NCA members Nancy Cox, Dan Pugh, Rachel Godollei Johnson and Jennifer Skarstedt show off their finest duds.
By Pam Markel
In the early decades of the National Costumers Association, regional meetings were quite the thing. Not only were National Conventions held, but meetings in the North, South, East and West were organized to give the members a chance to meet and network with those in their area. These regional meetings continued way into the 2000s.
One such meeting was hosted in 2006 by Drop Me A Line Costumes in Allentown Pennsylvania and Meyer Costume in Reading Pennsylvania. Rocky and Louella Torrence and Sheldon Meyer were fantastic hosts, providing the members with informative education, a wonderful market, entertainment and endless fun.
Friday night began with a catered buffet of regional foods and desserts at Drop Me a Line Costume Shop. A shop tour and lots of mingling with friends finished out the evening.
Saturday was devoted to education. In addition to refreshing our memories on how to make showgirl headpieces from bleach bottles, the attendees learned some important information on working with different types of theatre groups, tying corsets, a new POS system, pulling profits out of thin air and the how’s, why’s and wherefores’ of operating your own temporary store. Everyone had the opportunity to ask questions and contribute to each session.
The dinner Saturday night was unique to say the least. With Torrences, you can only expect the unexpected. The theme of the dinner was a “Hillbilly wedding.” Those members present came in appropriate clothing which consisted of a cross between hillbilly and trailer park trash. I can remember going through the buffet line with Dennis, my husband and Ken Epperly was across the buffet table from me. Ken looked up, took one look at me and all my “hickey” tattoos, needless to say the comment and his look was priceless. I assured him they were fake. I was quite a sight to see I must say.
At the conclusion of dinner, the members were treated to a hilarious Murder Mystery, The Murder at the Hillbilly Wedding. My oh my, those poor actors did not know what they were in for. Our members were dressed better than the actors and the interaction between the actors and the audience was memorable. All in attendance had a great time. (There was even a hillbilly Elvis.)
The market on Sunday morning was followed by brunch. Then all were homeward bound. The best part of the entire weekend was spending time with old friends and making new ones. Members came from California, Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa, WV, Connecticut and on and on. Each attendee was given a Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Sign. Such a great weekend.
According to Louella Torrence, the most hilarious exciting part of the regional meeting occurred picking members up from the airport. Rocky wanted to meet everybody that flew in, but Louella wanted him to help at the hotel with the last-minute details. Rocky along with Al Pocock (who was drafted I’m sure) did airport duty, bringing all but the Nashville crew to the hotel by way of the “City Jail.” Rocky thought everybody had to see the jail, and Al Pocock had to view it 10 times. Those of you who saw the jail now know what Louella had to deal with daily in regard to the working of Rocky’s mind. Oh, how we loved the workings of Rocky’s mind. You never knew what to expect.
Regional meetings like this one were held for many years, in many different cities across the United States. Members went to Pittsburgh, Gainesville Florida, Huntington West Virginia, Iowa and more that my memory cannot recall.
These fun gatherings do not have to be a thing of the past. How do you feel about resurrecting the idea of regional NCA meetings? Any takers to host one?