The NASG Story: A History (part2)
by Bob Jackson
ERRATA:
In the first article (Vol. 9, no. 3), the last paragraph on page 6 states that Wallace Collins wanted to drop the NASG column from the Herald because Bernie Thomas had become a Herald Associate Editor while simultaneously serving as the NASG General Director. However, we intended to indicate that even though earlier relations had not been smooth, pacification was probably achieved for Thomas's appointment to have occurred. This likely contributed to the emergence of the Herald as the national voice of the NASG.
Russ Mobley informs us that the "old-timers" circuit includes members who were in the initial circuits. Moreover, at age 53, he is the "baby" of the whole lot of them.
Russ adds that, according to his documentation, the name "National Association of S Gaugers" was adopted unofficially in May 1960 and officially in October 1960. This is the most precise dating of the official start of the NASG that we presently have. It would be helpful if others would come forward with corroborating records.
Finally, Russ recalls that he also submitted an entry to the NASG logo contest. Therefore, he suspects that he is one of the "unknowns." (It would he interesting if the other unknowns would identify themselves.)
PART ONE — THE BEGINNINGS (cont'd.)
Bernie Thomas's Legacy
On the morning of July 12, 1965, the bell tolled for Bernard Thomas. Within a few weeks Russ Mobley was tapped to be the third NASG General Director. Several others had volunteered but Russ appeared to represent stability and continuity. He had just been appointed Associate Director — Clubs on June 3, 1965 by Thomas as part of a plan to develop a more formalized structure for the NASG. (Thomas had simultaneously appointed Ambie Hennek as Associate Director — Trolley.)
Russ had been very active in S gauge for quite some time and had been involved in the development of the NASG since 1960. Russ was also a member of the NMRA. While stationed in Wichita Falls, Texas with the Air Force in the early 1960s, he wrote S gauge promotional material for the NMRA. During that same period, he helped development of the Southwestern S Gaugers Association. Later, after moving to Georgia, he initiated the formation of the Southeastern S Gaugers Association. Clearly his credentials as a promoter of S gauge were well established. Furthermore, he knew Thomas and his goals quite well and identified with them very closely. Thus he seemed to be a natural to succeed Bernie.
Given his background, it was natural that Mobley would set out to push forward with those goals that had already been articulated by Thomas and apparently accepted by the general NASG membership. He signaled his intentions in the NASG column of the winter 1965 issue of the S Gauge Herald. He wrote, "As a friend of Bernie Thomas, I would very much like to continue where he left off." Almost immediately, he began to reap the storm that had been gathering in the distance for some time. To understand this, it is necessary to examine the forces and influences that played within and upon the NASG from its inception.
Seeds of Dissension
Claude Wade's recognition that S gauge could be organized around " round-robin" circuits was probably a stroke of genius. Although everything that could be found in S gauge could also be found to some degree in other gauges, none had a mix of interests parallel to that of S gauge. American Flyer collectors were not as numerous in the late 1950s as they are today, but collecting was still serious business. The majority of S gaugers at that time were tinplate operators. Hi-rail operators, very rare in other gauges, were quite common in S gauge. And, of course, those geniuses who converted toy trains to scale operation by every imaginable means were a breed peculiar to S gauge. They, with the scratch builders and kit assemblers, comprised the S gauge scale operators. Not even the NMRA encompasses such a wide range of interests.
Spontaneous association of these diverse interests is virtually non-existent in any gauge. Merely sharing the same track gauge does not provide an automatic basis for kinship. Indeed, there may be cause for antagonism in some cases, as between the collector and the converter: One man's junk is the other man's gold. oose federation of small units, each organized around a specific interest and linked through a more general common interest might. Within each small unit the great diversity disappears. The more general common interest provides both a reason for association of the small units and a sense of belonging to something larger and therefore more enduring. The loose federation ensures that no single interest can readily dominate the others and tends to prevent the central governing body from placing its own interests ahead of those of the small units.
