I plan to open sign-up the first of August for a month. Will close sign-up at the end of August in hopes of getting this started in the first part of September. This way, folks should have their summer vacationing done with hopes of new cards from their trips. This should still allow time for the robin to make the rounds before everybody gets busy with the holidays, bogged down with weather, etc.

Check back in a month!

Bill:

How many of the interesteed ones will be on the trip in September?

Ellie

Bill:

i just realized that I never answered your questions about the article in Lighthouse Digest written by Bill Edwards. I was in the June issue and is titled "Mystery Cape Henry Lighthouse Keeper."It is on Page 24.

Ellie

I would like to show intrest

I am interested in this postcard exchange but I really don't know much about it. Also I don't live near any lighthouse so would I have to get a bunch of cards to send by August? I will be on the September trip that Ellie mentioned so could pick up some cards then.

Judy

Judy, The Round-Robin works like this:

The originator puts 10 Lighthouse postcards (new un-used) into an envelope. Mails it to the 1st person on the list. When received that person looks through them and keeps as many of those postcards as they want. But must replace other postcards of their own to replenish the count back to 10 and then sends the Robin Envelope on to the 2nd person on the list. That person dose the same, repeatedly, until the last person on the list is the originator. One rule is no more than 2 of the same postcard can be used (there can be several of the same lighthouse, but not more than 2 exact). The object of the Round Robin is to receive cards that you don't have and an opportunity to get read of some extras that you do have. The originator will also include in the Robin a list (in order) of participants along with the mailing labels to be used. It can be FUN and there is just about always at least one card in the Robin that you don't already have.

I too will be on the September trip!

And think that this might slow down the robin if it happens that the order falls so that the robin arrives to anyone on that trip while they are gone from home.

But if everyone going on the September trip would just let Bill know that they will be on that trip then he can set the mailing order so that they are towards the end. And it shouldn't be a problem.


Why do we need a whole month for sign up? I think a week (not more than two) should be good. Just my opinion.

Someone please put me in, I'll be in Alaska in the first two weeks of August.
thanks,
Bob

Bill,

Sign me up for the Round Robin.

I will be on the September trip.

Look forward to meeting you, Stephanie.

See you then, too, Judy & Bill.

Ellie

WELL!!!... I thought I was doing folks a favor by having it later in the summer and holding it open longer so we could get more people involved. SOOO how about this? SIGN-UP IS OPEN NOW!!! For two-weeks! I will close it on July 21st. Hope to have the list corrected by participants and the packet sent out by the end of the month. Please let me know what your travel dates are so I can TRY to stack the list in a way to not get it too hung up for too long.

If you have not participated in one of these that I have managed, or have new information, please e-mail or private mesg. me your name, mailing address and e-mail address.

Start the sign-up list now! Even if you just made mention of your interest and travel, restate them NOW. Also, this is open to folks outside of the USA.

I will be #1

Count me in. I enjoyed the last postcard exchange. Received a great batch of lighthouse cards. Looking forward to it.

Tom

Please add me to the list. I will also be on the Sept. trip.

Bill,

I'll be #4 (you should have the address).

And as mentioned above I'll be on the Sept. trip. So I'll be away from home from Sept. 10th to the 29th, maybe longer if my husband can get more time off work for additional lighthouseing in route.

I'm not clear if we are signing up now, but if we are, count me in.

Yes, we are signing up now. And please be specific about your travel dates. I would not want to assume which lighthouse event, when.

Thanks.

I will also be away the first week in August. Am going to see my daughter in Cleveland so we can go to the Tartan Terrors concert and then she suggested I stay thru the following week-end so I can accompany some of her friends on a cruise on Lake Erie. Maybe I'll see some new lights. Hooray.

Ellie

Can't go LH'ing so this is the next best thing! Sign me up
Rick

Count me in, think I'm # 8. Will be away 20-27 Sept. and 8-13 Oct.

Thanks
HCS

Just trying to keep the numbers straight. From reading the above posts here's what I figure the sign-up to be to date. Bill, is this correct?

