Something very strange is going on here and it is confusing the heck out of me. I have noticed that since we have updated the Forums about 2 weeks ago we have been averaging between 325 and 375 visitors(registered and non-registered)no mater what period of the day I log on. WHY THEN DO WE NOT HAVE MORE THEN 8-9 members posting? We need fresh ideas and IT IS UP TO THE REGISTERED MEMBERS to post and not the same 8-9 members. It is up to the 2000 or so REGISTERED MEMBERS to do their fair share. You may think that your post does not interest the rest of the members. You are DEAD WRONG! What you post may get responses or answers that you may not agree with, but, it keeps the Forums alive. Please take a minute to post and if nothing else welcome the new members and make them feel wanted. Anybody want to take a guess on how many responses this post will get. Probably the same 8-9 members. Come on and make my day and let me see 4-5 new posters respond.

And while your at it, please consider placing your order for the Wisconsin Point Forums Exclusive before it is too late. If you want a 3rd Exclusive we have to sell out on the WPs first.

Rich
I use to be one of the quiet ones. Mainly read post and hardly participated. I was always concerned that I would be confronted with negative remarks by those that I thought at the time was the Forum clicks. I personally feel that the old days of the forums was like the wild west with “put up your duke” discussions and always had to be ready to defend your opinion.

Those days are definitely gone and I for one have no problem someone disagreeing with me and stating so on this forum. I feel that a good discussion on this forum would be refreshing. I think to many newbies just let us super wacko and Saints go on with our opinions without challenging or questioning us.

I think I fall in the "same 8-9 members" group.

We do need new posters. It doesn't have to be the most in-depth post. It could be a simple question, or a simple idea. Maybe a consern, or even a complaint. Let it out, lets hear it!

I've posted way more then I thought I'd ever when I registered. I've at times asked questions, asked for help, stated my opinion, expressed my joy, etc.

I'm mostly happy with what I contribute. You will too.

Yep, I guess I am also a part - if a small one - of the 8-9 ...

I must admit to a time problem these days. But I come and look most days! OK, I will try harder!!

And I agree with Daniel... we need Newbies challenging us!!!

I am not one of the 8-9 members doing most of the postings but I have been a member since the early AOL days of 1996 or 1997. For reasons I will not list, I limit my postings to a minimum but do visit the Forums whenever I am online which isn't as much as before. The interest in HL's is still there however the beacon does not burn as bright as before.

Tom

I used to be a loyal "poster" but time constraints keep me away from the computer except for work I am doing offline. By the time I'm through with that, I barely check my email! And Rich even promoted me to "cruise director"; I've totally neglected that responsibility. I'm really sorry about that.

As one who posts on occasion, my opinion as to what would help encourage those who don't post often::

When someone posts who doesn't post often, at least ACKNOWLEDGE that they've been heard by someone, and give them some type of comment!!

Don't just allow their post to float out there like no one noticed or even cared about whether they took the time to make their comment or not-- as the usual posters go about their discussions. This wouldn't usually take more than a sentence of effort.

Very good ideas Max, but, it almost always seems like it's the same people doing the answering. The people that post on occasion, like yourself, need to take the iniative to answer these new posters. And don't get me wrong because I know you do post quite often but there are others that even though they visit often will not take the time to make a post. While I can see that someone new is reluctant to post, it's time the registered members that don't post and have been members for months(years in some cases) start posting.

I totally agree.
I also feel that each Moderator should make sure that each person on his or her section should be answered. If you are a Moderator and not able to be at a computer enough to answer question then maybe you should request a split Moderator ship with someone.

I try to best of my ability to cover all collecting and Harbour Lights parts of the forums but even still there are times I am out on business or vacation or just not enough time to answer. Sometimes a question may not be that simple to answer and will take a little time to research to give the right answer. Other times the newbie will not give enough info for us to answer properly.

But on the side of us Moderator, super Wackos and Saints, it also gets old when we do research and make a good well thought out post and it looks like it falls on dead ears. It is like silence on the radio. Sometimes it so quiet, You can hear a pin drop.

