The 1946 ANA Convention took place in Davenport, Iowa. During the opening ceremonies the mayor, A. R. Kroppach, addressed the crowd and started his speech by saying, “I told my son I was to offer an address of welcome at the American Numismatic Association, and he wondered what form of rheumatism that was. I suppose you’ve heard that one before.” The crowd laughed and the show was off to a great start.

It’s great when one of these little anecdotes are discovered. After all, these are the stories that people remember the most.

The photo above features a snap shot of the magic that takes place at these conventions. Harold Klein, Isabel Macintosh, H.C. Bilger, Opal Morris and Vernon Sheldon attended the 1946 convention and documented their trip through a series of candid photos. Among the many they took was this photo of them strolling through the streets of Davenport under a “Welcome American Numismatic Association” sign.

The image is a wonderful representation of the great times had at these events. On the back of the photo, scrawled out in ink it was written, “Vernon do you remember this?  Didn’t we have fun?”