#5

Bud Perry writes:

My mother, Candi Perry was an illustrator, but couldn't draw animals or vehicles. My father, Bud Perry Sr. could draw animals and vehicles (he did some artwork for outdoor magazine and some others). Together they formed Camelot QSL in Veneta, Oregon. For years we would travel as a family to the various breaks and jamborees, dressed as King Arthur, Queneviere, myself as Prince Valiant and my little sister as Princess Aleta. We had a large plywood castle as a backdrop to the booths.

My mother would illustrate the base card (with my father helping if it required his specialties) and then my father would create the overlay sheets for color. They printed all the cards in Drain, Oregon. There were quite a few hundred total, I'll have to look it up to see how far they went. My sister has the albums currently and she won't be back in town for a couple of days.

As the cards gained popularity, my parents decided to make special edition cards that featured their own handles. These cards occurred at the 100 mark, 200, 300, etc. These were sometimes large cards that were divided into four separate parts. In order to collect all four to make the large card, you had to physically meet them (eyeball) at certain breaks across the country. The fan clubs were so avid they would cross the country just to make sure they didn't miss getting the cards.

In California in 1978 (date?) a man was murdered and the only thing missing from the house was a complete numbered set of Camelot QSL cards. I believe they found the murderer soon after with the cards in his possession.

There were some groups of people that banded together to order cards which could be placed adjacent to one another to form an overall scene. Also, there were even some people that ordered cards for their dogs and you had to meet the dog at a break where his paw print would be added to the back of the card.

Each and every card was numbered, and every card had a tiny hidden little character based on Kilroy, the WWII character. It became a game for people to try and discover where he was hiding. The final card from Camelot featured Kilroy waving goodbye.

My family was certainly into CB. It began as a hobby but then the QSL business made talking on the CB mandatory. My father built a 50 foot steel tower (with no permit) in order to aid his base station's output. A year later someone used a mobile blow torch to cut the moorings and the tower fell. We never knew who sabotaged the tower.

Due to CB skip, people were able to order cards as far away as Germany and Australia.

Camelot QSL cards were more expensive than the nearest competitors (Runnin Bear and Squeaky), but they were usually more colorful and elaborate. For a smaller printing fee my parents would make up single color cards, but they always encouraged people to order full color ones.

My mother passed away from breast cancer at the age of 52 in 1998, and my father just passed away January 18, 2008 of a heart attack at the age of 66.

Our Camelot days were very good, as it was a very lucrative business. It paid my way through school, and afforded us luxuries like a 1970's van, a camp trailer, and many good vacations.

myQSL.org