My drive to Columbus, OH from northern Illinois is about 400 miles, and should only take about 6 hours of travel. This trip is only once a year and the timing is perfect for maximum fall colors.
It is late October, the fall colors of maples and oaks are in their brilliant golds, yellows, and reds, so whenever it was practical I would slowly meander down side country roads in order to enjoy the beautiful Indiana and Ohio countryside farms. The OH Pen Show is a great attraction for all the right reasons, and this roving back road rambler makes it a point to get there as slow as I can in one day.
One of my favorite stops is Zionsville, Indiana, the home of Private Reserve Inks. Zionsville is cobblestone streets and giant 100 year old maples lining the streets, it does not take much imagination to squint down main street and hear the jingle of harness and clop clop clop of horseshoes.
The visit to Terry Johnson was to be for about 30 minutes, which turned into almost 2 hours. You know how it is…we start talking pens and inks…the time just flies.
Purple Haze, yes…a new purple ink with an attitude and a fitting tribute to Jimmy Hendrix. And that new Shell Pink, part of a new series of Pastel inks. Maybe this dream weaver still has echoes of Janis Joplin floating in his mixing room.

I finally navigate side roads around Indianapolis and down to that asphalt highway heading across the flatlands of eastern Indiana. I try to make it a point to look at maps as little as possible, I just keep an eye on the shadows for direction, and the height of the sun to guess my time. Let me tell you, coming into those small back road towns with an old drug store or a two-block long Main St. can sure be fruitful to scare up some choice vintage items. It’s almost disappointing to get back on that black asphalt ribbon.
Finally I arrived in Columbus just after dark in time for the first night wine and cheese reception with greetings from show hosts Terry and Sonya Mawhorter. After eight years they really have this down to a comfy down home show and it’s growing every year.

We were all munching with one hand, talking pens out of the side of their mouths and holding pens in the other hand. You see serious pen folk can even chew gum and talk pens at the same time…or even understand something like “Bert, where’s that #10 slip mottle twist with the hairline and #3 mount?” We were INTO it, and the fun was just beginning.

Soon I met Rick Propas, had a short formal presentation of his official Pentrace Editorial Director name badge, I didn’t stab him with it and we both had a big grin, did a quick about face and quickly parted back to the business of the hunt.

Not to miss a beat, the next few hours was doin’ what we all do best…just playing with pens and making some nice early trading deals. I’m holding my pen case close to the vest tonite, I know who my buyers are anyway and I’m more on a mission to find those elusive parts and ephemera.

Friday early am is trading day, the room is filled with about 50 or 60 traders and early buyers.
This is a serious day to score quickly if one is looking for certain parts or items that others bring for first day sales. The room is open to about midnite, so it was a long day of non-stop trading except for the pizza party at 6pm, sponsored by Pendemonium. Incredibly there were several pizzas left over, an historical event which has never happened before. So we picked up the hot pizzas still in the boxes and marched down to the trading room to feed those poor hungry die-hard pen nuts. The whiff of baked cheese and pepperoni finally brought them to their senses.

At 7:30 the PCA also hosted a wine & cheese reception. The newest members of the Board were introduced by Sam Fiorella, including our own Pentracer Lisa Hanes. Prizes were drawn, and the new PCA website was displayed on a laptop presentation. Friday night we had an impromptu Pentrace brainstorming session with Richard Binder, Rick Propas and Giovanni Abrate. Richard was fine tuning my laptop Pentrace presentation which I showed on my table to visitors and potential advertisers, introducing the launch of Pentrace East, our Japanese web site. Russ Stutler is at the helm of this production and largely responsible for bringing this on board.

Saturday is show day! Early breakfasts, and with big steel coffee pots near the front door compliments of Bexley Pens. Let me tell you, that coffee is critical being just outside the door. Traders and exhibitors pour in to claim their tables and set up from 8am to 10 when the doors finally open to the public until 6pm.
What a great spot I had. First table inside the door, every person walked past my table and was able to view the Pentrace and Pentrace East presentations. Being a Patron of the Show, I also saw to it that no one could have left the room without a bunch of free ink blotters and literature on my Parker airplanes. Pentracers would be proud that the walls and doors were reserved real estate for Pentrace and Parker DC3 posters, which were quickly disappearing anyway. Saturday was busy all day, we really had a great pen crowd and I believe most everyone had a great day.

Sailor pens was show Sponsor with a beautiful display of Maki-e and aged bamboo pens.
Mr. Nagahara was not in attendance, but a steady stream of guests gathered at their exhibit.

All day Richard Binder was grinding away shaping nibs, with his wife Barbara at his side. David Isaacson was seriously intent on photographing the rarest of the rare in the room and he was pretty busy, camera in one hand and talking about his favorite Vacs. Bert Heiserman was set up at the entrance to evaluate guests pens, and he saw some really nice ones come in such as a solid gold Presidential Parker “51” set. I saw what was believed to be an extremely rare Parker Pompeiian Duofold. Pompeiian is a brown color that was not used on the first Parker Duofolds, even though the name had been advertised publicly. Instead the familiar red or orange hard rubber color was used. Provenance is being investigated before the owner would make any such claim as this being what we think it is.

Ernesto Soler from Chicago area brought his incredible Parker “51” collection for display. He is very knowledgeable on Parker “51”s and has produced a booklet called A Compilation of Parker “51” Patents, a must for any “51” collector’s library.
Did you ever eat a Maki-e chocolate Bon Bon? Sprinkled with real gold dust, delicious and sinful. The after show 7:30 dessert party was packed as expected, after our dinner with about 14 others at the Spain restaurant. At 8:30 we packed into the auction room to watch as Rick Horne auctioned off about 110 items. Later we all compared notes and treasures at the lounge and the wise ones turned in not too late after to rest up for the Sunday am rush.

Sunday am set up is from 9 to 11 with the public in at 11 to 5. I quickly had everything set up, put the Pentrace laptop on auto scroll and rushed about the tables to find a few things before the doors were thrown open. The day was busy from late morning to mid afternoon and I finally sold a few of my most rare pens. My prototype Wahl hard rubber mottled pen found another home and I was at least comforted knowing the new owner was so thrilled as I was when I found it at a flea market many years ago. Watch for a very in depth Wahl report coming soon from this same owner, Cliff Harrington.

During the day I was honored to meet Keizo Kashimoto, a pen collector from Japan who was here on business made it a point to come to the show. He is active in the pen collecting community and attends the meetings in Japan which are reported by Russ Stutler.
After the show I stayed over Sunday night with one of my most memorable dinners ever.
Howard and Louis Kaplan of the Great Parkers, Giovanni Abrate, Moshe Zilibi from Israel, Bert Heiserman, Osmond Sumer from Germany, and David Isaacson. The conversation ran from Puccinni and Giovanni’s grandfather who was once his conductor, to Italian Opera, aviation history, art galleries in Japan, and hysterical business trips to 1970’s Belgrade in chauffer driven Yugos.
Monday morning I started home but stopped in Dayton to visit a pen collector friend whose home is a virtual deco arts museum. I took photos and will soon present an interview to present his pen collection and deco arts furnishings.

In my opinion The Ohio Pen Show is a lot more than pens. It’s the trip there and back, the meandering back country roads and the adventure of seeing and meeting new and old friends.