LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW ...What's a show with a little snow, OK! A LOT OF SNOW. I want to thank all of you who attended our March meeting. Pete Harvey still came in from New Hampshire and we had others that even came in Thursday to beat the weather. I talked to one couple in the lobby Friday night from Chagrin Falls and they were on the road for over six hours. I also see we had an applicant from Anchorage, Alaska who must have come in with his sled dogs. Saturday was very slow to say the least - you could swing a dead house cat and not hit anyone. Some did say they did some business Saturday and some of us actually had time to visit with friends and look for some new toys. Sunday the weather cleared and the hall was filled with members looking for new toys. Thanks to all of you who made the effort to attend Sunday.

ON THE COVER OF OUR MAY NEWSLETTER...It is always a pleasure to see Neil and Julia Gutterman at our meetings. You just never know what will find its way to their tables. In March they once again astounded members with an absolutely stunning French revolving rifle from the 1820's. Made by Jacques-Philippe le Lyon, it's a beautiful four shot in .56 caliber. Members such as the Guttermans are what make the OGCA what it is.

FROM TOMAHAWKS TO CARBINES...Robert Ely, the man they call the Tomahawk Maker, is a wealth of knowledge and an interesting gentleman to talk to. I had time in March to look over this artist's work, and I wish I had the patience and know-how to recreate these historical pieces of work.  Richard Rohal is also a wealth of knowledge. He brought out his fine collection of Marlin carbines of various barrel lengths.

THE ROBERTS CENTRE...I would like to personally thank everyone who worked so hard to see that our members were comfortable and well fed during the March weekend. Some of the Roberts Centre people didn’t even get home to their own families all weekend. One man I would like to mention is the manager of Max & Erma’s, Brian Reagan. He took it upon himself to put on an apron and cook, and when needed he even went out in his own vehicle to pick up other employees willing to brave the elements to see that the people of OGCA would have a good weekend. People like him are what make The Roberts Centre so special.

ELECTIONS WILL BE HERE SOON ...Our PAC committee is working very hard to see that we are well represented this fall at the ballots. We have been able to help some of those on our side win in the primaries and we need to keep up the good fight. This year will be very pivotal for the OGCA and our beliefs that we hold dear to our hearts. All of us need to pay attention to the issues at hand and not just whether they have an R or D next to their names. We have men and women on both sides of the aisle who would like nothing else but to see what we believe in taken away. We as a whole can make a difference, but only as a whole. Alone we will fall.

RAFFLE TO BENEFIT PAC...We are pleased to announce that our raffle to benefit OGCA PAC will include a beautiful rifle as well as a one-of-a-kind piece of art from knifemaker Tom Downing. We will kick off the raffle at the May meeting.

MAY MEETING...I want to thank everyone in advance for supporting the Annual Display Show and Banquet, especially speaker, Ron Schmeits, the displayers, and committee members that put in hundreds of hours to make it happen. I also thank our trade tableholders for their cooperation since the location of numerous annual trade tables are affected. We do our best to fit everyone in and expect to sell out quickly. I hope that we can count on you to be there.

Keep your articles and good ideas coming - look for an expanded format for the next newsletter by popular demand.

Best Wishes,
Joe W. Pittenger, President

P.S. Good luck to Ken Blackwell former Ohio Secretary of State and past OGCA annual banquet speaker who is on the ballot for the NRA Board of Directors.