I agree too...

Yes I confess, sometimes I think, I won't post for the sake of it and wait until I have something to say. But I guess I should acknowledge more when others post.

So I will try and do better, without getting to "waffel mode" ...

I'm in agreement as well. Reply's are important. If no CF member can reply, then it's up to the Moderators. That should be one of the responsibilities of a Moderator, making sure that all posts are answered or atleast acknowledged.

I check the CF a few times a day(yes, maybe I need a life). I'd be happy to be a Moderator if an opening becomes available. I would think all Moderators would check their Forum(s) daily, or atleast every other day. Unless their on vactaion.

As much as I seem to post, I do pass on replying sometimes. If it's a Secondary Market question, I feel Daniel is better at answering, or if it's a USCG question, I'll wait a while to see if Rich answers, etc. Even if I think I'm pretty sure I know the answer. I still may chime in later though.

How I became a Moderator was that four years ago I check out the Moderator that was in charge of the site I was interested. The moderator had not posted on the forums for a year and a half. I stated that to John and volunteered to replace him. I then became the Moderator for the secondary Market. That inspired John at the time to have all sites reassigned with new Moderator. I think it was the following year we reformatted the Titles and added a few more topics. I volunteered for two of the new topics. Finally I volunteered to help out on the WP site.

You may check all of the topics and make sure that all have Moderators that are still posting. I personally feel that if a Moderator cannot make a single post in six months that his job should be handed over to someone else.

I do not get to read or post as much as I would like to. I pick up Makayla right after work during the week and have her all weekend. Her mom and dad are working the night shift right now. Makayla will be 2 years old next month. Anyone with little ones around knows you have to keep an eye on them all the time. My house is only safe when she is asleep.

As a "newbie" even though I've been a member for more than a year, I haven't posted much. I do get on every day to read what the current posts are, but don't feel I have much knowledge even though I have collected HL for ten years. Those 8-9 "posters" seem to know so much! I appreciate the information I've learned in the time I'm been a CF member so I hope the regular posters keep on helping the rest of us learn.

Having said all that stuff above, I will try to post more often because I agree that the reason the CF is so interesting are the replies and responses to topics. The rest of us who read the CF and think our thoughts to ourselves should just go ahead and put them to computer keyboard and get it out there for all to see.

You hit it right on the HEAD docsweetie. That's what all members should do is post their thoughts instead of keeping them to yourselves. As I said before, we need NEW BLOOD to keep the Forums alive and kicking and the only way to do this is by posting.

Docsweetie, don't hesitate to post. I didn't post for a long time after I joined. Once I started, however, I found that the more I did so, the more comfortable I felt. Everyone was so helpful and encouraging. I, too, learned a lot from the "oldtimers". Of course, I have noticed since I started checking recently that there seems to be even less activity. Maybe it will pick up again in the fall. It's summer and lots of people are still vacationing.

I used to post a whole lot more, but since I am also a retailer, I get private email "suggestions" that I shouldn't be posting in a collector's foum. (I'm sure this post will bring on some of the "hate mail"). It seems that retailers are the "enemy" here to some of the members, I think a retailer's perspective can teach many of you a few things, just as I've learned from the collectors in this forum. I really don't need the hassle, and besides, I have many other irons in the fire. I will continue to read the posts and learn from you, however.

Roland,..I'm with you on this. No one should ever purposely discourage a person from posting at the CF unless the poster's words are libelous or in extremely poor taste for a family atmosphere. It is my sincere wish that more retailers/dealers join us and share their expertise in the collectible field.

I'm sure many retailers/dealers are also collectors and are most often Harbour Lights best "cheerleaders". Anyone who stifles an enthusiastic poster should seriously rethink their actions before it's too late.

Bob

Rich, you sure got this topic going. Hopefully it will expand to some new topics and ideas.

Roland I agree with BOB.
All collectors and lighthouse lovers shall be aloud to post on these forums no-mater what your affiliation or job is. I will support this to the end.

