The Beginning - By September 26, 1975 there was a list of members that had been developed. This list consist of a total of thirteen collectors and advertises the members name, address, phone number along with a note of how many lures are in their collection and what type lures they are interested in collecting.
Dick Streater sent out letters to members on October 20, 1975 and enclosed some photo's of his collection. He tells members about his collection and what lures he is interested in collecting. He has already been seriously collecting for about six years. At this time he has put together a book which illustrates every lure that he could get his hands on to photograph. Mr. Streater discusses the "Streater Point System" which is a system that he developed to facilitate trading by mail. This lure grading system is still being used today by the NFLCC. He also talked about lure abbreviations that he had developed. Through my NFLCC research and studies the FACTS did reveal that the majority of the lure abbreviations were devised by Clyde A. Harbin Sr. known as The BASSMAN. The Heddon Lure Information can be found in the inside cover of the 1977 publication of The James Heddon's Sons Catalogues by The Bassman. The only contribution Mr. Streater made to this entire page of abbreviations was the Slope Nose, L-rig, Toilet Seat and Surface Hardware.
March 5, 1976 Dudley Murphy sent out letters to fellow plug collectors stating that it has been about one year since the notion to form the National Fishing Lure Collectors Club (NFLCC). The next phase in forming the NFLCC was to establish an annual swap fest where members could visit and trade old plugs for an entire weekend. Mr. Murphy made an invitation to the first annual NFLCC swap fest which will be held on April 24 & 25 on campus of the School of the Ozarks at Point Lookout, Missouri. The founding members, Dudley Murphy, John Goodwin and Jerry Routh would be present to assist and guide members around the area. The steering committee decided it would save more time for trading if ballots were sent out in advance and the election for club officers would be conducted by mail. The results of the election for new officers would be announced on Sunday, April 25th.
Club Structure
Quote - The NFLCC consists of lure collecting enthusiasts who want to trade and correspond with other collectors. To become a member requires only that the interested collector submit his name and address and a few statements about his lures collecting interests. He must also be willing to allow his name and address to be circulated among the club members. The nature of correspondence among club members is an individual matter. The club acts only as a mechanism for introducing lure collectors and providing services outlined under the "Purposes of the Club".
Every effort is made to keep the club as informal and unstructured as possible. Some structure however is necessary. At this time, the club is being organized by a steering committee consisting of the original founders of the club. As soon as is practical, we want to elect officers to run this club