#1 Sooner Schooner (Bill)
#2 bodielight01 (Tom)
#3 MelJB (Melody) travel dates September 12 thru 26
#4 Shortcake (Stephanie Dingler) travel dates the whole month of September
#5 wvlights0 (Laura)
#6 Ellie (Ellie) travel dates first week in August and September 12 thru 26
#7 kory63 (Rick)
#8 HCS (Hilari) travel dates 20-27 Sept. and 8-13 Oct
#9 rscroope (Bob Scroope) I'm signing him up because he asked Also those who showed interst but have not officially signed-up are: WVsister (Nancy) & Bill and Judy (Judy)

You can add me as well. I'll be traveling from Aug.7-19. I'll be trying to load up on new postcards from my travels.

Sign me up! Sounds fun!

I'll be on the September trip and am interested. Thanks, Stephanie, for the explanation. A couple of years ago I started collecting LH postcards so this is perfect. Also I am going to a postcard show next week and may pick some from for the exchange there as well (if I can find some new, unused ones). Personally I like to find the old ones for my collection but they sure can be expensive!

Judy

I would love to be in on the fun. I will be in New Jersey in Oct for the run. Please add me to the list.

I will also be on the September trip. Stephanie, maybe you want to add this to my name above.

thanks ever so.

Ellie

Ellie.... done!

Bill,
I hope you don't mind my doing this. This is your project.... not mine. I'm just trying to help! Tell me to butt-out if you want to, and I'll understand.


#1 Sooner Schooner (Bill)
#2 bodielight01 (Tom)
#3 MelJB (Melody) travel dates: September 12 thru 26
#4 Shortcake (Stephanie Dingler) travel dates: the whole month of September
#5 wvlights0 (Laura)
#6 Ellie (Ellie) travel dates: first week in August and September 12 thru 26
#7 kory63 (Rick)
#8 HCS (Hilari) travel dates: 20-27 Sept. and 8-13 Oct
#9 rscroope (Bob Scroope) travel dates: July 26-August 17
#10 Lorie Roe (Lorie Roe) travel dates: Aug. 7-19
#11 docsweetie
#12 Bill and Judy (Judy) travel dates: September 12 thru 26
#13 WVsister (Nancy) travel dates: Oct. (?)


Note this is not the mailing order in which Bill will assign... this is just the sign-up order from postings above. And there may be more to come as sign-up is open until July 21st.

Steph, and others, please don't look at this as "my" project. I was just in a position to keep things rolling while others that usually have run these things, take a breather. I'm sure there will come a time in the future that I will have to stop running these due to lack of time and/or lack of cards. Somebody else will need to step in and keep things going. And its always open to have somebody else step in and run with it if they want to. Even if I still can.

Anyway, Steph, it is a HUGE HELP to me, and I'm sure to other participants, for you to keep a running updated list!!!

Tomorrow/Tuesday is the last day to sign-up!

Last chance people, today is the deadline to sign up for this fun to do Round Robin of Lighthouse Postcards.

We have 13..... is there a 14 or a 15 out there?? You still have time if you get your name on the list TODAY!

OK folks, sign-up is now officially closed. I will work with the last listed posted above. Go through my records to make sure I have everybody's address and we'll see how I can stack the order with the least amount of down-time in between. I will post again here when I have it ready, hopefully soon.

TENTATIVE list. I'm waiting for an address I don't have. I tried to work with travel dates AND give the robin a chance to stretch its wings in the process. So, for your viewing pleasure:

shortcake.............all sept................al
meljb.................sept 12-26..............co
ellie.................sept 12-26..............pa
bill and judy.........sept 12-26..............co
hcs...................sept 20-27, oct 8-13....ny
bodielight01..........none....................nc
kory63................none....................ny
wvlights0.............none....................wv
docsweetie............none....................ks
rscroope..............july 26-aug 17..........ny
lorie roe.............aug 7-19................ut
wvsister..............oct?....................ca
sooner schooner.......n/a.....................ks

Excellent. I'm looking forward to my first round robin!

I now have the address I needed. I'll try to get this out next week sometime. I'll post here when it is on its way.

The Robin is on its' way! Should be in Alabama in about 3 days.

