inventory that HAS to be manufactured before month's end, but I will try hard to make time to post lots more photos of our fun event!! Dave W, please send me a PT with your regular email address, and I'll add you to our CASG email list. That way, you'll be apprised of any and all future events. We hope to see you at another CASG, and I'm fairly sure you will have a great time, as did all of us who attended #8!! Time for bed, Gents. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc (whose candle is burning at both ends, right now!!)
Hi Doc, looks like all had a great time! Congrats on yet another successful event . I'm sure we're all looking forward to see the photos but Doc, make sure you don't burn your fingers on that candle of yours! All the best, Wim
Great to know you all had a fine time. Doc, I love your 'teaser' photos and look forward to seeing more.
Looks like you had a great time. I was about to say it must have been stovies heaven, but with all those burning flames and the heat, well.......... Can't wait for more pictures. Best regards Stoveuser
That was the new guy in the red Coleman shirt. He's since picked up four more stove stands so more of those Classic (Coleman) Camp Stoves (and a Basford) can be properly displayed! Maybe Doc will show the photos of the more reasonably sized single burner Coleman 501, 501A and 502 stoves, all dated 8/62.
Morning, John, Yep, got photos of the lot, and those will be posted, along with (probably) far too many others that I am currently picking through, and putting in a file to include here! Just too busy to get it all done, right now. But, as soon as I can, I'm eager to post lots of photos of our Gathering! It was great to have you join us, John, and your stove collection is lovely, indeed! Excellent, in all regards! Talk soon, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
John. I live for those suitcase stoves and just recently getting some; small ones for pack trips Dave w
