A piece of WBCCI history

[Buttercup]

I bought a piece of disappearing WBCCI history today for Kimber who is as interested as I am in not seeing this disappear. What do you think. It's a Wally Byam Blue Beret. Heck - in a few years these beauties will be going for hundreds of dollars on Ebay. Note the nice historic pictures at the bottom. Note how it's fading away....

[balrgn]

Nice! Kinda makes me wanna get one too!

[05ModPod]

A Blue Beret - is all how you look at it....

When refered to in a picture like above on people with horn rimmed glasses and fur lined coats - some who can not get past "old stuff" will see it as stodgy. Others who are intrigued with history will see it as a time piece and something to remember and hang on to. Further, some other generations will look at it as "corny" "geeky".

There are some here that really like the hat and have no problems wearing it - and there are others who just want to buy one or find one in a shed sale to go along with the "motif" of their trailer of comparable age. And there are others that go along with "When in Rome" complying with the fashion of the club and look good in hats

A hat is a hat.

Look at the Olympic teams - Uniforms are a big part of how they come across - "marketed well" and they are a big hit - like the Canadian Roots Berets - they were only a couple of months OLD and people were paying 100's of dollars for them.

Now on the girly side - the fruffy scarfs - are a bit much. I used to work for the Canadian Kwik Kopy Printing Corporation - and their HQ out of Houston - insisted on their office staff to dress in the exact same fashion at conferences.

But over time that changed too - just as we are seeing now the ladies where "real" ties like the big boys. And finally coming out of the ages we are seeing at the Unit level any way more numbers of women holding positions other than secretary and QuarterMaster and Registration.

Times will change - but they will change slowly, history moves in 100 year increments. We are at year 75 - so by the time I hit 65 the WBCCI will be on the verge of a new era (sporting whatever name has evolved over the years) - and those who are in their 20's early 30's now, when you are in your mid 40's and just about ready to start doing the longer trips than the weekend camping - then there will be a "Club" waiting for you to. And by that time people like Peter and I who will be 70+ and sitting on the IBT may not be from the "cycle' before us.

These are the pioneer days of the next century - be patient folks.

Those are great pictures Buttercup - and if we did more "Vintage Appreciation" in our Units then more people may come to appreciate and understand.

It has nothing to do with what your own rig is - why we have 3 and if I had the money I would buy a new one in a flash. But I still want to participate in both types of events - new and vintage - Big Rallies and small intimite ones - there is room for everyone. You just have to push in a bit and stand up for what you want to get out of your club.

By the way for those who quit because you don't like what you see right now - those of us who stay and do all the hard work to change it - and a few years down the road you come back and say now I like what I see - guess what - you will be the first on the appointment lists so that we who stayed and saved the ship can have a nice relaxing break and be able to toddle off camping and not have to worry about organizing anymore......

[Cedars]

Omigawd! Check out those unit numbers! And the little kids in their Blue Berets! Were they forced to wear them, or did they volunteer? Any idea where that was taken, when, or the occasion?

Elizabeth in Iowa

[05ModPod]

OHHH so like are we forced to where stuff with Airstream on it. We like all the stuff our Quarter master is selling - our first ralley we drop almost $300.00 on jackets....so they were cheap back then and could only afford hats - and buret were the style....

So why are we so quick to poke fun......

[Swanny]

Originally Posted by Cedars

Omigawd! Check out those unit numbers! And the little kids in their Blue Berets! Were they forced to wear them, or did they volunteer? Any idea where that was taken, when, or the occasion?

Elizabeth in Iowa

Rumor has it that the children were either stolen from the adoption agency or their grandparents.

What I see in this photo is a group of people who are PROUD of the organization they belong too. Awesome!!

Mitch

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by GT6921

OHHH so like are we forced to where stuff with Airstream on it. We like all the stuff our Quarter master is selling - our first ralley we drop almost $300.00 on jackets....so they were cheap back then and could only afford hats - and buret were the style....

Is this being said with tongue in cheek? (and did I spell 'tongue' correctly?)

Originally Posted by GT6921

So why are we so quick to poke fun......

Because I remember being a kid and my mother cramming me in various outfits I HATED and she adored for whatever reason.... or wanted to show us kids off... or try to make out we were the youngest members of some groups SHE loved and we were drug to for her sake, not our! LOL!! Including being forced to walk picket lines and sundry other activities we did not have a clue about! I know from experience kids in club photos are not always there because they want to be, especially if dressed in club uniform! VBG!!!

Elizabeth in Iowa

[Buttercup]

Originally Posted by GT6921

OHHH so like are we forced to where stuff with Airstream on it. We like all the stuff our Quarter master is selling - our first ralley we drop almost $300.00 on jackets....so they were cheap back then and could only afford hats - and buret were the style....

So why are we so quick to poke fun......

Actually - we really DO respect that history! When Kimber saw that picture she loved it!

[denellen]

[....so they were cheap back then and could only afford hats - and buret were the style....

So why are we so quick to poke fun......[/quote]

Hmm, was Wally wearing a beret with his own picture on it?

[05ModPod]

Originally Posted by Cedars

Is this being said with tongue in cheek? (and did I spell 'tongue' correctly?)
Elizabeth in Iowa

Yes with tongue in cheek - as my parents were from a very frugal era - not like today where we have everything we could ever wish for....

Butter cup I am with you on this one and did not take your post as poking fun - but there have been many posts of late - dishing the "hat."

Cedars - nope I don't think he was on the hat yet - as he was still alive - I am sure that Wally went on the logo to commemorate his achievement.

[Buttercup]

GT - I know exactly where you are coming from. But I wanted others to know that we are serious about our appreciation of the WBCCI history.

We belong to an astronomy club that has a 70+ year history. Every time somebody wants to do some sort of drastic change to it, we look to see if that honors the history of the club or denies it. If it denies it - we oppose it.

In our appreciation for our little astronomy club we have donated so much of our time and efforts. I maintain the web site as a contribution.

We are willing to put our efforts into ensuring that WBCCI's history is not thrown out with the bath water to pacify the whim of people who have lost sight of who Wally Byam is and what he has done.

BTW, for WBCCI officials like Roy Bernd 1st VP, Region 10, who have trouble describing who WB is and which club he founded - I think it would help if we had better representation in these areas.

[robandzoe]

Check out some of today's posts on our blog:

http://sweetsovereign.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Rob

[Buttercup]

Originally Posted by robandzoe

Check out some of today's posts on our blog:

http://sweetsovereign.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Rob

Thank you. That is exactly why I bought it for Kimber. She does want to wear it. And not because she supports the WBCCI as it exiats today. But because she loves the histort that the WBCCI represents. It isn't a militristic thing. it is a casual thing. In the pictureI posted these people are wearing something at the time represented something we today would call "hip". It is also a matter of pride. And you can see it in the eyes of the people in that picture. How it came to represent something else is beyond me....

Long live the Blue Beret - as it was intended to be.

[robandzoe]

Buttercup,

Thanks, I concur with all said. I hope you enjoyed the blog too!

Rob

[Buttercup]

Originally Posted by robandzoe

Buttercup,

Thanks, I concur with all said. I hope you enjoyed the blog too!

Rob

Oh, you bet I did!