There are some guidelines on these forums that dealers should not be using these forums for promoting their dealership in the name of making sales. I personally didn’t think you crossed the line and I have stated that in the past. I also said that some collectors will make sure you walk the line and don’t cross it, which is their right.

I have always been straight and up front on these forums supporting what is the truth and what I feel is right. Sometimes I walk on toes, but I know I am doing what is best for the forums and the collectors. Rolland, If you can make the same statement then you should keep on posting and do what is best for us collectors and these forums.

I enjoy your comments from a dealers eyes and I for one miss your postings.

Roland, Your registration was approved and hasn't been canceled even though your a HL dealer, so you have every right to post as much as the rest of us.

I would ignore those emails, or maybe you should forward them to the CF administrators.

Please post more often !!!

The only guidlines that dealers are required to follow in the Forums are no posting in the Trading Post Forum and no self promoting their stores in the forums, which would be unfair to other dealers..

Roland has been informed of this by the CF administrators.. Jim and Ann of the Cape Annie's store have followed these guidelines faithfully for years. They have added a lot of good input in the Forums while being careful not to cross the line..

I too agree with the idea that input from dealers can be a valuable point of view to us collectors. I welcome their posts and viewpoints!!

I notice that after Roland completes his post there is an additional line under his name that states: http://www.thecapecodstore.com...
Possibly this is the problem and could be changed. This additional line could be interpreted as "self promoting their store".

How do Jim and Ann of Cape Annie's store end their posts?

Max

Max,

I understnad your point but I think roland handles this well as well- the link takes you directly to the portion of his website that is informative in nature about lighthouses and has nothing directly to do with his business.

Saying that you can directly go from that page back to his home page so if you want to get real technical it could break the spirit of the prohibition but not the letter of it IMHO.

Dennis

Dennis hit the nail on the head... This was agreed to as an acceptable signature since it did point to the educational part of his website.. Probably sitting right on that fine line!

Yup!

Sandy

I personally like to hear a dealers input as long as they don't push their wares on the Forums. I have not seen any current dealer abuse these rights, so, Roland I think you should post away and if you get any "Hate Mail" why don't you tell those people to contact a Forums administrator, Dave, or John with their protests.

PS: Finally we got some of the old chatter back!!!

I'm in no rush. Everything on the CF seems to be running smooth at the moment. I'd rather be asked then to ask.

Maybe down the road someone will want to give up moderating or someone who is a multiple moderator wants to reduce their forums, an oppurtunity will open. That's assuming I was the top choice of our Webmaster.

If it never happens, thats ok too, just happy to be a registered member.

Since you want Newbies to post - here goes. I just received my "I Have Seen the Lights" patch from the Chesapeake Chapter of the USLHS! What fun! I have now seen all 40 Chesapeake Bay Lighthouses and the 3 lightships. I had almost given up on seeing the last two, at least for this year, Sharps Island and Bloody Point. Then my husband and I went to visit our old friend's new friend in Chesapeake Beach. I asked how far Sharp's Island was. Twenty minutes! And Bloody Point - twenty minutes! In fact, Sharp's Island is his favorite fishing spot and he even spread his father's ashes there! We had a small window of opportunity because storms were heading in. The four of us had such a great time (although the return trip sure had a lot of bounce to it!) and I got great pictures. We celebrated the trip with steamed crabs. A perfect day!

Congratulations on seeing all 40 ginnyanne!
Sounds like you had a great time...maybe you could work up the courage to post some of your pictures in the the picture gallery.
You can check out how to upload them in the Test Pad and give it a try. If at first you don't succeed...Dave will help you out, I'm sure. He helped me when I first attempted it. (Thanks again, Dave!)
Crabs....MMMMMMM YUM!

Please post some pictures of you recent trip Ginnyanne! We'd love to see them.

Ginnyanne, please post some pics of your trip. Congrats on seeing all 40, I've seen zero of these lights.

