Here is a good one for people interested in research. Maybe not the answers we were looking for but a lot of history.

I was sitting at home minding my own business when I received an email from my friend that just happens to have the Portland Card Company records. He pointed me to an ebay auction for a plain mold FBW chip. The record card info was in the email. I normally don’t go after plain molds because there are so few records on them. Many of the old distributors sold plain molds. It was “buy it now” for $2.50. Oh well what the heck. Lets get it.

I don’t do ebay so I email Mike Vuolo to buy it for me. It turns out the seller was Flash’s son, that I do business with at the chip shows. Small world! I called him after the chip arrived. He happen to have some hubs I needed. One was a new to me, Indiana chip. Research in the works. All in all a good deal.

Enough of that:

Oregon:

FBW- FRANK WILLMERING PENDLETON OR 9-13-1960
Above info from the Portland Card Company records.

FBW
Frank Bue Willmering, died Pendleton, OR in 1981 age 73. He moved to Pendleton in the 1950's from Washington (born in Idaho). In 1930 he was doing time in a Washington state prison where he was a prison barber (in the early 1920's his father Arthur did time in the Federal pen at McNeil Island, WA). In 1938 he was working as a barber south of Spokane in the town of Thornton when, apparently while drunk, he stabbed a local farmer.

Not sure what he was doing in Pendleton in 1960. I sent an email request for a look-up in the Pendleton city directory to the Pendleton Library but haven't heard back yet.

My note: We send a lot of requests to library’s. Some reply with info some don’t reply. Some reply asking for money for info. This one never replied.

Ok no big deal, no club name unless he was operating an illegal in the Washington state prison.

Texas:

BUT: There was more on the above email:

When I first saw the name Willmering in your email I knew I had seen that name associated with a chip before and there ensued one of those episodes of racking the brain trying to remember where that was. Then the light bulb went on, it was Amarillo, TX. I had seen the chip below on eBay with an attribution of.

Clarence A. Willmering, 327 Polk, Amarillo, TX (maybe you can confirm this).

My note: His brain racks a lot better than mine racks.

My reply Yes on the Flying A, See attached. It is the black toned middle record.

I confirmed his brain racking and sent him 3 Mason record cards for what Mason called a “Flying A” monogram, on 2 of the cards. I could not read the 3rd card. The 2 I could read were not Willmering. I sent the card to my roommate and Spragg. The card was lightened and guess what?

Info on middle card:
Willmering, Clarence A
327 Polk
Amarillo, TX
4/13/42
1000 B9 checks
400 yellow
500 red
100 chocolate.
Mono both sides in gold.

The monogram is actually CAW-look close you can see the “Mono CAW” on middle card.
On top and bottom card Mason calls it Flying A.
On Willmering card they say it is CAW.
Maybe you can tie the other 2 cards to Willmering.

I have one each red, yellow, and chocolate. I got them in 1999. Same colors on all 3 cards. I listed in my data base as the top card but they could be any one of the 3.

I changed mine to Texas. I love Texas chips.

Further research:

Clarence had a liquor store at that address and his brother Walter had a Recreation Club next door, both brothers were involved with gambling in Amarillo. They were the sons of Charles Willmering who moved to Amarillo from Iowa around 1908. As it turns out, Charles was the elder brother of Arthur Willmering, father of Frank from Pendleton, OR.

Conclusion: We have some history of a family from 1908 through 1981, 5 states, 2 different chips and the best we can do is, The Flying A was used at a Recreation Club in Amarillo, TX.

If you collect illegal chips, you have to “Love the history.”