View Full Version : New England "Hosstraders" hamfest is dead!
N1VAU
03-02-2007, 02:29 PM
http://www.qsl.net/k1rqg/
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif Wow this isn't good, I attended almost every one since 1980. I remember when there were over 4000 attendees.
Now it's gone............
kn4ds
03-02-2007, 02:52 PM
Probably have eBay to blame, in large measure.
KC0OFZ
03-02-2007, 02:56 PM
I read what they said on the web site. That is too bad it is done but I have to say I respect their decision. They (the planners, ect) need to do what they feel is right for them. Unfortunately this is not a unique thing. In many places the organizers are tired of "begging" for help and then having to put up with the "Monday Morning Quarterbacks". To avoid more of this I would say to please help out an organization that asks for help. These guys are human too.
Best wishes to the Hosstrader guys with the next step in their lives.
KC0OFZ
03-02-2007, 03:23 PM
Quote[/b] (KE4UWL @ Mar. 02 2007,07:52)]Probably have eBay to blame, in large measure.
you have a good point there
Quote[/b] ]They (the planners, ect) need to do what they feel is right for them. Unfortunately this is not a unique thing. In many places the organizers are tired of "begging" for help and then having to put up with the "Monday Morning Quarterbacks"
Been there, done that.
I'd rather have root canal than be the president of a Ham Radio club again.
Quote[/b] (AC0H @ Mar. 02 2007,09:42)]I'd rather have root canal than be the president of a Ham Radio club again.
You and me both.
During my tenure as president of a radio club we admitted to membership a guy who had been licensed only a couple of months but thought he knew everything, not only about Amateur Radio in general but also about how to "properly" run a ham club (which he obviously thought we weren't doing).
He started a campaign of "divide and conquer" among the members, some of whom had known each other for 20 years or more. #He would show up at club meetings and try to monopolize the meeting by questioning everything club officers did, even down to minor expenditures on the treasurer's reports. #He also talked trash about everyone whenever he got the chance.
Eventually people started staying away from meetings in droves. #Finally he got a coalition of sycophants together large enough to form a voting bloc to take over the board of directors at the next election.
The club, for all practical purposes, dissolved a few months later although it still exists on paper.
HossTraders isn't saying but I suspect something like that was a factor in their decision.
N1VAU
03-03-2007, 01:14 AM
I sure am going to miss this hamfest...........
Those guys raised $1.3 Million for the Shriner's Burn Hospitals!
This was the best hamfest in New England and maybe the East Coast.
E-Bay is one thing, but nothing like what a hamfest is!
kn4ds
03-03-2007, 02:38 AM
I agree that the hamfest isn't really about buying used boatanchors. The hamfest is about getting together with folks you know on the air... the fellowship.
Or at least that's what it's supposed to be about... so many these days think it's about the boneyard, and they seem to prefer eBay.
<shrug> I haven't been to hamfest in years myself.
kb1ils
03-03-2007, 06:30 AM
Though I never made it to a Hosstraders (after saying I'd go for years), I agree that the news hit me and made me a bit sad.
I have heard some of the locals toying with the idea of a different location for a regional fest. I do have connections that would enable us to get a moderately-sized space for the occasion, located in Worcester, MA, and probably free of charge, however I do not have the time to pursue making the dream a reality. If anyone is interested in this, please feel free to contact me.
I made a few at Deerfield (and one at, where was it, Rochester?) before decamping for Texas. I do remember the straw that broke the camels back for Deerfield was when so many folks left unsalable old iron in the fairground dumpster that the trash truck hydraulics couldn't handle the load (at least that was the current explanation).
One can't expect an affair put on by the same people year after to year to continue if IS the same people, year after year. Sooner or later, along comes disgust, retirement, illness or the Grim Repeater(sic). Add competition that draws down attendance and ... C'est la vie!
Ave atque vale, Hosstraders.
Cortland
KA5S
N1MLF
03-06-2007, 06:04 PM
A sad day indeed http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif
I went a couple times and had a great time. As someone said the camaraderie was a big part of it aside from digging thru tons of "good junk".
Hopefully something in the New England area will come to replace it.
73..JW