Bob Welbaum
Page 1 of 3

One of my favorite mementos from an NFFC Convention is an Elks Lodge pin.

This story begins on April 22, 1998, with the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World. I had never been to the “birth�? of a Disney park before, so I drove down from Dayton, Ohio to be there the first day. Of course, throughout the day I bought my share of merchandise. When I saw the buttons and cloisonnÈ pins, I had a brainstorm — I would purchase a half dozen of each, the extras being for friends who couldn’t make it to this new park before I saw them. Then I would be able to accommodate them in the true spirit of Disney collecting (I’ll sell them to ya!).

Except I had grossly underestimated my fellow collectors. When I arrived at the NFFC Convention in July, everyone who’d wanted an Animal Kingdom pin or button already had one. No takers!

This was still true at Sunday’s Show & Sale. After shopping as much as I could afford, I headed to the hotel’s bus stop so I could visit Disneyland one last time before my trip home. I was standing at the bus stop, holding a camera bag with my extra buttons and pins, when I heard a voice behind me yell “Anyone here trade pins?�?

The owner of that voice was a middle-age man who had just checked into the hotel and was visiting Disneyland for the first time in his trip. He had come for a convention of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, the group following the NFFC into the hotel. He of course meant Elks pins, but what the hey! After a brief discussion, I traded one of my extra Animal Kingdom pins for a Michigan Elks pin.

This made me realize we certainly aren’t the only passionate group of collectors out there. I immediately thought back to one of the early NFFC Conventions held at the old Inn At The Park hotel. In a free moment, several of my friends decided to visit Disney artist Charles Boyer, who at the time was working out of the office tower that was part of the Hyatt Princess Alicante hotel a few blocks south. They came back somewhat shaken. It seems the Princess Alicante was hosting a Barbie convention. The lobby was filled with women, each carrying her favorite doll. And each was dressed and made up to exactly match her doll! They could only shake their heads. “And people think we’re strange.�?