The Hobby: What Type of Collection Do You Have?

Early APIC Collector Joe Fuld with his collection

Over the last few years, I have seen more and more collections of political items from a myriad of different people and backgrounds. Everyone is proud of their collection and they should be. It doesn't matter if you have a collection of a dozen items or thousands of items. It doesn't matter if your collection is mostly of free items or if you have to store your collection in a safe deposit box at the bank. Some collections fit into a dresser drawer, some take up a wall in the den and others fill up storage units! So long as it follows the first maxim of our hobby (collect what you like) your collection can be whatever size you desire. Still, throughout all these years now of collecting political items, I have discovered a few commonalities to the types of collections that exist.

George HW Bush Medford Button

In the heat of the 1992 campaign President George H.W. Bush made one of only three trips to Oregon during his term in the White House. He spoke at a lumber mill to workers from Southern Oregon and California. This was during the height of the 'spotted owl vs workers' debate and the 1992 presidential campaign in Oregon lay open the clear divisions between the urban and rural divide.

Here is some video coverage of the event. Watch NEWS CAST

This trip produced one button.

George HW Bush Letterhead from 1980

The next item this week we are going to present from the campaigns of George Herbert Walker Bush is a sample of letterhead from his 1980 Oregon Primary campaign. I was able to pick this sample up from eBay a couple years ago from a local seller in West Linn, Oregon. The lot came with a sample of the letterhead, envelope and campaign brochure.

Oregon items of George H.W. Bush

There are sure to be lots of tributes and objective analyses  over the next several weeks to the life and legacy of George Herbert Walker Bush. In this post, we will  start to take a look at some of the campaign items originating from Oregon that you can find out there.

George Bush ran three campaigns here in Oregon for President (1980, 1988, and 1992), he was also on the ballot for Vice President in 1980 and 1984. We'll focus on items from his presidential campaigns first then round out with some select Reagan-Bush items from 1980 and 1984.

Richard Neuberger Bumper Sticker

Picked up this bumper sticker from the successful 1954 campaign of Richard Neuberger. He was the first Democrat to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Oregon since 1914. He won by a little over 2,000 votes out of half a million cast in the election.

He served along side Wayne Morse, and their famous feud is well documented. A noted journalist of America, the Pacific Northwest and politics. Nueberger was a natural storyteller. He wrote many articles for dozens of publications during his life. Some were even collected into books. I have not had great luck finding Neuberger for Senate items over the years. This was the first thing on Ebay I think I have ever purchased for Neuberger.

Most of the time you can find the Conservationists for Neuberger items. There is a seed pack that was designed for sportsman to disperse in the wild to make up for the grass they trample on while hunting. The other item that has been seen frequently in collections is the Conservationists for Neuberger tab. Blogger Andy Kerr has written a little bit about Neuberger's conservation work at his blog.

Who Was Delegate Jim Harrison?

In my collecting adventures recently I came across this John F. Kennedy 1960 delegate badge owned and worn by Jim Harrison. It didn't take me long to find out more information on Harrison.

Remembering John McCain in Oregon

Bush and McCain campaigning in Oregon 2000

With the passing of Arizona Senator John McCain, I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the political items generated by his campaign, especially the Oregon items. During the historic 2008 presidential election, McCain made one swing through Oregon right before the May primary.  Yet, he still managed to make it to the Beaver State several times before and after his 2008 presidential run.

Early Life & Non-Campaign Visits

John McCain found himself standing next to Oregonian Gary Hill in one of the most widely used photos of a young John McCain completing a flight training. The photo was used a lot during his 2008 campaign. The Bend Bulletin covered the life of Gary Hill and his connection with McCain in this article.

We know, thanks to Jeff Mapes that he came to Oregon in 1993 to headline an Oregon Citizens Alliance fundraiser in Portland. You can read about that here: McCain 1993 visit.

Part of the deal for McCain coming to headline the dinner was to help keep Bob Packwood from getting a social conservative primary or third-party challenger in the '92 campaign. Lon Mabon, the leader of the OCA would eventually run for the U.S. Senate in 1996. Finishing with only 8% of the Republican Primary vote. Here is a Mabon for Senate button. McCain kept his word, even if Oregon's other Senator, Mark Hatfield was suggesting he should back out.

In the recap from Jeff Mapes, it mentions Chair of the Oregon Log Cabin Republicans, Mr. Lee Coleman. I know Lee Coleman. By the time I had met Lee he had become a Democrat and was running for the Oregon House in district 26 in 2006. Here is a photo of his button from that campaign.

This visit was unusual because you don't necessarily equate the views of John McCain to the Lon Mabon crowd. He made sure his speech set an appropriate tone that would not offend his hosts nor his supporters that fundamentally disagreed with the OCA. We learned that McCain also met with other local leaders from the NAACP and the local Jewish Federation to help smooth things over. The Seattle Gay News covered more of the speech and fallouts in a 2008 post around the time of the Democratic National Convention.  As soon as he was done with the dinner he bolted for his plane.