The Early Fun Days

[sgbailey2002]

Just came across this old photo of John Chapman and me outside Grant's hotel in SF. What year was this Grant? Before John started making jackets. He was still living in the Bay Area. Must be about 2002? I think John is wearing an original M422A and I'm wearing my beloved original B&T AN6552, which came with leather flight cap and fur lined mittens. I drove 2 hours and brought a clothes rack of jackets, just so us boys could hang out and show off jackets and talk about them. Fun early days, when the collecting fever is real strong. And yes I know, 'tuck the shirt in'.
Skip Bailey

 

[B-Man2]

Great photo Skip!
Thanks for posting .

 

[sgbailey2002]

Just heard from John and he too thinks it was 2002. His jacket is an original G&F M422A.

 

[STEVE S.]

Wasn’t it around 03-04 when we met up at the Hump pilots convention in Nashville? Seems like yesterday, but also seems like a lifetime ago.

 

[sgbailey2002]

Wasn’t it around 03-04 when we met up at the Hump pilots convention in Nashville? Seems like yesterday, but also seems like a lifetime ago.

Yes that's right, we did meet there. That was also the last Hump Pilots Convention as well, as they disbanded after that as it was their 50th convention and they originally thought nobody would be left. You were working on a '40 Ford Coupe then. And yes it does seem like a long time ago, a lifetime for sure.

 

[mulceber]

Wow, blast from the past! It’s great seeing photos from the early days where younger versions of some familiar faces are palling around sporting great originals.

 

[ausreenactor]

20 years...

Mind blown...

 

[WBOONE]

That is a great pic. The jacket looks really good on John.

 

[Grant]

Hahaha, great photo Skip! I remember the hotel delivering clothing racks to my room so we could hang the crazy amount of jackets you and John brought. What a day that was!
Here's another photo from 2010 of some of the original Dead Horse Society members meeting up at Thunder over Michigan for one of the largest grouping of B-17's and B-24's since the war. The cat second from left is Paul Saunders from Chicago. Paul was one of the coolest dudes ever and his flight jacket collection rivaled any museum or other serious collector today. Yeah, I'm the nerd with the sunburn and Army Air Force tee!

 

[sgbailey2002]

Hahaha, great photo Skip! I remember the hotel delivering clothing racks to my room so we could hang the crazy amount of jackets you and John brought. What a day that was!
Here's another photo from 2010 of some of the original Dead Horse Society members meeting up at Thunder over Michigan for one of the largest grouping of B-17's and B-24's since the war. The cat second from left is Paul Saunders from Chicago. Paul was one of the coolest dudes ever and his flight jacket collection rivaled any museum or other serious collector today. Yeah, I'm the nerd with the sunburn and Army Air Force tee!


View attachment 76271

And that's Alan on the left and of course me on the right. My wife Lori took the photo at dinner on Saturday night. She met a WASP at Thunder that weekend. We also met an original Tuskegee Airman and bought his book. And met Robert Morgan's widow and bought a signed Memphis Belle cap from her. An all around fabulous weekend. We were some of the original members of the Dead Horse Society.......

 

[Silver Surfer]

very, very cool. hmmmm.....chappy actually had hair once, eh?

 

[Chandler]

very, very cool. hmmmm.....chappy actually had hair once, eh?

Now now. There, but for the grace of god, you know.

 

[Silver Surfer]

yeah, hair today, gone tomorrow.

 

[B-Man2]

Great photos !
A walk down memory lane and a little bit of a history lesson as to how we all benefitted from the input of these original members of “The Dead Horse Society“ and how we got to where we are today as VLJ .

 

[Chandler]

Was anyone here, currently on VLJ (other than Grant and JC), a member of Marc Weinshenker's first jacket forum on the Deja.com platform (or whatever it should be called)?

I had been into FJs, particularly A-2s, long before the internet, but finding that group was great because I didn't know anyone else who had "jacket fever."

 

[leper-colony]

I think I was...

 

[Chandler]

I think I was...

I understand the tentative reply. It's hell to get old, but it beats the alternative!

 

[MikeyB-17]

I started with ’Flight jackets etc.’ in the late 90’s, but the old Deja forum was spoken of in hushed tones, and the archives were still online, so I had a good look.

 

[Chandler]

...but the old Deja forum was spoken of in hushed tones...

By the malcontents that brought it down, no doubt.