Paradoxically, this principle of organization that so brilliantly got things started had inherent weaknesses which, with time, would become troublesome.
The very success of many of the NASG circuits (see Footnote 1) led to an organization that, when viewed collectively across all of the circuits, was by nature inward-looking. The circuits generally worked quite well and served the needs of their members nicely. Given this, there was no widespread perception that a strong national organization would be anything other than a distraction. Many members saw no need for anything beyond the circuits to which they belonged. The circuits were comfortable and useful, and they worked.
Mismatch of Goals:
Leadership vs. Membership
Meanwhile, the NASG leadership had for some years seen the necessity for S gauge to expand, and had spent great effort in that direction. S gauge promotion had been one of the distinguishing features of Bernie Thomas's stewardship. It was also to become one of Russ Mobley's. The leadership was not alone many individual members agreed. For some, promotion was equated with survival and this was linked immediately to association with the NMRA. Bernie Thomas had stumped strongly for formal association of the NASG with the NMRA. Toward the latter part of his tenure as General Director, he was urging members of all clubs to belong simultaneously to both the NASG and the NMRA. This was fundamentally an outward-looking view.
Moreover, at the national level the NASG was nearly a one-man show. Although each of the General Directors had assembled a panel of advisors, assistants and helpMoreover, at the national level the NASG was nearly a one-man show. Although each of the General Directors had assembled a panel of advisors, assistants and helpers, those arrangements were informal. This small group furnished manpower, effort, and money. However, the primary source of all these was the General Director himself. The burdens placed on the personal and financial resources of the General Director were too much for any one person to endure over a long period of time. Leadership was isolated to those few who were doing the most to support the NASG at the national level. The general membership really had very little invested in the NASG. Without a formal organization structure spanning all the interests of the membership, the clash between the outward-looking view of the leadership and the inward-looking view held by much of the membership was inevitable. It was not long in coming.
Surrogate Focuses:
The S Gauge Herald.....
This phase of NASG history was closely intertwined with the success of the S Gauge Herald. (Perhaps someday, someone will write the history of the Herald in its first incarnation.) The Herald had carried the national voice of the NASG since 1962. It is quite probable that the NASG would not have survived beyond the early sixties without this support.
Wallace Collins and Frank Titman's explicit goal was to extend the appeal of the Herald posed two kinds of problems to the development of the NASG as a national body that couldWallace Collins and Frank Titman's explicit goal was to extend the appeal of the Herald to all S gauge interests. It is startling therefore to recognize that the Herald, quite unintentionally, posed two kinds of problems to the development of the NASG as a national body that could speak with meaningful authority for S gauge.
First, the NASG had never developed a "house organ" publication of its own. " News, Notes and Flashes" was meant to serve that purpose, but it never succeeded at that level. In 1965 the national voice of the NASG was the column that appeared five times a year in the back pages of the Herald. Thus, despite the Herald's generosity, the effect was to downgrade the NASG. In fact, most S gaugers of that period looked to the Herald rather than the NASG for information and guidance. The Herald's subscribership was larger than the membership of the NASG throughout the sixties and most of the seventies.
.....and the NESGA
Second, the Herald's influence was felt in quite another and, in some respects, more significant way. This resulted from the Herald's promotion of The Northeastern S Gaugers Association (NESGA), a group that was made up principally of its staff 's promotion of The Northeastern S Gaugers Association (NESGA), a group that was made up principally of its staff and early subscribers. Like the NASG, the NESGA (see Footnote 3) was informally structured however, it was far stronger than the NASG.
The NESGA grew out of a meeting at Frank Titman's home in Allentown, PA in January 1961. It rapidly came together as a group filled with energy and vigor. The "fathers" of the Herald were also the founders of the NESGA. It is not surprising, therefore, that early NESGA activities were featured in the Herald.
The NESGA's first convention, held in Woburn, MA in 1962, included contests, layout visits, and a banquet. It can be regarded as the prototype for the NASG conventions, the first of which would not be held for another 10 years in Kansas City.
