Amid the warm sunshine, sub-tropical breezes and swaying palm trees, scalies from all over once again came together to share their interests and renew their friendships. The 36th ISASC Convention was held May 15th through May 18th in Tampa, Florida. Though it was a smaller gathering than usual, the weekend kept its promise of a full-scale experience, and no one walked away disappointed. (Click photos to see larger versions.)

The weekend's activities got underway Thursday evening with dinner at the award-winning Columbia Restaurant. Opened in 1905, it is located in the heart of the historic district of Ybor City, which at that time was becoming home to the large number of Cuban immigrants working in the local cigar factories.

The restaurant, now owned by the fifth and sixth generations of the same family, features Spanish/Cuban cuisine and has grown over the years to fifteen dining rooms, each decorated in an individual style. The Spanish-inspired décor is vibrantly colorful with hundreds of hand-painted tiles depicting the fanciful world of Don Quixote.

The energetic Flamenco after-dinner show only added to the ambience. The big surprise of the evening was seeing one of the dining rooms filled with dozens of Santa Clauses. Turns out there was a Santa Claus convention in town along with a scale convention!

Friday was a beautiful day as we drove south over Tampa Bay. We felt the Florida vibe as we passed people enjoying the beach and kite surfing in the water. Our route took us over the impressive Sunshine Skyway Bridge, included by the Travel Channel in its special on the "Top 10 Bridges" in the World. First stop was the home of member Michael Goodman.

Michael is a "collector of collections!" As we wandered around his house we certainly saw a wonderful assortment of scales, but we also saw collections of revolving dials and calculators, buttonhole sizing devices, silver baskets, primitive tools, thermometers, spring note clips, stove top warmers, table top matchbook holders and more.

The title of "mother of all collectors" was being bandied about, although his self-imposed designation of "The King of Stuff" is very fitting. The backyard was decorated with whimsical metal sculptures and, in lieu of grass, a covering of shells continuing that Florida feel. What caught a lot of attention was Michael's wonderful collection of the beautiful cases displaying his marvelous "stuff."

Then it was back on the bus and off to The Ringling. First was the guided tour of Cà d'Zan ("House of John"), the Venetian Gothic style winter residence of circus impresario John Ringling and his wife Mable. Over-the-top opulence hardly describes the grandeur of this mansion.

The famed gardens throughout the estate were perfect to soak up the superb spring Florida weather. Even if you aren't a circus fan, you couldn't help but appreciate the craftsmanship exhibited in the displays of the Circus Museum that is also located on the grounds. After a delicious lunch at the onsite restaurant, many took the opportunity to enjoy the Museum of Art, which houses the extraordinary collection of the art acquired by John Ringling throughout his life and expanded thru the decades since.

Bob Hayden led off the Saturday morning programs by presenting "Mine, Hers & Ours." Accompanied by an extensive slide show, he gave an overview of the different collections he and his wife Carol pursue individually, as well as the ones they "do" together, the largest of course being the scale and weight collection.

After several years of talking about it, this year's program introduced a new feature that we hope will provide more flexibility for programs in the future. Using real-time video conferencing technology the next program was given by Norman Biggs, Chairman of our sister chapter, from his home in England. Norman discussed coinage throughout history. Starting when coins were mere "blobs" of metal, he described how coinage has progressed through the years becoming more sophisticated. This evolution eventually reached the point where images of kings and heads of state were placed on the coins in their realms. This practice is still common in the modern world.

Bill James gave the final program of the morning with his "ICE" talk. His very informative discussion covered American counterfeit coin detectors, focusing on ones from the California gold rush days. You can't help but ask, what does this subject have to do with "ICE"? Here's the story as told by Bill. After the experience at the Denver convention when one of the scheduled speakers failed to show – leaving a gap in the program – Bill went home and put together his "In Case of Emergency" presentation. He held on to it. Finding time in this year's program, he decided to include it, since he is stepping down as Convention Chairman, and figured this was the last year he could "dictate" the schedule.

After a very successful Silent Auction, the day concluded with the gala reception and banquet. The emphasis of the evening was centered on honoring and thanking Bob Jibben for his nine years of committed service to ISASC as he steps down from the Presidency and the Board of Directors. Bob was presented with a Chinese scale that he has long coveted with little hope of obtaining due to its rarity. He was at a loss for words as he tried to thank the membership and officers for their support through the years.

Ably assisted by his granddaughter, Bob passed out gifts of a die cast collectible Model T Fairbanks Scales Test Car to the board members in recognition of their service. In addition, Bill James gave Ben Smith an English egg/letter scale as a thank you for his invaluable help with the Tampa Convention. The night ended on a high note as we reconfirmed what we already knew: Our society only functions because of the dedicated work of our members.

Sunday morning Show and Tell offered a wide variety. Ben Smith brought an English compendium desk set. These were very popular in the Victorian Age. It features a brass candlestick postal scale sitting on a molded glass inkwell mounted on a lacquered box with matching nib wiper and combined taper stick/match striker. New member Ernie Segundo shared pictures of some of his favorite scales from his collection including an interesting cased brass early Meyers & Co. counterfeit coin detector. Bill James had several weights with inspection marks attributed to C. Stagg, who was an infamous weights and measures inspector for the city of San Francisco in the 1850s until he was fired for corruption.

Jerry Katz showed several unusual Fairbanks postal scales. Judy Soslau revealed how after closer examination of a coin detector that Eric had bought that she thought was a duplicate in their collection, it actually had distinct differences. Kurt Beyreis presented a Covel-Hanchett equal arm balance that is used for the precise balancing of saw blades.

Steve Beare showed a Philadelphia druggist's scale from the early 1800s by J. Wilbank, who was one of the earliest druggist scale makers in America. An interesting side note is that at one time J. Wilbank was owner of the Philadelphia Liberty Bell. The convention concluded with the farewell luncheon giving everyone a chance to say goodbye with promises of seeing each other again at next year's meeting.

The 2015 convention will be held May 14th through May 18th in Omaha, Nebraska. Hosted by long time member Les Schneiderman, plans are well underway. Some of you may remember that Les has his own private museum that houses not only his extensive scale collection, but also his many other collections. He has been very busy adding to it since we last saw it during the Kansas City Convention in 2009.

The convention hotel will be the Omaha Marriott. President Bob Hayden, along with all the board members, extends a personal invitation to join them. So mark your calendar and make plans to see your fellow scalies in the Heartland next May.