Il IJ
swap meet attracts diverse crowd
By Fritz Wenzel
Of The Print
The Record Bonanza, a
swap meet for music collectors
held on the CCC campus Sun
day, May 19, brought together
people from drastically dif
ferent circles in our communi
ty as they searched for the one
thing they had in common: a
love of music.
They ranged in age from 16
to 80, and their backgrounds
were as varied as could
possibly be. Some came dress
ed in a taylored sportcoat and
slacks, another wore cowboy
boots while another had san
dals, a t-shirt and hair almost
down to his waist.
They stood shoulder to
shoulder and browsed through
table after table, box after box
full of albums, 45 rpm and a
surprisingly large supply of 78
rpm records. There were also a
few displays of music
memorabilia, mostly from the
50’s and 60’s era, and mostly
featuring the Beatles.
Dean Austinson, 16, of
Lake Oswego, was searching
through albums for sound
track music from old movies.
He knew exactly what he was
looking for, “The Cane
Mutiny, which is the most rare
soundtrack I know of,” said
Austinson. He explained that
only a few copies of the record
escaped a mass destruction of
the records after there was a
dispute over royalty rights. “A
copy may turn up, probably
when I least expect it,” he
said.
Austinson said he became
interested in collecting records
after he noticed the music
more than the screen when he
went to go see movies. He also
watchs television more for the
music than the shows. “There
is really a lot of good music on
t.v.,” he said.
Austinson collects records
whenever he can, but he takes
special advantage of the times
when his family goes out of
town on vacation.
“We went to Colorado a
few weeks ago, and the first
thing I did when we got there
was open the phone book and
started calling old record
shops.” Austinson said he is
interested in producing films
as a career. He and his friends
have already filmed a James
Bond spoof, which they are
now editing. Soon they will
add the music, which is what
Austinson is really looking
forward to.
At the other end of the spec
trum was 80-year-old Bill
Blackburn, who is a retired
record wholesaler with what
he said is one of the largest
collections of 78 r.p.m.
records on the West coast.
Blackburn said his collec
tion reaches from floor to ceil
ing, and stretches 50 feet down
his basement wall. The collec
tion has over 35,000 78 r.p.m.
records, with titles dating back
to early in the century.
Blackburn said that he en
joys the atmosphere of the
swap meets, but he browses
with little energy. He said that
he really doesn’t expect to find
anything new that he hasn’t
already owned and traded
away at some point in his car-
rer. “I figure that I have had
about two million records over
the years, so there is little that
I would get excited about
anymore.”
The meet drew about 300
fans from the local area, and
one dealer made about $500
that day, said Don Rogers,
organizer of the swap meet.
A BRIGHT AFTERNOON, a shining start—
Clackamas Community College’s new president
shared the sunshine, music, volleyball, and picnic
with a crowd of well-wishers that included staff,
faculty and students.
Clockwise from upper left: President John Kiser; col
lege folk attempt to complete volley during game;
Cyndi Pucci presents Kiser with CCC baseball jacket;
members of the band, Jr. Prom and the Twisters, rest
between numbers.
Photos by Dan Wheeler
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Clackamas Community College