[Milsurplus] Surplus stores, then and now

[ed sharpe]

great history story Hue!
a place I would have loved to have visited!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hue Miller" <kargo_cult at msn.com>
To: "Wireless-Set-No19 @ yahoogroups.com" 
<Wireless-Set-No19 at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, September 05, 2004 3:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Milsurplus] Surplus stores, then and now


> This is a subject that will bring a smile to my face. I honestly don't 
> think you readers
> in Europe can fully realize the wonderfulness and craziness of some of our 
> onetime
> USA surplus stores. I am tempted to write on this but also daunted by the 
> task. This
> is a subject i work on episodically here. I am always after anecdotes but 
> have not
> compiled anything yet. I generally file such anecdotes in a mental file 
> cabinet called
> "Tales of Surplus Glory", with apologies to Ed Sanders, author of "Tales 
> of Beatnik
> Glory".
>
> How about this as a starter. It will be short, because i never visited 
> this shop, was only
> told about it by Bob Williams, a former FAA technical supervisor and WW2 
> aviation
> radio enthusiast. We'll have to call it "Surplus Motel", because he didn't 
> recall the
> exact name. This was a failed or closed  highway motel outside Spokane, 
> Washington state.
> You parked at this motel and then went in to talk to the manager in the 
> office.  After
> exchanging greetings  you explained what kind of equipment you were 
> interested in.
> ( Bob humorously did emphasize the word "equipment" ). If you were 
> interested in
> 'Command Sets', Navy gear such as TCS, Army receivers, etc., for example.
> Depending on your interest area, the manager handed you a  numbered  key. 
> You took the
> key and  went to the designated motel room.  Inside was stacked the gear 
> you were
> interested in. I believe it must have been marked with price, but even so, 
> i'm sure that even
> if it was, there was some leeway for price negociation. You then returned 
> to the office for
> "checkout".  Probably if the gear was heavy anchors you returned to the 
> office without it
> and there discussed the price, and paid up, and then fetched it.
>
> -Hue Miller
> ______________________________________________________________
> Milsurplus mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/milsurplus
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
>
>