Before the founding of the Collector Forums in 1996, there was AOL - America Online. AOL was an online service for subscribers and included it's own content. Included in that content were places where different interest groups could gather and exchange messages.

AOL and similar services (Prodigy, eWorld and Compuserve) came before there was a world wide web. These services provided graphic content setting themselves apart from text services that existed as BBS (Bulletin Board Services) which mostly shared code and tips, rather than social content.

I "discovered" AOL in the Fall of 1996 after getting started collecting Harbour Lights during a summer trip to Michigan.

This group of Lighthouse Collectors initially just traded messages back and forth and eventually had scheduled "chats" online through AOL. There was some "sales" of retired items that went on and when AOL decided to force all such sales to go through their "store" (for a fee), that was my impetus to create the LighthouseKeepers.com website and the Forums.

Most AOL members knew each other only through their posts and chat participation. When the first Harbour Lights Reunion was held in San Diego in 1997, many of the AOL members met for the first time at that event. We prepared "Connected Collectors" badges so we could spot each other and we, as a group, presented Bill Younger with something (What was it?)

Among the members of the AOL group were:

Ken Reese
Paul Brady
Fred Kuhlman
Betty Darren
Sean Thompson
Bob Hayes
Tim Aucreman
Mark Wagner
Rod Watson
John & Betty O'Brien ?? Did they participate?
Mary Heuvelhorst
Mary ? (from Holland MI)
Warren Diamond
John Chidester

I know there were others which I've left out. At my age it's CRS. My purpose in starting this post is to recognize those who were members of the AOL Lighthouse Collectors group and to see if there is anyone who might have saved portions of our posts including logs of online chats? If you were one of these early pioneers, please post about your experiences. If you can recall the names of others, please post them here.

Jeez John, this is really taxing the way back machine.

I was there for the AOL chats. And I think Mombo and Bob M.?

I'm not sure, but check the roster of attendees for the reunions if you can find them. I think one of them also listed AOL names.

Rick

I think you are right on Mombo and Bob M. I have to dig out the 1997 Reuniuon list, if I still have it.

Rick has also provided me with this list of AOL screen names. Maybe some of these people will come forward and add their real name to this list.

AChipBeck
Anncolect
AnnDelp
Aronca1
Arti94
BayTreas (a Dealer in Ohio)
BCDarrin (Betty Darrin)
Beaconguru
Bkess812
BrendaDoll
BuyGlass (Sean Thompson)
Cadhart
Chidester (John)
Ckiptooth
CMDDD
Cnoel57
ErnieDel
EscapeVa
GAD1S
GailBBankr
Gator22731
GloStan (Stan from Florida, I think)
GMV2000
GregS56
HO31008
ILUVCTS
Jmalec0522
Jmastrov
JN1997
JohnF57572
Jszarmach
JTimothyA
Kaptkirk (from Michigan, I think)
KeeperJJ
Kingkrib
M383350
Miker1121 (Mike Richards as noted below)
Mjacob819
MsLily911
Oriental77
Parrot83
Rakit Kid
Rdkreiner
RedFoxDoc (Bob Hayes from SC)
RRDolan
SeibertL
Slugo35 (Mark Wagner as noted below)
SueKer (Sue Kerr I think)
SWHubbell
Tim3167
Twiggy4 ( from California)
Vbaderts
VEllenB
WCoyote13
Wooge13

I will add a few names I remember

AChipBeck
Anncolect
AnnDelp
Aronca1
Arti94
BayTreas (Bay Treasures) a store in Toledo, Oh. I think
BCDarrin
Beaconguru
Bkess812
BrendaDoll
BuyGlass (Sean Thompson)
Cadhart
Chidester
Ckiptooth
CMDDD
Cnoel57
ErnieDel
EscapeVa
GAD1S
GailBBankr
Gator22731
GloStan
GMV2000
GregS56
HO31008
ILUVCTS
Jmalec0522
Jmastrov
JN1997
JohnF57572
Jszarmach
JTimothyA (Tim Aucermann)
Kaptkirk
KeeperJJ (Jim Johnson or Jim Johnston)
Kingkrib (Chuck Cassidy)
M383350
Miker1121 (Mike Richards) I think
Mjacob819
MsLily911
Oriental77
Parrot83
Rakit Kid
Rdkreiner
RedFoxDoc
RRDolan
SeibertL
Slugo35 (Mark Wagner)
SueKer
SWHubbell
Tim3167
Twiggy4
Vbaderts
VEllenB
WCoyote13
Wooge13

I was an AOL member. I started in 1997. My Screen name was the same as it is now "Daniel" Also the same screen name my mother gave me when I was born. I didn't participate very much then, except to list lighthouses I was looking for.

Back then when a seller would list their collection. Any lighthouse that was made before 1995 was instantly bought up. Full collections where actually bought up by secondary market dealers. The Thomas Point was sold out before it even hit the dealer’s shelves and it wasn’t long before its secondary market value hit over $200. At the “Lighthouse Collectable” bulletin Board is where the misspelled Mukilteo, WA was discovered.

Something else to remember, the bulletin board was not just for Harbour Lights it was for all Lighthouse collectables. So once in a while a lefton or a spoontique lighthouse would pop up for sale or sometimes a small discussion would start up about them, but usually 99% of the board was HL related.

I had joined the AOL group just before the HL Reunion in San Diego...it was there that I heard of the reunion but I was sadly too late to sign up for it because there was a limit to how many could attend...Can't remember if I used the same name as I do here MrsTLC...I remember the first Collectible Convention I attended in Long Beach... I went with a friend of mine from work who was in to collecting LLardo...I remember seeing ST John there talking with Bill Younger at the Harbour Lights booth , at the time I thought they must be brothers because they looked so similar......the next one I went by myself was the Chicago Collectible Convention in Chicago where I met many of my new friends and my future "roommate" Derith...What a great time it was...I even got my hubby Terry to attend some of the get togethers...Many great memories...

Mark, KeeperJJ was Jim Johnston. I arrived in late 1997 after the switch to the early JC boards and chats.