We had a late add to the list, from overseas. To not disrupt the list, in an effort to prevent alot of down time, AND to not stick someone else with the overseas postage, I added them to the end of the list, after it comes back to me. This way, nobody is out extra $$$ and the list is not hung up waiting for the Robin to come back from across the pond. I hope that meets to everybody's satisfaction.

I have corresponded with someone across the pond about this forum and exchanged some pictures and postcards. Is this person from Cornwall, England

yep

Robin arrived in South Alabama this morning. Due to the fact that the Postal Service doesn't run on Sunday the Robin is going to rest here tomorrow and I'll have it back in route Monday morning. Melody be looking for it to arrive in CO sometime around Wen. or Thurs.

That person from Cornwall has sent me several cards, too. He is so thoughtful.

Ellie

Also, I'm back from my trip to Cleveland and all went well. I must have rested as I made the drive in one day...a long day it was as I tried to think of a way to come back that would avoid driving down Mt. Nitany. When I came back the last time, I thought I was going to have a heart attack coming down the mountain. I don't remember having a problem when I came back from DuBois in March, but all of a sudden these mountains are especially high.

Ellie

Ellie, the person from Cornwall, would his name be Derek

Round Robin landed in Franktown Saturday. Went out to Ellie today.

Robin landed here in Bernville and will be sent on to Judy & Bill as soon as I get to the PO - TODAY.

Ellie

Tom.

Yes it is Derek, but I noted later that the person in question is Dave.

Ellie

Received Robin today in Arvada. Will send to Hilari first thing on Monday.

By the way, how often do these rounds take place? What a great idea for us lighthouse postcard collectors. I'm only sorry I am just now participating!

Judy

Judy,

There's no set dates for the Round Robins. But on average there's two a year. It all depends on when someone steps up to the plate and offers to start one. By-the-way... Thank you Bill for starting this one!

When the Robins were first started they were limited to 5 people per Robin, but there were several Robins sent out at the same time. Example: If 20 people signed up there would be 4 Robins. The originator put 10 post cards in each Robin, and when they returned to her she would mix up the mailing order and send them out again. Each Robin (Robin #1, Robin #2, Robin #3, etc.) would eventually make it to each person that had signed up, but the area of the country from which it came from would be different. Which allowed for a larger variety of cards to chose from. However as of the last few years, there has only been one Robin flying at a time. The person who started the Round Robins is no longer with us. And keeping track of 4 or 5 Robins at a time can be a real headache. Thank you BonnieJean if your still out there somewhere!

Thanks, Stephanie, for the history of the Round Robins and I thank you too Bill for starting this one. They are fun and a great way to increase one's collection. It's a nice way to give our extras to people who appreciate them too.

Judy

REMINDER!!! Please keep up with the postings on where the Robin is. It should have arrived at its' next location by now. Not to be the post-card police, but we need to keep track. It has been about ten days now, consider it overdue. I know there might have been website difficulty lately, but I'm putting the shout-out anyway.

I did post that I received Robin last Thursday, 20th and sent him on his way to NC last Monday, 25th - Post must have got lost during the website problem.
HCS

Robin arrived in Kill Devil Hills today.

The Robin left the outer banks this afternoon, before the storm, winging its way to Canastota, NY

The Robin landed in CNY and has flown off to WV!
Sorry for the delayed response but I had 2 surprise visits from my grandchildren and could not get out to send the Robin on earlier!
This is my 1st participation in the Robin and since I cannot do much active LH'ing due to health issues that severely compromise my mobility I found this a good way to remain active!
I was also very impressed with the geographic variety of the LHs I received! I look foward to participating in the future!
A big THANK YOU to Sooner for making this event possible!
Rick

Kory:

I'm so happy to hear that you are using the postcards as a way to keep your love of lighhouses alive.

Same here,
Ellie

Thanks Ellie,
Maybe in the future we'll be lucky enough to swap in the Robin.
Rick

Rick:

If you keep checking on this "site," I'm sure we will swap in the Robin.

Did you note that there are several kinds of Robins and all are fun and fruitful.

I'm hoping to find some new cards on the trip this month.

Ellie

Me too Ellie. The only state I don't have a lighthouse postcard for is Indiana. Adding Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island postcards to the collection will be fun. I still collect lighthouse stamps but sure like collecting lighthouse postcards. The Round Robin was fun and I hope to participate in future kinds of Robins.

