William

🙂

Quick post here with a health update....still cancer free and going strong! A little slower but it's all ahead full steam (the best that I can anyway!) 🚂

Unless Steph's Flying Tackle Hug takes me out 😆

It's great to be back! I just had to step away and regain my focus with health, work, everything life. Feeling good 👍

I'm on the left wearing the white miken cap 🙂

A group shot of the crew on April before we said our farewells to each other

Here's some pictures that I took the last few days of bat production...2nd too last pic was the very last bat I sanded.

IUpdates indeed...alot has taken place since my last post here! April 3rd of last year, the employee cuts took place, leaving only 6 employees, including myself. Helmet manufacturing continued as usual along with the introduction of "pad printing", basically stamping various logos onto Rawlings softballs. If outsourcing our bat production to China wasn't bad enough, Disaster struck again in mid October on a Saturday morning when a fire broke out in the major production building, totally destroying it. Videos of this can be viewed on YouTube by searching "Miken Sports Fire" .... I really thought this was it, the straw that broke the camels back. They won't rebuild. Easier just to move the Helmet production to St. Louis, Where Rawlings is based. Amazingly, after 2 weeks, we were called back. Helmet molding, you see, was set up in the building that DIDN'T burn. If you watch the video, you will see that an enclosed hallway connected the old production building with what is the newer building, which was built after my employment began in 2006. That enclosed hallway was ripped away by the firefighters before it could spread. We were called to a special meeting with the CEO of Rawlings, who made the trip up from St.Louis to inform us that we would be staying put with production and that they will be rebuilding on the same site, which will be a large distribution center. Since that day, Helmet production has doubled and pad printing is now beginning to ramp up again. During the months before the fire, the production facility was slowly being packed up for transportation to China. Many other pictures of equipment went for auction online and was sold. That's the hallway that connected the two buildings.

I heard the unfortunate news from Chad not too long ago regarding Ron's passing when I asked how everyone was and was just at a loss. He was almost always at the forefront of my education in the world of marble collecting when I jumped into it not too many years ago. Always the first thing I thought of whenever I held a Swirl in hand was Ron. Thank You for sharing your Opinions, Knowledge, Fire, Humor, Patience, Wisdom, everything that was your World. You were and always will be the Gandalf of my Middle Earth. RIP My Friend ❤️

Thought I would pop in and say Hi too everyone! It's only been over a year since I was last on here 😬....missed it I'll tell ya! Be back to posting soon 👍

I think it might be a Pelt, but not a Citrus..having a difficult time spotting the green your referring to....what's the size?

Love it

Of all the pictures that you have shared on these threads, this is still one of my favorites 😊

Master for sure 😊

For that many pieces, not only a score but a steal! Great grab 😊👍

Definitely a one of a kind Cat. This one took a little bit of the litter box with it 😊

Sizes?

The 3rd one might be a caged cat, and the middle one is a tough guess this morning, maybe Vitro? The 1st one, I find that one interesting. It looks like a Cat's eye with a nice amber base glass. Maybe some more shots, individually? I like that one 😊

Is that rare or just an error? 😐

Yeah, now being sold by "peltseeker", not chocomibs. What a joke.

That's cool...I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida...right up the coast from Cape Canaveral. I've seen a launch or two, quite the site too behold.

Your more than likely to catch sharks fishing in the dark, not the intended guppies...

Pretty sad. On way to many levels.

Nice groups! I've been collecting vintage lures for some time now while out treasure hunting...I've got at least 4 large tackle boxes full. Definitely fun!