Yes please ... pictures ... please Ginnyanne !!
ANd if you got one of the steamed crabs, that would make us all green with envy !!

Yes... Pictures... Pictures... Pictures, we like pictures!


It can be a challenge to learn how to post the pictures. But once you get it, it's easy! And Dave has been a great help to all of us in learning how. He had to help me over and over and over again, but now I find it easy to do! (Yes, Thank you once again Dave!) Ginnyanne, I know that he will help you if you need him!

I have posted in the past here i think and i got knocked around a bit for sharing some of my thoughts about Harbour Lights in general. I became an avid collector back in the early mid 90's, I have a shore house and noticed how they were appreciating in value. I went nuts spending thousands upon thousands of bucks buying retired peices from retailers and secondary markets and to watch what they did with this and pretty much ruin it by increasing the LE numbers made me sick...I think it went from a mission of love to a bunch of greed and in the mean time devalued collections. I guess it was all about the money like everything else in this world today.

Lisa, glad you decided to post again. Hope you post somemore. I for one, and I know there are many others who would love to hear your options. I don't think anybody gets knocked around anymore.

The new owners of Harbour Lights have learned from the past mistakes and are on the right track in making lighthouse model collecting popular again.

The bigger problem is the whole collectable market. It ain't what it used to be, and may not until the economy gets better. Collectables are the first to go when the cost of living is hard. The past eight years it has gotten worse and worse.

By the way, what town is your shore house in?

Hey Wacko, nice to meet ya, Im probably a neighbor, Im in Brick in the Baywood Section.

I do realize that the entire collectable market is down and it looks like the new owners have the right idea by limiting the numbers of each addition. I started getting frustrated when they started increasing the number of releases and then turning everything Younger could into a money making thing. It seemed to me like he took the bunch of us who cared about HL and just kept adding more and more....til i got to the point where I said, Limited Edition or nothing and I opted for nothing. They are BEAUTIFUL and there are many I will never part with but all in all I am disapointed with how Younger cheapened them.

I used to buy at Salty's on 35

where are you?

Lisa D.

Your opinions are some of the same things I was concerned about for years. HL expanded numbers they produced too fast and reduced numbers produced way too slow in their limited editions. Doing much better lately! Too late??-we'll see. Difficult time nowadays in the collectibles market to try to undue past mistakes. They severely injured the "goose that laid them the golden eggs."

Another problem was too many new introductions each year--especially for those who desired to try to collect all the limiteds. They're doing better with this problem too. Collectors are also doing more specific collecting now too, not trying to get them all.

Finally, if you follow e-bay auctions for HL, you'll notice another BIG problem. New limited editions up for auction and selling for below list price. They better get this bleeder under control soon--I have yet to see much progress although they claim to be working on it. Same old offenders selling away as usual this week on e-bay.

Keep on posting Lisa! You got me fired up about voiceing my concerns.


Max

LOL, yeah i noticed all the NEW HL's on ebay, i have about 13 of mine up now and it blows me away. I'd walk in to Salty's in lavalette nj and i'd drop 500-700 bucks at a time and he wouldn't even consider throwing me a bone once in a while...in fact once he called me and told me he mispriced something and asked me to come in a give him another 40 bucks. I just laughed and went in and paid it.....I know the mark up on these things but as soon as they increased the edition size to 10k i knew that regardless of economic conditions greed took over and most of us were going to end up getting screwed.....

I actually decided to treat mine like mini investments and was that the wrong thing to do...lol....im thinning out my heard and will keep all my NJ's and others that I like but no more Harbour Lights EVERYWHERE you looked in my house.....lol..

I'll stick around and keep posting...thanks for the comments. I complained about the same thing a few years ago on one of these sites and they took my comments down...

Lisa, I'm not sure where the Baywood section of Brick is, but I'm guessing somewhere near Old Hooper Ave, Drum Point Road, and Manaloking Road.

I live in the Applegate Cove/Shelter Cove section of Toms River. Very close to the Brick/TR border.