Judy

Robin arrived in WV Saturday, but she was tired and decided to take Labor Day off. She is rested and on the way to Kansas today.

Laura:

I'm so envious. Kansas is the only state I haven't been to. One of these days?????

Ellie

Ellie, You have been to many wonderful places. I'm sure if you want to get to Kansas you will. I think I slept thru Kansas as a teenager, on the way back from a family vacation in Yellowstone.

Laura - Toto, Dorothy and I are waiting patiently for the Robin to arrive.

Carol, I carried the Robin to the post office Tuesday myself. You should have it today.
One of the nice things about the postcard exchanges is the way you get to know other forum members a little better. You see their choices in postcards and learn something about them. I now know that docsweetie is Carol and she will soon know that some days my handwriting is very bad.

Hi Laura - Got the round robin today and enjoyed your card. Thanks!

Also your handwriting is great. I was an elementary teacher in my past life so I've seen some interesting handwriting in my day...

I will put the Robin in the mail either tomorrow or Monday. I have a grandson due to be born any day so my schedule is a bit tentative... This was my first Robin. I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Carol

Robin is on its way from KS to NY as of today!

Round Robin came in from Carol in KC today. I kept all 10 and will be sending it off to Lorie(bigcollector) shortly. I hope there's a few new ones for you.
I especially liked the bw pc reproductions of the lhs that are no longer with us.

Out in morning mail to Lorie.

The robin landed in Utah yesterday. It was sent out to Nancy today. I kept 5 Bob...pretty good since we've both been participating for a long time!

The robin arrived and will rest until Monday. It was 107 here yesterday so after a short rest she will be on her way.

Robin is in the mail on the way to KS. Bill will you let us know what wonderful cards come back to you from the UK?

Yep...

Robin arrived today. Will turn around soon to Dave. Will post again when on its way.

Going in the mail today, I expect it should be there in about a week. Sorry for the delay in turnaround.

Okay folks! Although the Robin is making one more stop before ending back to me, I think we can technically call this one closed. Basically we did it in about two months with no major snags, good job.

We have left the summer season and the holidays will soon be upon us. There will be a LH Christmas card exchange just around the corner soon. Organized and run very well by another member.

At this time I would like to get a feel for interest (not a sign-up yet) in another exchange and when folks would like to start it again. I have been running these in a rough order of in-envelope, out-of-envelope, and round-robin. So the next one I would suggest would be an in-envelope exchange. With that being said, is this something we would want to attempt before the end of the year, or wait until the new year?

AND, as always, anyone is free to pick-up and run with any of these exchanges, at any time.

What's an in-envelope exchange?

Rather than putting a stamp on the card and mailing it, you put the card in an envelope and mail it. Keeps the card pristine. Generally you wouldn't write on the card either and might include a page with information about the lighthouse.

I am interested in any exchange. Please count me in.

I am interested in any exchange as well.

Judy

A little history of the Post Card exchanges for those who may not have been here for the last 9 years.

Sometime in 2000, a member posted a request asking others to send her/him lighthouse post cards from their travels.

I thought this was a one-sided deal and proposed an exchange of post cards where each participant would select and send the same post card to all the other participants. The first exchange started with 25 members who took up the offer. ORIGINAL POST

Having been disappointed with the condition in which some of the cards arrived, we started the "in-envelope" exchange. Many of the members chose to participate in both exchanges; some in one or the other.

The idea of the Round Robin was proposed by another member and was based loosely on the "on approval" mailings use in philately. You received a selection of different post cards, could keep none, one or all and replaced the number you took with fresh cards and forwarded it on to the next person on the list.

Five members participated in the first Round Robin launched in 2002 by Bettie Jean from Florida. ORIGINAL POST (Note that 3 of the 5 participants are still active in the Forums after 7 years!)

The Lighthouse Christmas Card Exchange was a natural expansion of the post card exchange idea.

Is there anyone who has participated in every post card exchange? If so, do you have a count of the number of cards received? Or is there someone who has kept meticulous records of the cards received? We'd like to hear from you.