#91 Collecting Early OA Odd Shapes With Russell Smart

For several decades Russell Smart was on a mission. He came up with a simple enough goal. Can I get the first patch issued by the oldest lodge in every state? That rabbit hole of collecting led him to add other needs to the list but eventually he was able to get that impossible collection about 93% complete. In our interview we go back in time to talk about Order of the Arrow insignia before the flap. Russell did a lot of research during his quest to build this collection and he shares some incredible stories that all Scouting memorabilia collectors will want to hear. We talk about the Wabaningo book in 1952 that kinda set the early collecting community ablaze. However, the reason for the timing of this interview is that he is now in the process of divesting the collection and finding new homes for the great pieces in the collection. You can find his initial sale of the 100 best pieces here https://bit.ly/LegacyOAcollection.

During 2021 my goal is to publish bi-weekly with new interviews focused on the hobby of collecting Scouting memorabilia. In order to do that and improve not only the quantity of episodes but the quality I'm asking for your help. Please consider joining my Patreon group called the Scouting Hot Finds Insiders at http://www.ScoutingHotFinds.com. Members get exclusive behind the scenes content from the podcast, unboxing videos, and my business as a Scouting memorabilia dealer. Even just a pledge of $2 per month will help me hire an audio editor to make these episodes possible. If you want to see my archive of all the episodes go to my website at http://www.ScoutPatchCollectors.com. There I have a page with all the episodes linked, my Scouting Hot Finds Newsletters, Trade-O-Ree calendar and more.