Club Obi Wan

I mean of course someone you don't know in person. Like you're walking down the street and suddenly you notice someone is wearing Wested just like you.

I haven't but I've only been looking since I got mine, about one month ago.

Not yet, but I don't get out much and when I do it usually isn't
someplace with a lot of people.

Regards,
Indybill

Haven't seen anyone in the Stevenson's ranch TRU (I frequent that place too), but I did see someone w/ one walking in Burbank while I was driving. Can see that design a mile away.

AC

I ran into 4 or 5 goofballs wearing Westeds when I took a little trip to Gettysburg. They all tried to tell me that thiers were all "authentic"
The nerve of some people.

I saw a guy in a "Claim jumpers" restaurant in concord in the bay....It was BEAT up, really distressed looking! But I never said anything to him, as he was walking to fast.

Cheers
I J

When I went and saw Bubba Ho Tep at the Nuart in LA there was a guy in line wearing a Wested. I spoke to him to conferm it was an early wested from about 1999 or 2000? The guy works as a screen writer (and who in LA is NOT in the industry?) and mentioned he submited a script to SS and GL for a fourth Indy. They rejected it but he was a fan, wrote a script and sent it. More then I did... Nice guy and yes he knows of COW as this was the place he got the info on the jacket. I jst need to get mine!!!!

Cheers,
Jeff

A few months a ago, i was at the clean energy expo in State College Pa., I saw a gentleman in an unmistakeable Indy jacket. If i had to guess, id say wested, but im no pro. I saw him twice, so im SURE it was indy jacket. I wondered if it was anybody from Obi-Wan.
-Chris

IndyBlues wrote:I ran into 4 or 5 goofballs wearing Westeds when I took a little trip to Gettysburg. They all tried to tell me that thiers were all "authentic"
The nerve of some people.

I'd be careful of this group, IndyBlues. You never can predict what these crazy people are going to do and you could find yourself in a big pot of trouble just by looking at them wrong. Best to just walk away slowly.

Me too, Fedora. I was about to say "well, sure, a whole BOAT load out in Long Beach!", but he stole our thunder. Actually, I DID see two fellows standing around in the Chicago airport when I was running through there last year changing planes coming back from the 2nd QM summit, but didn't get to talk to them. Their hats left something to be desired (looked like 'Snowy River' wannabes), but the jackets smacked of U.S. Wings Indy's design. I do remember their expressions, as I passed, as I had on my Wested authentic lambskin, PBBM, and MkVII. It was kind of a stunned look, I guess would be be the best way to describe it. I'm sure it wasn't about the gear I was wearing....more likely the bright blue checked shirt I was wearing underneath the jacket that caused the shocked expressions. Regards. Michaelson

Interesting stories. It's like we are in some sort of cult of which nobody but us knows of its existence.

In a way, Gus, that's a good thing. Theres nothing more frightening than seeing a bunch of us together in gear. You should have seen the citizens scatter when we walked in group around the Queen Mary at the last summit. Spooky! Regards. Michaelson

Around 1996-1997 I was in the "World's Biggest Bookstore" in Toronto, and I spotted a gent checking out at the cash wearing an Indiana Jones jacket. I don't believe it was a Wested, but to my eyes it looked amazing. More amazing than the Cooper jacket I purchased in 1993.

Needless to say I was super jealous at such an amazing looking jacket, it had TOD written all over it with excellent rusty distressing and the look of a battered jacket of an adventurer. Alas, I was too shy to speak with him.

At any rate, I credit this individual for opening my eyes that there were alternatives to the Cooper.

So when I finally got internet access I looked up Indiana Jones costuming (on I believe Webcrawler at the time) and found Indyfan. Through Indyfan, I was led to, oh man, I can't remember the name of the original Indy gear site...It had a link to a pic of Magnoli and a gentleman dressed up as Henry. I'd love to see that pic again. Was it Max's page? It was before Jones Equipment Shoppe...

Anyway, it was through a chance encounter at a bookstore that I learned of Wested, and three jackets later...history?

Cheers,
Cassidy

It was IndyDiggs.com. Max has completely disappeared from radar, as has Mike Davis. I'm the only one left of the crew of that defunct site, and they took all the content with them when they closed shop, with the exception of my original stuff. Regards. Michaelson

That's the one. Thanks Michaelson.

Was there any behind the scenes falling outs or had the site just run it's course? The original stuff you speak of, is there anything available that hasn't been covered here? I'm curious as to what your contribution to the site was.

Cheers,
Cassidy

What did I do? As little as possible, as usual! 8-[ Seriously, there was no falling out at all. Mike moved to Arizona, and quite literally disappeared from sight. I tried to email on many occasions, as did Max, as well as tried to call him. He just vanished. Hope that's not a bad sign, but it was pretty odd. Max was active for a while, but he got another job as well at a hospital in Germany, and last I heard, he was one of the folks responsible for traveling the world to pick up donated organs for transplants at the hospital/university he worked for. He was on the road so often, so long, now even HE has vanished from radar. I'm thinking his work, since 9/11, has probably gotten PRETTY complicated.

I was mainly responsible for a lot of content that appeared at Diggs. Just about everything there was transferred here when John started up IndyGear. All the Aldens information that appears here is verbatim of what was on Diggs, and I got all that together from Aldens WAY back when. I also provided the Wested info that was then current, most of the fedora info (what we had at the time, of which there wasn't much! ), as well as other various and sundry bits and pieces of stuff. and like here, fielded email questions regarding gear and the like, since there was no 'PM' service like we have at COW.

Fortunately, Max had the foresight to see that Diggs had pretty much hit the ceiling with only 3, then 2 of us to handle the inflow of interest, and he handed off what he had to John. The rest, as they say, is history.

Regards. Michaelson

Well thank you very much for the history lesson. It adds a bit of closure to the story for me, because one day it was there and then the next...gone.

At any rate, it would have been so nice to have an archive of what the original pages looked like, on Indydiggs and all of the other sites. Sometimes I'll wax nostalgic and take a look at the outdated pages at Indyfan...it brings back a lot of memories. Especially of the exciting days when I would copy all of the information down, and do something silly like call England and find out it was 4 in the morning, not afternoon...

Thanks for that, Michaelson.

Cheers,
Cassidy

Always fun talking shop, old friend.

Speaking of old friends, if there's ANYBODY I've had the pleasure to 'work' with over the years at these different sites, it's been Indiana Magnoli. He supplied a BUNCH of stuff for Diggs (where he was the propmaster/supplier, as most of that stuff never crossed my screen), as well as Indyfan, etc., and he and I have corresponded over the years on just about every aspect of this hobby. If ANYONE deserves the respect of those in this hobby, it's my old friend Indy Magnoli. I have a lot of old comrades in arms here who have fought the 'good fight' regarding gear with me, but I believe IM is one of the few left of the original Indyfan group of 1996/97 who is still active on a daily basis in our hobby, and just seems to get stronger and stronger. Don't believe me? Check out the classified section and see the two Raiders idols he has for auction.

If you look at the OLD Indyfan.com pages, You can still see his posts in those archieves, along side a windy old bugger named Michaelson. That particular fellow never DID 'shut up'. Regards. Michaelson

Agreed whole-heartedly! As I said in my original post, when I was "turned" on to Indy costuming, one of the first folks I saw in gear was Magnoli, and the costume (although only 'correct' with what was known at the time) was simply amazing. He was the first person besides Ford that I ever saw someone pull of the Indiana Jones look.

We would be doing Magnoli a disservice if we all didn't salute him by tipping our hats. So, consider mine tipped.

Cheers,
Cassidy

Michaelson wrote:(Whew! The condensed version of a “windy” er, gentleman )...I'm the only one left of the crew of that defunct site, and they took all the content with them when they closed shop, with the exception of my original stuff....Mike moved to Arizona, and quite literally disappeared from sight. I tried to email on many occasions, as did Max, as well as tried to call him. He just vanished...I have a lot of old comrades in arms here who have fought the 'good fight' regarding gear with me, but I believe IM is one of the few left of the original Indyfan group of 1996/97 who is still active on a daily basis in our hobby, and just seems to get stronger and stronger...The rest, as they say, is history.

What I wanna know is when does the book come out! It would be much easier reading about this in print than on a sometimes blurry computer screen. It sounds to me as though you have the makings of a good un’. ...oh, and fully illustrated with pictures and behind the scenes stories too! With desktop printing and publishing nowadays, you and your comrades could knock one off in no time if you all put your heads together (but not to close ‘er else you may have a lot of scrunched-up fedoras). Then it would be FULLY documented history.

I’m sure I’m not the first to recommend this. But with folks gettin’ older and memories fading, and others scattering to the four corners of the earth or into other things, and terrorists on the loose, it’s time to get doin’ it IMHO. I’d buy one or more and READ it - a mind is...! And you and your compadres could always sell copies on the street corners in your old age. Well, it was just an idea anyway.

And then we really could read Michealson, Chapters 4 & 5 !

Brings a tear to my eye....

Here's to old times

Kind regards,
Indy

Who was that? Same to you, my friend!

A book, Rixter? Well, it would be an interesting undertaking, but would be more of a two page flyer than a book, I think. I can see it now....'and don't forget to read paragraphs 4 and 5....."

Regards. Michaelson

Bah! I don't believe it for a minute. You can fool some of the people...

Who was what??? I don't know enough to write a book OR a two page flyer. But I could help with a title if needed.

Indiana Gus wrote:I mean of course someone you don't know in person. Like you're walking down the street and suddenly you notice someone is wearing Wested just like you.

It has happened to me four times - twice in one day, in fact. Spotted a guy in New Orleans, then later the same day another one in Arkansas, I think (it was Indy007). A couple months ago, Indy_81 spotted ME at Barnes & Noble where I live in Sprigfield, MO. We're gonna try to meet there again later on today, by the way.

Indiana Philip spotted me at the same B&N last year as well, but that may not count, since he and I had already met.

Michaelson wrote:Max has completely disappeared from radar, as has Mike Davis

That's weird, I have a friend named Mike Davis too. In fact, I was staying with him and his wife down in Springfield when I visited Schwammy. Definitely not the same gent....or is it

'81

Probably not, unless Mike moved back from Arizona. Regards. Michaelson