Is Salty's still in business? I know a lot of TR/Brick/Point Pleasant HL collectors buy at the Magical Carousel Shoppe on the Seaside Heights boardwalk. That's where I've buy mine.

Hope you get back into collecting HL's, even if it's just a couple a year. Are you going to buy this years Ludlams Beach, NJ piece?

I haven't posted for a long time as well. I started collecting early in the game and had the same low two digit number for many years. I even continued to buy during the 10K "greed" debacle. I had enough, however, the day Bill Younger "retired". The "chase" becamu tpp expensive. You folks say the new owners have the "right" strategy. I say they reduced the production based on a very diminished demand that could not sustain the overhead. That strategy doesn't reflect ingenuity, but it does reflect reality. Happy Collecting!

Hey Loon, yup off Drum Point and i know very well where shelter cove is. I was actually appraising a house in ocean Beach today....I passed Salty's today and they appeared to still be in business. He was getting me all of the same numbers later on so i kept buying, i think its 254.....But I would also buy from a place up in Union County....Believe me I hit every store during my crazy collecting days to find retired pieces...yeah i'll probably get the NJ one this year.

CC i think you are right about the small edition sizes right now, just to fan the flame a little maybe.....bottom line is every one is in business to make money, i just think the way Younger did it was bs, he ruined a good thing when greed got the best of him....

Hey Loon, yup off Drum Point and i know very well where shelter cove is. I was actually appraising a house in ocean Beach today....I passed Salty's today and they appeared to still be in business. He was getting me all of the same numbers later on so i kept buying, i think its 254.....But I would also buy from a place up in Union County....Believe me I hit every store during my crazy collecting days to find retired pieces...yeah i'll probably get the NJ one this year.

CC i think you are right about the small edition sizes right now, just to fan the flame a little maybe.....bottom line is every one is in business to make money, i just think the way Younger did it was bs, he ruined a good thing when greed got the best of him....

Hi Lisa, ...The above quote can be construed as partially true. Yes, everyone is in business to make money. If you don't make money you will soon be out of business. On the other hand, I feel you're wrong when you state greed got the best of the Youngers when they raised the edition sizes. I've always felt that increase was to satisfy the demands of the dealers and the collectors. Dealers needed more of the popular lights that would sell out fast. The Youngers heard the call and figured it would increase their collector base. Little did they know that just the opposite would happen when the economy took a dive.

I never saw any examples of greed throughout my dealing with Harbour Lights. The Youngers were very generous people and gave freely to support their mission of bringing attention to the plight of lighthouses throughout this country. The Youngers were quick to donate their product to help out whenever they could. They would often appear at fund raisers to help raise funds. There was no greed in their intentions when the edition sizes were raised. It was a gamble that turned out to be a less than great business decision.

Bob

I trend to agree with most of what you have said Bob, however, at the end of the Younger's time I also saw some decisions that didn't make any sense. Whether they were Bill's or Kim's decisions I wouldn't know. The increase in production was the Younger's way of trying to satisfy all involved and it was the beginning of the end.

I have been a Harbour Light collector since 96 and I can assure you that the family run business of Harbour lights was not greedy. They donated constantly to lighthouse projects and have given back to collectors constant gifts. I don’t know if it is still done but during the Younger ownership a percentage of the profits of all the GLOWs were given to lighthouse preservation.

The problem of the over production was Harbour Lights just trying to keep up with lighthouses that we being sold out before they even reached the shelves. This stimulation was not Harbour light base, but was totally the responsibility of many of the Sales Reps.
The Sale Reps did many things that was legal but not ethical that created a false market of Harbour Lights. Then secondary marketers got involved where many tried to make a fast buck. The collectors also did their share by buying extras hoping to sell or trade for a profit so they could support their collecting habit. All of this added to the fire which created more of a demand than was really there.

Lisa, The Drum Point area of Brick is nice! I have had a few customers in that area.

As for if the the Youngers got greedy, I don't think so. As many have said, it's a business. The demand was there, so they used the oppurtunity. I can't blame them for that. If the economy didn't take a bad turn in 2001 and the blistful economy of the 90's continued, what the Youngers did would have been genious.

