September has been a very busy month for me and the store. On the 13th I leave for the Military Antiques Extravaganza Show (MAX) in York, PA. This show was created in the 1980’s by two longtime German Blade Collectors, Thomas Wittmann and LTC (Ret.) Thomas Johnson. In its early days the show traveled around the country. In its later years the show found a home at Monroeville, PA. Monroeville is a southern suburb of Pittsburgh, PA and with the location of any large show there were good and bad things about the location. One of the bad things was the show was a very long way from the Pittsburgh Airport. It was also a very long way for the military collectors located on the east coast of the US. The only major highway that runs directly to the Pittsburgh area is the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This was one of the first four lane highways built in the US and was in a state of poor repair for many years. It was also an expensive toll road.
Ohio Valley Military Society Takes Over
The MAX Show languished for many years in the Monroeville location and was purchased by the Ohio Valley Military Society (OVMS) in 2017. The OVMS purchased the show with the idea to move the show further east to better serve the mass of east coast collectors. The Show moved to its current location at the York Expo Center last year. I was fortunate to be able to attend this show and have great hopes that it will grow into a great militaria show. In my next blog I will report on the show and how well this trip went.
