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SUMMARY:Spring Fling at Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center\, Talladega\, Alabama
DESCRIPTION:Monday March 23 through Friday 27\, 2026 Click here for the registration form for the 2026 Shocco Springs Spring Fling. We hope that we can all come together and celebrate a renewal of friendships and maybe make some new friends. Please step forward and volunteer to help to make this a special meeting. Bring wood for the auction and get ready to have fun. “Racing to Talladega” is the theme. Hope to see you there! \n\n\n\n-Garry Roux
URL:https://woodcollectors.org/event/spring-fling-at-shocco-springs-baptist-conference-center-talladega-alabama/
CATEGORIES:Regional Meeting
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260909
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SUMMARY:2026 IWCS Annual General Meeting at Shipshewana\, Indiana
DESCRIPTION:Click here to download and view the registration form  \nShipshewana AGM 2026                                                                   Gary Green 6654L \nThe third Shipshewana\, Indiana AGM is scheduled for September 9 – 12th\, 2026. Lynn and Roger Pletcher volunteered to host the 2017 meet. I must admit that I was a bit perplexed as to why Shipshewana\, but soon was a believer as are thousands of tourists annually. It was such a success that the Pletchers did it again in 2019.  There were committees formed for both of these meets which were well attended and very successful. Roger recently told me that he and Lynn loved Shipshewana\, and if they were a bit younger they would likely move there. \nI was born and raised in Goshen\, Indiana\, about 17 miles from Shipshewana. When I was a kid\, Shipshewana was just another of a list of predominantly Amish communities such as Topeka\, Emma\, Honeyville\, Millersburg\, etc.\, etc. Nothing much in “Shipshe” that wasn’t found in the other Amish towns – a feed mill\, hardware store\, a larger fabric store and a livestock auction house. At a later point the auction house added a weekly general auction. About 40 years ago I went to the auction on a horrible winter day and bought a beat-up  maple bed head and foot board for about $10. I refinished the set and am still using them today. \nThe big thing in Shipshe was the flea market which started as sellers sold from their car trunks starting in 1947. This was an offshoot of the weekly livestock auction. Today it is the largest flea market in the Midwest with 700 spaces on 40 acres. Also\, there is now a year-round general auction on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. And it’s big\, with several rings running daily. \nQuite honestly\, I was never a fan of big crowds and hoopla and seldom made a trip to Shipshe. When Lynn and Roger Pletcher hosted the 2017 Shipshewana AGM\, I agreed to take my WoodMizer and some logs to the meet. As I recall I headed to the venue with a dump truck load of logs on Labor Day weekend. I was dumbfounded at the traffic. It took 45 minutes to travel the two miles from Highway US 20 to the Farmstead Inn. This gave me plenty of time to see all of the shops and attractions since my last visit. Shipshe had changed! \nA bit about interacting with the Amish. When sharing the roads treat the Amish as you would with pedestrians\, regardless as to whether they are on foot\, bicycling\, or in a horse-drawn buggy. Give them the right-of-way\, don’t honk\, and don’t crowd them or force them off the roadway. With few exceptions\, the Amish do not want their picture taken. Ask before taking photos of their wares. Also\, Amish run businesses do not accept credit cards – cash only. For more information see: https://www.thebluegate.com/blog/2023/11/27/common-courtesies-when-it-comes-to-the-shipshewana-amish-community/ \nShipshewana retains lots of small-town Amish feel but with very nice accommodations including our venue\, the Farmstead Inn. It is modern and spotless with excellent meeting rooms. IWCS has a block of rooms reserved at a discount rate. See their website for more information: https://shipshewanatradingplace.com/farmstead/ There are several other motels and campgrounds nearby.  \nThere is a complimentary hot breakfast for those staying at the Farmstead Inn. Lunch and dinner are on your own\, with plenty of choices within walking distance. The Wana-Cup is a long-time burgers and ice cream restaurant with an extensive menu\, just a block away. Fine dining is more of a meat and potatoes type menu but very good and affordable. On Thursday we have catered a home cooked Amish Thresher’s Supper featuring pass-around salad\, meats\, mashed potatoes\, vegetables and a variety of pies.   Wear your stretch pants!  \nAs for the meet itself\, there will be the always popular display tables with museum quality wooden objects\, some with items for sale. Perhaps even a few vendors with wood specimens which the IWCS was founded on. Recently these have been available for cheap or even free! Of course\, we will have silent auctions with rare and unusual wood items. I’ll be bringing my WoodMizer and have begun accumulating logs to bring for custom sawing to your specifications. Participants can bring their logs for sawing at a fee to be donated to the IWCS. \nAs for demonstrations\, Roger has volunteered to show the lost art of rope making. I’m planning  to do a demonstration on making a usable wooden bucket. At this writing a variety of demos and hands-on activities are in the works. \nAs for local tours\, Shipshe has some businesses that cannot be found elsewhere. We are hoping for a repeat of the tour at Wana Wheels. The Pletchers arranged pre-meeting tours that they had lined up in 2019\, including Wana Wheels. I was dumfounded at the process of making wooden wheels with wooden spokes and steel tires. The  tight steam bending of a pair of 3” square ash squares for a single wheel astonished me. We saw leather harness shops\, carriage shops\, handcrafted wooden novelties and more. The Pletchers visited a new shop that builds handcrafted items from reclaimed wood. The owner has agreed to lead us on a tour\, including his kiln-drying operation. Tours will be firmed up soon. \nWe plan to have a couple of outstanding speakers during the meet. For one\, Dennis Wilson had spoken to and set the stage for Erin McClure-Price to speak at our Wednesday evening after dinner get-together. Ms. McClure-Price\, Forensic Chemist at USFS Wood Identification and Screening Center\, Asland\, Oregon\, is fast becoming a legend in the field of wood identification in our circle and many others. Her research will make possible real time identification\, essential in international trade of wood and wooden products. Learn more about this here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/international-programs/WISC Erin has promised to make her brief presentation suitable for all audiences\, even those with no real interest in wood identification. This will be an interactive talk with questions welcome. I’m thinking that this presentation will be worth the price of admission alone! \nThe time frame for this meet has been changed to Wednesday through Saturday so that we can hold a Saturday wood auction that will be open to the general public. We did this at the 2019 meet with the auction on Friday with only a few non-members  attending. These few bought a considerable amount of wood at near-free cost. The hope is that a Saturday auction will attract more bidders. Attendees are encouraged to dig deep into their stocks of wood to make this a successful auction. \nIf you’ve never attended an IWCS meet\, this will make a great first. I’ve heard from a few overseas members who plan to attend. Look for the registration form in this issue and on the website. Hoping to see you in September! \n  \n           
URL:https://woodcollectors.org/event/2026-iwcs-annual-general-meeting-at-shipshewana-indiana/
CATEGORIES:AGM
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