OUTDOOR ROCK and MINERAL SHOWS part 1

I have been swapping minerals for many years and I thought it might be interesting to tell you about some of the shows I have attended and what went on.

The BANCROFT GEMBOREE has been a staple of the Canadian Mineral scene for many years, I myself started swapping there back in the early 70’s when it was held in Bird’s Creek at the old drive-in theater grounds. I started in this hobby doing Lapidary work and cutting material was hard to come by, so all the minerals I collected back then were traded away for rough Rock, I can honestly say there are more than one of those specimens I would like to have back.

In some ways I preferred the shows back then with the live entertainment and corn roasts, the dealers in tents, and us swappers all backed up to boards along a fence line. There used to be a lot more Americans trading and selling back then and we could make some interesting deals. They didn’t have swap dollars back then, but a 3 way trade system.  If I the swapper has a specimen that a customer wanted to buy, I had to go into the dealers tents with him, select something off their tables of equal value. The customer would buy the specimen off the dealer give it to me and I would give him his choice off my table. A bit complicated but if they caught you selling they could boot you out.

Birds Creek Swappers

When the Chamber of Commerce took over, they moved into the Bancroft Arena. All us swappers were relegated to the hot south side of the building and a carnival with rides was set up in the ball diamond behind the arena. We all tailgated then and had to supply our own tables. The only problems there, was dust, heat and swap dollars. I must say about the swap dollars: we had to buy something off the dealers with this funny money and sometimes at the end of the show I would have 5 or 6 hundred dollars to spend.  I got some exceptional minerals back then, ones I never could afford to buy. The Gemboree later built sawhorses and rented boards for us and we had a loop of swapper’s benches in front of the building. The only problem there was the cold rolled asphalt parking lot kept melting and sticking to your shoes, wind and rain ruined boxes and labels. I loathed swap dollars and the kids they hired to give out the swap dollars always seemed to be absent when you needed them.

They have finally dropped the swap dollars but the price of having a table has increased substantially. Donna and I have probably spent 30 plus anniversaries baking our brains out, sitting outside at the gemboree. When you consider in the cost for a week of camping and food and table fees, most years we barely break even. Why do we do it year after year? We do get reacquainted with many old friends and make new ones, get entertained by Dave Joyce and his Guitar and Bandjo and I usually get a few good specimens. I also try to get rid of some, but I usually end up with more than I started with. But the main reason is, I’ve got rocks in my head. Dick Stata