And Ebay didn't help.

I have to agree with you that what the new owners are doing(low production numbers) is more for themselves then us, but atleast it benifits us.

I'm going to have to check out Salty's one these days.

And let's not forget the personal time and expense the Younger's went to as they travelled all over our country meeting HL collectors to give the personal and family touch to the HL line, spending time and expense at collectible shows with award winning booths, giving talks at meetings, raising funds for lighthouse preservation, etc. etc.

Most of our HL reunions I feel were very generously supported by the Younger's to put on a fabulous event for collectors!

Now you might say the business paid for these expenses, which is true. But the business was owned by the Younger's and these expenses reduced their personal profit and it was not required that they do all these things for their collector's.

Smart business sense yes, but costly for them in personal time and money commitments.

My wife and I once stopped in unannounced to their company office several years ago when we were in San Diego. We were treated to a personal tour and even invited to sit down with Bill in his personal office for a friendly visit.

No, I could never call the Younger's greedy based
on my personal experience with HL since 1995.

I don't think anyone who really knew the way the Youngers operated could call them greedy. Not only were they generous to the collectors, but they were instrumental in contributing to the saving of many lighthouses. After all, it was they who got so many of us involved in lighthouse preservation in one way or another. They educated everyone about their historical significance and contributed a huge amount of their own money, as well. They considered us all a part of their family, providing a very personal touch to what could have been strictly business.

Whatever was the cause(s), may it be greed, poor decisons, the economy, or Ebay, HL collecting hasn't been the same since those 10K releases flooded the market.

Let's just hope HL collecting continues to bounce back !!!

Loon - HL collecting IS NOT bouncing back. In fact, considering the low production numbers and all of them still available without being retired, HL collecting may be getting worst. I hate to be so negative, but, I collect because I love lighthouses and don't expect things to get better.

Rich, From what I hear from a few dealers is HL collecting is doing better the last couple years. Yes it is much closer to the worst of times than the best of times for collecting, but every little bit helps.

And I guess I'm a bit of an optimist.

yeah i guess i was being a bit harsh at my perception that the youngers got greedy....I still think there was some of that but i do realize they did much to support lighthouse preservation and charity work with donations. But i can see blaming sales reps for the increased production.....Granted market conditions dictate value for any collectible but i do think a combo of production increase and additions of so many extra items ultimately created some softness in the market for HL. I met Bill twice and thought he was a very kind and neat guy....

Loon, i like it here, i used to live in union county and used this as my weekend house but ended up moving down here permanantly last year and if never have to go back up to north jersey it will be too soon....lol

The public was exposed to lighthouses through various types of media. There was the PBS series, The History Channel Series, The USPS Stamp series , Hollywood and the remake of Cape Fear. With all this exposure (better known as free advertising), HL seized what we called in business "THE OPPURTUNITY" to expand it's line to test the waters and create new markets within it's present dealer base. The GLOW SERIES did bother me, because some were better looking than the LEs. But this was due to technology. Yes there is a "mystique" in the first 30 LE's and then technology took over and we saw Thomas Point and Middle Bay. The Youngers siezed the moment-they are (were) the business. Yes, I heard gripes from dealers in both directions. They couldn't get enough of a certain edition # and couldn't move other editions. Then there were the dealers themselves. Selling retired limited editions at 3 to 5 times their original retail cost. Hey, if they could get the price -well good for them.

Are lightouses and specifically Harbour Lights still popular? When a company is sold it's future
is well documented and researched. Lighthouse Depot's owner sees a future. If there was a "mistake" made , it was not reducing the LE #'s.

Inventory is money out of pocket. Paying sales reps is money out of pocket. I believe the right
direction has been made (although Barking Rocks did scare me). The CF is evidence of this direction. New members joining , "older" members posting. We do need some new topic areas and members have expressed their wish to host.

