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--> --> Salt and pepper convention shakes out well in Portland PORTLAND (AP) - A convention for collectors of salt and pepper shakers drew about 300 people from around the United States and some foreign countries this weekend. "Some people say we're crazy," said organizer Larry Carey, whose permanent collection now has 8,000 sets of shakers. "I say, 'That's your opinion."' Carey is founder of the Novelty Salt & Pepper Shaker Club, which held its annual convention at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Portland on Friday and Saturday. Carey developed his collecting habit during 24 years in the Navy, when he bought unique sets at ports of call. Nationwide, the club has a membership of about 1,200 people. Many of them deal and collect sets, while others came to the convention to add rare pieces to their collections. Some collectors from Europe attended. Ron Schechter of Bloomfield, Mich., pored over collections in hotel rooms, where dealers had set up their wares, looking for cactus-shaped shakers. "This is like the epicenter of collecting," Schechter said. By afternoon he hadn't found a single pair. But, "It's the chase, the hunt - not so much the find," he said. Scarcity, the quality of the porcelain and the glaze, and historical value all factor into a set's price, which could range from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars. And then there's a less scientific reason for the high value of the kitchenware, which some say leads to compulsive collecting: "They're cute . . . that's the problem. They're just so cute." Sometimes they are not so cute. One shaker depicted an elongated pig with holes for salt and pepper carved in both ends, a style called a long boy. The long boy is just one term in a jargon-filled hobby. There are go-withs, which describe two dissimilar figurines that all the same form a set, such as a gorilla hanging from a tree. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing