Before we get into many more of these installments, I thought that we really should cover one high interest area, especially for the new collector. Namely, where are the clubs that you can join and exactly what is a buying group. Newsletters, Digests, Publications, and Commercial Dealers will be the main focus of future installments in this series. After the first installment of this series appeared in the Old Time Radio Digest, I received a lot of mail concerning the buyers group references.

I will not offer a large amount of text in this section. I will just give some basic information on the following and save room for the important names and addresses, which of course is what you are interested in obtaining.

Let's look first at Antique Radio Clubs. There are several that you can join if you are interested in collecting or even repairing original radios. They are a good source for information on schematics, parts, gatherings, etc. I've included the name of their publications and any fees that I know about. You should, of course, check to see if these fees and costs are current or have changed. Here are a few:

Antique Radio Clubs

Antique Radio Club of America
Jim & Barbara Rankin
3445 Adaline Drive
Stow, OH 44224-4411

Antique Wireless Association
Bruce Kelley
59 Main Street
Bloomfield, NY 14469-9336
716-657-7489
Publication: Old Timer's Bulletin
$5.00/year

Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club
Joe Koester
249 Spring Gap South
Laurel, MD 20724-2211
$12.50/year

Of course, if you are interested in obtaining and collecting just old time radio programs, you have several directions that you can follow. Joining a club or special interest group, is a great way to help build your interest and collection. These clubs and groups will have the same dedication and interest that you have. They will also be a good source for information about your area of enjoyment, and will probably also be a good source for the actual programs themselves.

Some clubs, groups and organizations specialize in particu- lar programs such as science-fiction, or drama, etc., and others have a broad collection of everything offered through the dec- ades. I will not attempt to identify which of the following clubs and organizations have strong drama, or western, or comedy collections, you can sort that out by contacting them. My pur- pose here is to provide you with enough information so that you can contact them.

There are fees and costs in belonging to most clubs and organizations. So, along with identifying your interests and what you're looking for, be sure to ask about the costs in first joining and what the yearly costs are after that. Some organiza- tions charge more for the first year and the yearly costs after- wards are lower.

Many, but not all clubs and organizations, have lending libraries that you can borrow or rent reel-to-reel, or cassette tapes from. Some libraries are small and specialized, some libraries are very large and diverse. You will what to check on the costs of borrowing the tapes, which includes the cost per tape, the amount of tapes per transaction that you can borrow, postage and handling fees, and the length of time you are allowed to borrow the material. Check also if the club will allow you to trade additional material that you have for material you may want from their library. This will cut your costs as your collection continues to expand.

Many clubs and organizations produce a publication of some sort. A single sheet newsletter to a multi-page pamphlet. Some are monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. Through these publica- tions, you can usually run a small ad for your own wants and needs. Other collectors can then contact you directly and that may lead you to individual collecting and trading between the two of you. The individual collector may have larger holdings of programs than even the club has.

The following list is alphabetical order and not in any kind of preference or recommendation.

OTR Clubs and Groups

Cincinnati Old Time Radio Club
Robert Burchett
10280 Gunpowder Road
Florence, KY 41042-8253
606-282-0333
606-282-1999 / FAX

Far And Wide Tape Club
Ross V. Smith
P.O. Box 51
Lively, Ontario
Canada P0M 2E6
705-692-3374

Golden Radio Buffs Of Maryland
Owens Pomeroy
3613 Chestnut Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21211-2530
Publication: On The Air

Houston Old Time Radio Club
Raleigh Barker
86 Stones Edge
Montgomery, TX 77356-5941
409-588-4056

Illinois Old Time Radio Society
10 South 540 County Line Road
Hinsdale, IL 60521

Independent International Radio Archives
Barry Hill
Route 1, Box 197
Belpre, OH 45714-9726
614-423-4010

Indiana Recording Club
William Davis
1729 East 77th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46240-2820
Publication: Tape Squeal

Manhattan Radio Club
Paul Mellos
331 East 81st Street
New York, NY 10028-4062

Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club
James Burnette
6704 Bodensee Lane
Manassas, VA 22111-3840
Publication: Radio Recall

Milwaukee Area Radio Enthusiasts
Ken Pabst
4442 North 77th Street
Milwaukee, WI 53218-5301

National Old Time Radio Enthusiasts
Steve Hiss
Route 1 Box 253
Alacha, FL 32615-9801

North American Radio Archives
Janis Moss
134 Vincewood Drive
Nicholasville, KY 40356-9342
Publication: NARA News

Old Time Radio Club Of Buffalo
Richard Olday
100 Harvey Drive
Lancaster, NY 14086-2840
716-684-1604
Publication: The Illustrated Press

Old Time Radio Collectors Association Of England (ORCA)
Central World Headquarters
Barry Hill
Route 1, Box 197
Belpre, OH 45714-9726
614-423-4010

Old Time Radio Collectors Association Of England (ORCA)
4 Prospect Terrace
Farsley Leeds
LS28 5EX
West Yorkshire, England
011-44-113-2567961

Old Time Radio Collectors & Traders Society (ORCATS)
Fred Korb, Jr.
725 Cardigan Court
Naperville, IL 60565-1202
708-416-8968
40 meters - 7.238Mhz at 0700 CST each Sunday
$10.00 / year

Old Time Radio Show Collectors Association (ORCA)
Reg Hubert
(Canadian Division)
45 Barry Street
Sudbury, Ontario
Canada P3B 3H6

Old Tyme Radio Club
William J. Hennessey
3815 Magnolia Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110-4099
314-776-4320

Radio City Radio Club
P.O. Box 163464
Sacramento, CA 95816-9464

Radio Collectors Of America
Bob Levin
8 Ardsley Circle
Brockton, MA 02402-1422
Publication: RCA Newsletter

