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Friday, November 16, 2018

HSCA Annual Meeting and Show, Birmingham, AL

The HSCA held its annual meeting in conjunction with the Alabama Gun Collectors Association gun show in Birmingham, Alabama, October 13 and 14, 2018.  This was the first time the HSCA participated in a show in Alabama.  HSCA member Jack Page hosted the show and dinner for the HSCA.  The display tables were provided free of charge to our association members.  This was a fairly modest show by our members.  Ken Rabeneck displayed High Standard memorabilia and papers, and other interesting items.  Jon Miller (aka Mr. Crusader) displayed his phenomenal collection of Crusader engineering samples, pre-production samples, sales samples, and production revolvers. 

The highlight for the members was having Dick Baker attend the show with us.  He was an engineer at High Standard for many years.  We enjoyed hearing about the workings of High Standard in those days, and he had a lot of stories to tell.  We learned interesting things concerning the design and production of the Crusader revolvers.  One thing I did not know before was that the Crusader project turned out to be not profitable for the company, and thus the life of the project was not long. 

We had the annual meeting during the gun show on Saturday, and after the show we went to a local BBQ restaurant for a nice meal and discussion time with the members.  Dick Baker spent a good deal of time answering questions and talking about his time at High Standard. 

Advertising items.
Click on the photos to enlarge them.
 

Ken Rabeneck's display of memorabilia and
related items.

High Standard patches. etc.
High Standard catalogs and papers.
Members in attendance:
Seated, Wayne Davis, Dick Baker
Standing:  Ken Rabeneck, Jack Page, Jon Miller,
Dave Lehman, Tom Horner, and Tom Bolander

 

Jon Miller's Crusader display
 

Prototypes




Salesman sample
Dick Baker with the Crusader revolvers