From a retailer's point of view, I can honestly say that the reason we decided to develop a partnership with Harbour Lights last year was because in handling other lighthouse collectibles, we saw that a market was still there, if as a retailer, we were willing to spend the time to develop it and found a supplier who was willing to do the same. This may be a down time for "hard-core" collecting, but the casual collector, though "dampened" by the economy, (and presidential election years are notoriously "off" years for retailers, unless things are going well and an incumbant is running for re-election), are still out there and purchasing, especially the LLOM's and similar collectibles of other companies. And while other collectible companies are "downsizing" the number of lighthouses they make, HL is attempting to bring new life into the business by developing new lighthouses every year. As with every business, (and collectibles are even more vulnerable), there are always good times and bad times, busy times and slow times. (Any real estate agents out there?) The key as a business is to maximize what you can during the good times, because that may be what has to carry you over when times are bad until the next wave.
Not being involved in HL during the "boom" Younger years, I cannot speak for them, only in general business terms. It appears that their decision was a case of "supply and demand", your customers are demanding more, so you increase your supply. Having been in the collectibles business for many years before founding HL, I'm sure the Youngers understood the narrow line one has to walk between supplying your customer and retaining the value of your product. Sometimes in business one needs to evaluate the situation and become extremely aggressive. Aggressiveness is a virtue in business. Overaggressiveness is a vice.

Well stated, Roland!

Bob

I like harbour lights. Heck I even overnighted with Dave a few times!!!!!

Digger, it's great to see you. Thanks for going above ground long enough to join us here!

I first started collecting Harbour Lights because of the fantastic detail put into each piece. But also found out that the Youngers were not just business people but made collectors feel like a part of the family. Other members of this forum have many more stories of personal time spent with the Younger family. They have been very generous and even though they have retired they are still involved. The business of supply and demand can be very hard to keep in balance even for the best business minded person. I don't know Tony very well but do know he is a collector himself and I am willing to give him the chance to try to make things better for Harbour Lights. We are all feeling the effects of the economy. I myself can not buy as many pieces as I would like, because the cost of living has gone way higher then my paycheck. I could spend all my money on lighthouses but then I would not have a house to keep them in or food on the table for my family. Hopefully the economy will get better and the collectible market could follow.

Hey gang...I'm still here! Lots of stuff going on but trying to Keep the flame alive! Will be trying to post more but honestly, I haven't bought too much as of late with lighthouses specifically! Life is getting in the way and money has been tight!
Going on the NJ Lighthouse Challenge with a couple that has NEVER seen most of the NJ lighthouses so it will be fun!

Not much posting lately. I guess not much news to chat about. Things have probably slowed down at Harbour Lights until next year. Other then the NJ Lighthouse Challenge, there's not much lighthousing going on either.

Good to see BeaconBob posting again !!!

A late post on the previous topic - like Cyndi I started collecting HL's because I love lighthouses and HL have the most detailed and dependably good products. To keep myself under control, I only buy the lighthouses that I have seen (of course there are always exceptions!). In 2001 I attended the Reunion in Baltimore (my hometown). It was so thoroughly enjoyable! I attended by myself and at each event I just walked in and sat down somewhere random. I met a lot of nice people. On this occassion and others where I have met the Youngers I found them to be delightful and generous. I intend to continue to collect HL's - please do more of my beloved Chesapeake Bay lights!!! With the economy in the tank right now, we are all cutting back. But I am an optimist and it is a beautiful day and things will improve!!!

I guess that folks have their minds on other things going on in thier lives: ie: the economy, and staying ahead of it all.

I've been trying to liven things up:)

Whoa, I just noticed you're like 2 seconds away from me, hi neighbor

Slow around here lately. 8 or 9 members posting would seem busy right now!

Those of us who don't have a life due to the economy are bored. (I'm referring to myself)

Bobo, Very well said !!!

It not 8 or 9 posts Rich was talking about, it was 8 or 9 members posting. In prior weeks, it seems the same 8 or 9 CF members are the only ones posting, most just read without posting.