Radio Enthusiasts Of Puget Sound
W. Michael Sprague
11732 N.E. 148th Place
Kirkland, WA 98034-4642
206-488-9518
Publication: Air Check

Radio Historical Association Of Colorado, Inc.
Vicki Blake
P.O. Box 1908
Englewood, CO 80150-1908
303-761-4139
Membership $25.00 first year/$15.00 year thereafter
Publication: Return With Us Now

Revival Of Creative Radio
Tim Coco
P.O. Box 1585
Haverhill, MA 01831-2285
Publication: Wavelengths

SPERDVAC
The Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy
P.O. Box 7177
Van Nuys, CA 91409-9712
310-947-9800
Publication: SPERDVAC Radiogram

Straight Arrow POW WOW
Bill Harper
301 East Buena Vista Avenue
North Augusta, SC 29841-3826
803-278-0437

Vic And Sade Society
Barbara Schwarz
7232 North Keystone Avenue
Lincolnwood, IL 60646-2025

Yesterday USA Satellite Superstation
Bill Bragg
2001 Plymouth Rock
Richardson, TX 75081-3946
214-690-3636
214-644-2473 / FAX
Publication: Airwaves

Another area that can be a good source of information for you is fan clubs. They may or may not have audio recordings of the programs that you are looking for, but they may be a good resource for your needs regarding broadcasts that individual stars appeared on, and other factual information. They may also offer print material, video tapes of motion pictures and television appearances, and scripts, etc.

Again, the following list is alphabetical order and not in any kind of preference or recommendation.

Fan Clubs

Abbott & Costello Club
Chris Costello
P.O. Box 2084
Toluca Lake, CA 91610-0084
Publication: Abbott And Costello Quarterly

Al Jolson Society
Jim Brockson
933 Fifth Avenue
Prospect Park, PA 19076-2409
Publication: Jolson Journal

The Cinnamon Bear Brigade
Carolyn Breen Kolibaba
10419 N.E. Knott
Portland, OR 97220-2826
800-93-PADDY (9-5 Mon-Fri)
Publication: Bear Facts

Friends Of Vic & Sade
Barbar Schwarz
7232 North Keystone Avenue
Lincolnwood, IL 60646-2025

Galaxy Patrol
Dale L. Ames
22 Colton Street
Worcester, MA 01610-2610

Goon Show Preservation Society
Dick Baker
7004 Westmoreland Road
Falls Church, VA 22042-2532

International Jack Benny Fan Club
Laura Lee
3190 Oak Road
#303
Walnut Creek, CA 94596-7736
510-933-3879
e-mail: JackBenny@Delphi.com
Publication: Jack Benny Times

Kate Smith Foundation
P.O. Box 3575
Cranston, RI 02910-0575

National Lum 'N' Abner Society
Tim Hollis
Route 3, Box 110
81 Sharon Blvd.
Dora, AL 35062-4415
205-648-6110

Straight Arrow Pow-Wow
Bill Harper
301 East Buena Vista Avenue
North Augusta, SC 29841-3826
803-278-0437

The last address, includes FAX, e-mail, and world-wide-web locations. It shows that old time radio continues to be with us as we continue to grow with the future.

Professor Marvin R. Bensman, J.D., Ph.D.
Department Of Communications
University Of Memphis
Memphis, TN 38152
901-678-3174
901-678-2565
901-678-4331 FAX
e-mail: BensmanM@cc.Memphis.edu
WWW site is:
"http://www.memst.deu/radio-archive/radio archive-homepage.html"

If anyone knows a group or organization that I left out that would like to be included in a future installment here, please drop me a line.

Lastly, buying groups. Some years ago, buying groups were very popular among a few dealers and some of the larger collectors that were looking for uncirculating programs. The idea is that in order to gather programs at a cheapier cost per show to yourself, you join with a few other collectors, pool your money together and purchase the material you want. This works especially well if the material is being held by an individual who is asking a lot of money per episode. Some reels of material can cost $25.00 to $40.00 per reel and more. This would certainly put these reels of new material completely out of the hands of most collectors.

Once the buying group selects and purchases the material, the original reels in then circulated from one group member to another in some sort of rotational order. Usually there is a mailing list included with each package of material that is circulating and as you finish with the material, you sign off your name with the date you received the material and the date you mailed it to the next individual. This way the material is trackable and any delays can be identified and hopefully corrected so that all the individuals on the list can receive the new programs in the shortest possible time.

If there are 10 members of the group, then your cost for the material purchased is a tenth of what you would have paid as an individual. Some times restrictions are placed on the material either from the source of the programs, or the group itself. It makes sense that you wouldn't want to be near the end of the rotation list, finally receiving programs that someone at the beginning of the list was already selling or circulating to other collectors.

I have both belonged to and headed buying groups. They can be a lot of fun and a lot of headaches. I have been asked many times over the last few years to start another buying group. But there just are not enough hours in the day to turn my attentions to all of the areas that I am involved in. To run a buying group, you need to devote more time than you would think. Maybe some day I will return to a buying group, either as a member or an active supplier of material. I feel that collectors that join a buying group, definitely receive their monies worth. There are not a many buying groups today as there were in the past. If you find a buying group, they are not easy to join. Usually there is a waiting list as groups remain small. Smaller groups allow the material to circulate faster among the members than with larger membership.

Next Part IX - ETHICS AND DIRTY TRICKS

If there is an area of information that you, the new or well established collector, would like to see in this series, please feel free to write me. Any questions, comments, or suggestions will be carefully considered. I can be reached through this internet web site or the following addresses: