Jeff Francis meet - St. Petersburg FL

Third Anual Winter Plate Extravaganza
St. Petersburg, Florida - Jan 17-18, 2003

This is my second time at this meet, and once again, it was a resoudning success. Like last year, I drove down, which is almost a total of a 1,000 miles from my residence. It was cold starting out, a scant 7 Buddy Harris generously allowed me to crash at his place - I got to meet his cat Lucky who is almost a Tiger in himself.
Florida was also unseasonably cold - the collectors down there were complaining - but let's put it this way - I can only imagine how much colder it must be back home! As you can see, I just had to stop and photograph this sign on 295, just outside of Tampa.
Jeff Francis held this meet at his warehouse - and he went out of his way to keep us there. The big juicy burgers coming from the barbeque were grr-r-eat!
About 75 collectors showed up, and a lot of good plates showed up at this meet - that's not including Jeff Francis' extensive trade stock that is on the floor and on nearby tables. Let's meet some of them:

Jim Walton signing in with Chuck Westphal at the table Len Harris at his table. Len deals in high end porcelains and prestates. No junky plates at his table! Steve Raiche discussing a trade with another collector. You can see my Eagle Talon parked outside.

Sean Pierre came all the way up from Miami - perhaps one of the coolest collectors in your club - he drives a fast BMW. He was complaining about the cold because Miami is quite a bit warmer than this part of Florida. The only other guy to come from further south was Alfonso Baca of Mexico city! He brought a load a Mexican graphics with him. The prices were cheaper than eBay, but they weren't $10 plates either - fortunately I was able to trade for a few. I should have gotten a picture of him.

Chuck Crisler, Dave Stratton (of Flying Tigers Ltd!) and Jeff Francis (lighting up) The cool Sean Pierre with a Japanese plate he got from me. Joe Koehler discusses his display with Phil Matthey Outside, we see Buddy Harris' display and interesting mode of transportation!

There were some pretty hefty motorcycle runs at this meet. Here we can see Milner Carden's wife next to his - only that isn't his run - those are his duplicates! And if you know what Tennessee cycle plates go for these days, this represents a valuable collection. Equally impressive is the fact that Milner had only been collecting these for the last 3 years or so. You don't want to know what he has invested in his cycle plates - suffiice it to say it's about the price of a new car!
The Florida cycle run seen by the front entrance is equally impressive. I believe it is a rather old find, as I recall seeing this run in a past issue of the ALPCA Newsletter. Notice how these plates have nice low numbers - #1 from county #7. Nice! Plus there are some early porcelain city cycle tags there as well.

Milner Carden's Tenn. cycle run Beautiful Florida cycle run

On the reverse side of the coin, there were plenty of junky plates to be had that I did not photograph - there always is at any given plate meet. In fact, I saw two plates in the trash - a rusty 1960 Virginia and another one rusted beyond recognition. I should have taken a picture of that rare opportunity - quite frankly we don't see enough of that. I guess it's considered taboo to chuck away plates - no matter how worthless. I see otherwise - better to keep the hobby clear of junk.
Here are more collectors, including yours truly:

Steve Raiche & Len Harris no doubt discussing good plates. My table with a Tigerrific sign Darryl Dady had a table next to me.

After the show....
I made a stop at Steve Raiche's in Lakeland to photograph his WV run for the article I'm writing for the ALPCA Register. As you can see from his plate room (which is a separate addition to the house) this man does not deal in junk. Probably one of the best comprehensive US passenger collections around.

Lakeland must be the Spring Training Grounds for the Detroit Tigers Just some of the incredible plates in Steve Raiche's Plate Room. In a way I was hypnotized by the sheer beauty and complexity of the display. This is all classic stuff - you won't find anything modern here!

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Page created Jan 24, 2003


Jim Walton signing in with Chuck Westphal at the table	Len Harris at his table. Len deals in high end porcelains and prestates. No junky plates at his table!	Steve Raiche discussing a trade with another collector. You can see my Eagle Talon parked outside.


Chuck Crisler, Dave Stratton (of Flying Tigers Ltd!) and Jeff Francis (lighting up)	The cool Sean Pierre with a Japanese plate he got from me.	Joe Koehler discusses his display with Phil Matthey	Outside, we see Buddy Harris' display and interesting mode of transportation!


Milner Carden's Tenn. cycle run	Beautiful Florida cycle run


*Steve Raiche & Len Harris no doubt discussing good* plates.**	My table with a Tigerrific sign	Darryl Dady had a table next to me.


Lakeland must be the Spring Training Grounds for the Detroit Tigers	Just some of the incredible plates in Steve Raiche's Plate Room. In a way I was hypnotized by the sheer beauty and complexity of the display. This is all classic stuff - you won't find anything modern here!