This was the 12th Annual Mail Pouch Barnstormers Picnic (11th Anniversary!)
“Barnstormers Welcome Ray Day to Belmont“
by Bill Vint – Fall 2013 edition of the ‘Mail Pouch Barnstormers’ newsletter
Thanks to a special visit from a special member, the 12th annual Mail Pouch Barnstormers picnic wrote another memorable chapter in the club’s history.
Ray Day, an accomplished artist whose paintings and sculptures have frequently included Mail Pouch themes, returned to Belmont, Ohio, as featured speaker. The long-time Indiana resident (right photo) entertained the group of nearly 80 Barnstormers with stories about his most famous works of art, including the Birdsong Barn that was selected as the 2013 featured barn. Day also donated a rare autographed copy of a Harrison-Crawford County, Ind., telephone book that featured one of his celebrated Mail Pouch barn paintings.
At left, Barnstormers vice president Chris Maher, who ran the annual fundraising auction, holds a unique Mail Pouch windmill created by Elmer Napier. The auction – thanks in great part to Tom Plimpton’s generous donations – generated more than $1,300 in support of the Barnstormers’ sign restoration fund.
Also at left, Jim Vermillion displays the over-sized “birdhouse hotel” he created, miniature log by miniature log, for the first-ever Mail Pouch birdhouse design contest. Vermillion’s birdhouse tied for second place. The winner was created by designed by Judy Humphrey (below photo).
Below, the traditional table filled with tasty dishes of all kinds, provided – as always – by members attending the picnic…and at the end of the table, the traditional custom-designed Mail Pouch cake provided by Jim Langston.
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