The NESGA's success must be viewed against the fact that in the early Sixties 50 to 60 percent of the known S gaugers resided in Pennsylvania, New York (including metropolitan New York City), and New England. Thus, the NESGA could tap the resources of the largest concentration of S gaugers in the country. These included many of the most skillful and dedicated modelers to be found in any gauge. All that was needed to stimulate this group was the desire and organizing energy. These were provided at that initial meeting in Allentown.
The problem that all this posed for the NASG was the fact that so many of the services that would have been natural for a national organization to develop for its members were already being successfully provided by the Herald and the NESGA. Moreover, the NESGA, encompassing as it did such a large fraction of the known S gaugers, siphoned off energy and initiative that, under other circumstances, might have gone to the NASG.
Russ Mobley's Stewardship
With Bernie Thomas's death, Russ Mobley became the faithful battlefield lieutenant who seized the flag from the fallen captain. The stresses within the NASG had already begun to surface in the last months of Thomas's tenure. Russ had barely been installed when the first serious rupture became public. A vigorous debate among the leadership between those who felt the future of S gauge was best served by further and more aggressive development of the castings project and those who wanted a broader-based approach stressing increased membership had been raging for many months. The debate was resolved when Claude Wade, feeling the need to unshackle the project from the NASG, announced in the Winter 1965 Herald that the castings project was going "completely commercial." A private company called "S Scale Locomotive and Supply" subsumed the project. This left the NASG with no substantial membership benefit beyond the circuits.
If the need for a formal organizational structure had ever been doubted, it was now clear that the time was already late. Russ set the achievement of such a structure among his highest priorities within the first few months of his tenure. Bernie Thomas had earlier conceived a formal organization plan but it was never fully implemented. This plan served as the starting point for the one that Mobley later announced.
The chief obstacle to the acceptance of formalization had always been the revenue needed to support it. For five years the NASG had lived on handouts and the willingness of the leadership to fund operations from their own pockets. For much of the rank and file there seemed to be nothing to be gained by the payment of dues. The NASG had nothing to offer beyond what they already had been getting essentially free.
After months of discussion and argument, Mobley was finally able to announce in the Winter 1965 Herald that a formal scheme of organization had been achieved and would take effect on July 1, 1966. From that time forward, the NASG was represented by a General Director whose activities were overseen by a seven-member Board of Trustees. A staff including Field Directors, Circuit Directors, Regional Directors, and Treasurer assisted the General Director.
Russ Mobley continued as General Director. The first seven trustees were Frank Titman, Wallace Collins, Richard Karnes, David Engle, Eugene Fletcher, Edward Schumacher and John Sudimak.
To solve the problem of revenues, an initiation fee of $3 was assessed against each new member. For this the member received a lifetime membership and an official NASG patch. This was an obvious compromise, as existing members were not required to pay the fee. Mobley had recommended that all members be required to pay the fee. However, some Board members argued that this would drive away the old members, in effect changing the entire foundation of the NASG. This compromise was accompanied by the suggestion to the existing members that it would be most beneficial to the organization if they would also choose to pay the fee. In an apparent effort to stimulate many to do so, the holders of the first fifty membership cards were given the "Charter Member" status.
Membership card number 000 was presented to Claude Wade in recognition of his status as the founder of the NASG.
Membership under the new scheme grew rapidly in the first few months and then slowed to a mere trickle. Approximately two-thirds of the old members never paid the initiation fee. Since it was possible to retain membership in the circuits without paying the fee, many saw no reason to pay. In less than a year following its institution, it was clear that the $3 lifetime membership fee had failed to solve the revenue problems of the NASG.
