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            | Thursday, October 11, 2018Slim Rhodes & The Mountaineers 11:51 pm cdtOne of my favorite bands on Memphis television in the
                  late 50's and early 60's was Slim Rhodes. I
                  found this old picture of Slim tonight a box I had almost forgotten. I'm glad I found this great picture of Slim with his guitar, and from left to right, Slim's brother
                  Dusty on the fiddle, Tiny Dixon on rhythm guitar, Slim, brother (and great comedian) Speck Rhodes on the stand up bass, and
                  seated at the pedal steel guitar, the unforgettable Rocky Rhodes. 
 Slim and the band were at Stanley's By-Ryt
                  Grocery Store on Macon Road playing the parking lot that day for lots of Stanley's customers. Slim and the band autographed the back of the photo. 
 Slim Rhodes and his Mountaineers were a popular
                  act in Memphis going back to the 1930s. So much so, that Sam Phillips and Sun Record company signed them to a recording contract
                  in the 1950s. The
                  group got its start back in 1932, when Slim and two of his brothers formed a group while they were in high school and played
                  country fairs. In a 1946 letter to the editor
                  of the Commercial Appeal attributed to Slim Rhodes, he mentions they were on WMC in Memphis, Tennessee at 11:30am each day
                  as well as the Central Quality Network, sponsored by Mother's Best Flour. Slim said they had been with their sponsor for seven
                  years at that time. Speck
                  Rhodes played the bass fiddle then and did comedy. Later in his career, he was part of Porter Wagoner's band. Slim, Dusty
                  and Speck were brothers. Slim Rhodes and his
                  Mountaineers had a weekly Saturday show over WMCT in Memphis, from 12:00 to 12:30. They also had a 30-minute show over KATV
                  in ine Bluff, Arkansas every Tuesday. I watched them everday that I could when I was a little boy. I'm very proud to have this picture of Slim and the band I cherish it. 
 
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       For the next few weeks I'll be talking
         about the first day covers of ArtCraft along with everything else.
ArtCraft closed it's doors recently after 76 years of making philatelic history.
I'm  predicting a sudden, salubrious escalation in the value
         of the ArtCraft  cachet, all ArtCraft first day covers and ArtCraft portrait cards.
Including those connected to the Postal Commemorative Society
Their  departure signals the end of an extraordinarily crucial,
         very  important, highly significant and exceedingly meaningful period in  philately
A mournful signal which will be heard around the world and
         lamented throughout the multitude of collectors
Leo
         and Sam August treasured their associations with the world's greatest philatelists
Leo's  contributions to our hobby were significant enough
         to earn the coveted  Luft Award and a place in the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame.
ArtCraft has well-earned it's place in the great chronological
         record in the history of philately.
Their
         raised ink, line-engraved intaglio printed cachets rank among the most aesthetic in the world.
ArtCraft cachets are not just beautiful. 
They are works
         of art that showcase the wonders of the world and illuminate the powers of human creativity and ingenuity.
         The Coober Pedy Cover
One of the World's Great Philatelic Rarities 

Could this become la pièce
         de résistance de toute la modern Australian philatélie ? 
Coober  Pedy is a town in northern South Australia. The town is sometimes   referred to as the "opal
         capital of the world" because of the quantity   of precious opals that are mined there. Coober Pedy is renowned for its
           below-ground residences,called "dugouts", which are built in this   fashion due to the scorching daytime heat.
         The name "Coober Pedy" comes   from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means "white man's   hole".
Opal was found in Coober Pedy on 1 February 1915; since   then the town has been supplying most of the world's gem-quality
         opal.   Coober Pedy today relies as much on tourism as the opal mining industry   to provide the community with employment
         and sustainability. Coober  Pedy  has over 70 opal fields and is the largest opal mining area in the   world.
Coober
         Pedy - no village, no buildings, no roads, just   desert, mountains dotted with boulders. A bizarre lunar landscape, but 
          for opal seekers is the most exciting place on earth, where again every   day is the true challenge, happiness and luck just
         a shovel width apart   and where life is defined by two words: winners and losers. Coober  Pedy,  grab your hat, throw it
         into the air and where it lands start  digging ! 
 

 
 
      
          “The Scott
         Numbers are the copyrighted property of Amos Press Inc., dba Scott 
Publishing Co. The marks Scott and Scott’s are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 
and are trademarks of Amos Press, Inc. dba Scott Publishing Co. No
         use may be 
made of these marks or of
         material which is reprinted from a copyrighted 
publication
         of Amos Press, Inc., without the express written permission of Amos 
Press, Inc., dba Scott Publishing Co., Sidney, Ohio 45365.”