Bicentennial bug bites hard

Bookmarks featuring Mahoning County's bicentennial barn have already sold out.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Everyone who has taken part in Ohio's 200th birthday bash wants something to remember the fun, and if their memento turns into a treasured -- and valuable -- collectible, so much the better.
"Our aluminum signs are the hottest sellers," said Thomas J. Kupcak, of K Marketing Group, a Warsaw, Ohio-based wholesaler of Ohio bicentennial products.
The Canfield Fair and Ohio State Fair are among the very few places where his company is offering the merchandise on a retail basis.
Round aluminum signs in three sizes -- 1 foot, 2 feet and 3 feet in diameter -- that feature the red, white and blue bicentennial logo will likely be popular with collectors, judging from the high demand, limited number of outlets and limited supply, Kupcak said. One of the retailers to carry the signs sold out and had customers offering to pay more for the store's display than the regular retail price -- $14, $24 and $40 respectively.
Aside from a scant number of retailers who carry the signs, and K Marketing's fair booths, the signs are available only through some Ohio Historical Societies and some chambers of commerce, he said.
Other items
Thermometers, lapel pins, charms, bookmarks, umbrellas, table runners, bell pulls, shot glasses, coffee mugs, ornaments, key chains, marbles, T-shirts, tote bags and just about anything else one could imagine, all featuring Ohio's bicentennial logo or bicentennial barns, are available.
Because they are made specifically for Ohio's bicentennial and aren't sold anywhere else, the number of items produced in each line is limited to a few thousand, maybe only a few hundred, depending on the item, Kupcak said, which makes them highly collectible.
A barn-shaped bank embellished with the Ohio bicentennial logo and made by Buckeye Pottery in Zanesville may be among one of the most sought-after collectibles because it is a McCoy ware item, a line of highly collectible pottery, Kupcak said. Only a few of the banks are still available, he added.
Bookmarks featuring Mahoning County's bicentennial barn have already sold out, and only a handful of bicentennial bell charms are left. "People have been buying them 20 at a time," he said.
Bicentennial coal shovels, engraved watches, and collector cookbooks featuring 1,040 recipes from cooks throughout the state and compiled by Wooster native Sue Ann Fouche are also available.
Signed books
Special signed copies of "Bicentennial Barns of Ohio: A Tribute to the Barns and Their Owners," are for sale at the booth too, and the author, Christina Wilkinson, of Mentor, is expected to visit the Canfield Fair and K Marketing's booth Sunday.
Royalties from sales of bicentennial merchandise benefit the state of Ohio.
Bicentennial merchandise is also available by logging onto www.ohio200.com.
kubik@vindy.com