With the failure of the initiation fee to raise the expected revenue, fund raising became even more necessary. During the next three years, Mobley pursued special fundraising activities with a series of proposals to the Board of Trustees. Chief among these was the idea of an NASG-sponsored car kit. However, the S kit manufacturers were split in their views. Kinsman, for example, was opposed, fearing that an NAGS kit would compete with the already narrowly-based manufacturers. Regal Kits, on the other hand, supported the idea on the premise that the NASG-sponsored kit would be unique, and therefore would not duplicate anything offered or planned by any of the manufacturers. Even if the disagreement between the manufacturers could have been resolved, the problem of financing the project remained. Len Giovannoli offered to finance a major part of the project out of his own pocket if the Board could devise a matching scheme to produce the rest of the needed funds and a plan whereby he would eventually recover his money. However, neither the Board nor Mobley could assure Giovannoli that he would ever recover even a fraction of his investment. That, together with the probability of affronting an important kit manufacturer, caused the Board to reject the proposal.
Other proposals included the marketing of NASG hats and calendars and a compilation of the best conversion articles from the Herald. Some of these ideas were carried fairly well into the development stage but most never got to market. One that did was the proposal to sell NASG dry-transfer sets for lettering undecorated cars. In the fall of 1968 they were sold for $1.25 per set. This was a reasonably successful venture and pumped some much-needed revenue into the NASG coffers. However, it was another short-term fix which did not address the fatal flaw: there was no reliable, renewable set of resources with which to conduct the NASG's business. A fundamental solution was not in the cards during Russ's tenure.
In a sense, a more troublesome outcome of the initiation fee was what it did to the social structure of the NASG. Because the fee was required only of new members, it divided the NASG into those who paid and those who did not. The organization was already seriously divided between those that saw salvation in association with the NMRA and those that saw the NMRA as useless and threatening. One more serious division was too much. Whereas prior to July 1966 (the date of imposition of the fee), increased enrollment in the circuits precipitated a shortage in circuit directors, by 1968 many circuits were dying out for lack of interest. American Flyer circuits appeared to be hit the hardest. Mobley announced the consolidation of several AF circuits others simply languished.
With this decline, the argument between the pro- and anti-NMRA forces became strident no other issue was so divisive or so corrosive to the spirit of the organization.
Despite the problems of trying to lead a dispirited and cantankerous organization, Mobley was making some gains in achieving his stated goals. One thing that the NASG always offered its members was fellowship, which was less sensitive to the dissension of the times. Russ, perhaps instinctively moving to succeed where success was possible, spent much effort developing the social fabric of the NASG. Like his predecessor, he promoted the development of rotating-visiting (R-V) clubs. His new emphasis was to get these clubs to achieve 100 percent NASG membership. Several did in fact achieve that status.
In the same vein, Russ promoted increased family involvement in the NASG. This he accomplished by establishing the "S"ettes for the wives of S gauge model rails. Furthermore, he began a Beginners Circuit for the children of S gauge families. This circuit was intended to assist youngsters with modeling problems. The central idea of the circuit was to get the young members involved in a project on which they all could work simultaneously, a car kit for example, which could also serve as a family project.
Formalization of Contest Rules
One of the more important achievements during Mobley's stewardship was the development of a set of contest rules to be used in judging entries at officially-sanctioned S gauge meetings.
Contests were a standard feature at all NESGA conventions since the first one at Woburn in 1962. However, the rules governing these were determined by the local club hosting the convention. Usually they were some variation of the NMRA rules. Unfortunately, the lack of uniformity in the rules led to confusion and conflict. A controversy resulting from the 1967 NESGA convention contest in Tarrytown, N.Y. set in motion efforts to produce a uniform set of contest rules. In the fall of that year, the NASG Board of Trustees concluded that the NASG, being the only nationally-based S gauge organization, should develop such a set of rules. Mobley announced the undertaking of the project in the fall 1967 Herald. The rules were to be adapted from the NMRA rules. Progress, however, was slow.
Meanwhile, the Potomac Valley S Gaugers Association was preparing to host the 1969 NESGA convention. PVSGA president Ed Schumacher had assigned Dick Cataldi to be contest chairman. This task included writing a set of rules under which the contest would be conducted. Cataldi, together with Jon Watson, developed a set of rules which worked very well and which were well-received by the attendees.
Later that year, Mobley asked Schumacher to formalize the 1969 NESGA convention contest rules for proposal to the NASG Board as the official NASG contest rules. Schumacher again turned to Cataldi, who produced a version that was subsequently approved by the Board. The new rules were published in the spring 1970 issue of the Herald, and were first used at the 1970 NESGA convention at Hershey, PA.
The Turning Point
At the Hershey convention, the NASG Board, having no separate national meeting of its own, decided that the NASG would sanction the future regional meets of the NESGA. Thus, in effect, it adopted the NESGA meets as the NASG national meetings. This simple stroke of the pen signaled the restoration of the NASG as the dominant S gauge organizational force.
Although it would take many years and several starts to complete, Russ in 1970 asked Jim Peters to undertake the development of a set of standards. The outcome of that story, however, belongs in another installment of this series.
Farewell.....
During his five years as General Director, Mobley was moved by the Air Force from Ohio to Alaska and then back. He was also trundled around to several schools for short periods of time. These moves seriously hampered his ability to follow through on a number of projects. His frustration was at times visible in the NASG columns in the Herald. Moreover, he had had a troubled marriage, and almost immediately after his retirement from the Air Force on August 1, 1970, was divorced. At that time he suggested to the Board of Trustees that he be replaced by Ed Schumacher. The Board accepted, and that winter Russ passed the gavel to Ed. With the passing of hat gavel the "Beginnings" of the NASG had come to an end.
Summation
Three people linked in time and experience had defined and articulated the cause of the NASG the last had the fate to lead as the NASG went through the convulsions of intense self-examination. What took place in the NASG in the last half of the sixties was a socio-political struggle not unlike many others which have occurred in the American culture. In a small sense, the NASG was like the USA in that it had tried to absorb all manner of interests. By 1965 it was clearly having trouble digesting them all. The ensuing bickering was symptomatic of an organization trying to work out its differences and determine where it was going. At times the frustration became intense, and in one known case resulted in a fist-fight. If there is anything at which to marvel in those years, it is the very survival of the organization. There were many who were sure that it could not. During that period he NASG had no mechanisms for resolving conflict or achieving consensus. Thus, there was no possibility of real governance However, to his everlasting credit, Mobley tried and tried again. What is now clear is that he functioned as the NASG's conscience during an especially difficult time. Nearly all of the NASG columns in the Herald the contained messages about the decline in the spirit of the organization, pointing out that the membership could and should do better. Russ was the preacher expounding the sins of the congregation.
For those who felt that the NASG was dying if not dead, Ed Schumacher had a strong message:
"My fellow model rails and S gauge compatriots — An NASG obituary is not in the offing." With that he had set the agenda for the middle period.
NEXT: Incorporation.
Footnote 1: The Circuits and Their Impact
As noted earlier, the NASG initially developed around circuits. (Len Giovannoli has generously provided us his records for circuits AF-6 , 172-S-6, 125-S-6, and 125-S-8, for which he served as director. He was also a member of Director's Circuit #1. These provided some valuable insights to the workings of the circuits.) Each circuit was a small group of S gaugers with similar interests centering around the type of trackage on which they operated. There were also a number of special-interest circuits (trolleys, circus trains, etc.). Each circuit usually had six to eight members, one of whom served as its director. The director was responsible for keeping a record of the circuit members and of the whereabouts of the "circuit letter," which was really a collection of individual letters written by each member. The circuit director initiated each new letter. As each member received the letter, he was supposed to send a postcard to the director so he would know where the letter was. The member would then replace his old material with a new note after reading the entire package. If all worked as intended, a typical letter would take about two months to `make the circuit" to each member.
However, things often did not work as intended. Most circuit letters experienced delays for one reason or another. The record almost surely goes to Tom O'Connor who kept circuit 125-S-8 for nine years and seven months! Seems he went off to join the Navy in 1967 and somehow did not get around to opening the letter until November 1977.
The circuit letter was intended to share technical data and experience. For example, a member might be having difficulty assembling a kit, or perhaps could not get his AF GP7 to reverse properly. He would describe his problems in the circuit letter and, as it passed around the circuit, others would reply with descriptions of how they had solved similar problems or with suggestions as to how to get help. The best circuits would contain information on every conceivable aspect of the hobby.
In practice, the letters were intensely social. The members would comment on any matter of their choosing whether it pertained to model railroading or not. At one level much of it was gossip at another it was the very pulse of S gauge. The circuit letters reflected S gaugers' moods on virtually every topic of contemporary interest. Even the letters full of technical pointers and advice were written in a highly personal and social way. Claude Wade commented that the circuits were like people: each had a unique personality. Giovannoli's records clearly support that view. This striking social aspect of the circuits was an important factor in the NASG's development.
Footnote 2: The S Gauge Herald
Like many others, Dave Bulkin, founder of the Herald and an advertiser base was the best way to promote S gauge. Such a magazine would succeed or fail in direct relationship to the value placed on its services by the readers. Herald readership grew rapidly to more than 200 subscribers in about nine months of operation, which showed that it was fi readership grew rapidly to more than 200 subscribers in about nine months of operation, which showed that it was filling a strongly-felt need.
The earliest Heralds heavily emphasized conversions to scale and prototypical operation. Because the Herald was highly dependent on its readers for material, one could conclude that most of its original readership consisted of a fairly narrow spectrum of S gaugers.
The very success of the S Gauge Herald soon proved burdensome to Bulkin. He found himself unable to carry the extra burden of publishing and mailing resulting from such a large group of subscribers. Moreover, he experienced a serious pinch for new material, evidently because the readers were not keeping it flowing to him.
In a rather bitter note in the May 1961 issue, Dave announced that he would have to stop publication with the September 1961 issue unless someone could be found to take over as publisher of the young journal. In June he announced that a new publisher had been found the fall 1961 issue listed Wallace Collins as the Publisher and Bulkin as the Editor-in-Chief. Frank Titman's name appeared for the first time as the Hi-Rail Editor. Titman continued in that position until January 1962 when he was listed as Assistant Editor. In the following issue, Frank had become the Editor-in-Chief and Bulkin was listed as "Editorial Consultant". Thus emerged the publisher/editor team that would make the S Gauge Herald a magazine that not only served as the voice of S gauge, but was respected by the model railroad publishing industry. /p>
Footnote 3: The NESGA
The NESGA's first meeting, organized by Dave Bulkin and Frank Titman, was held in Frank's house at 330 S. Franklin Street in Allentown, PA on January 29, 1961. This "first meeting of S gaugers in the Northeast" was attended by Wallace Collins, Bob Shafto, John Bortz, Harold Bortz, Leon Walker and Dick Karnes in addition to Bulkin and Titman. Bob Blois had represented some of the S gaugers from the Massachusetts area when he telephoned to say that they could not make it because of a snowstorm.
This meeting was followed by another three months later on April 22, at Bulkin's home in New York City. On the following day the group went up to Nyack, N.Y. to visit Harry Dillon's large American Flyer layout. This was a roadside layout that was open to the public. It was featured in "S Pikes Pix" in the January 1962.
A year later, on May 12, 1962, the NESGA held its first convention complete with contests, layout visits and the like at Woburn, MA. The organizing committee, headed by Leon Walker, included Bob Blois, Win Blake, and Gene Fletcher. Frank Titman reports that the convention was held in Leon Walker's linoleum store. The banquet was held in some long-forgotten restaurant down the street. The convention was considered by the attendees to have been highly successful. It surely should be regarded as the prototype for the NASG conventions, the first of which would not be held until 10 years later in Kansas City.
[ End of Part 2 ]