A couple historic moments were “Made in Bradford,” Friday evening during the 30th anniversary celebration of Zippo purchasing Case. An esteemed knife maker and Case collaborator, Anthony “Tony” Bose was inducted on to Case Cutlery’s illustrious Wall of Fame — and the history making didn’t end there — directly after Bose’s memorial dedication a couple exchanged their vows during the first ever Collectors Club wedding, with District Judge Rich Luther officiating, in front of a crowd of fellow collectors. In addition to those memorable moments, club members enjoyed a BBQ chicken dinner served with a side of wedding cake, as well as live musical entertainment. The Case Collectors Club auction took place around 6:30 p.m. At 4 p.m. the panel of five, including Lisa Miller, Rich Brandon, Maury Port, Ed Jessup, Bill Ruple, plus Reese Bose — the son of Tony Bose accepting the award posthumously for his father, spoke as to why Bose had more than earned the honor to be inducted into the Wall of Fame. The previous inductee was Bob Ferguson back in 2001, “and there has been no individual worthy of this honor until Tony Bose,” said Brent Tyler, AVP of Marketing at Case Knives. “In 1972, Tony began his knife making career making a knife for a friend, he later admitted to me that it was probably the worst knife he ever made … But the important thing is that he knew after making that knife he was hooked,” explained Miller. In the 1990s, Bose quit his full-time job to make knives full-time in a shop he had built out behind his house (after his wife kicked him and his knife making supplies out of the kitchen.) He was a humble man, and never could quite understand why anyone wanted his autograph when he was out at different shows, Miller related. “Tony believed that he did not design knives, he resurrected them from the grave,” said Miller. The next speaker, Brandon, explained his first experience meeting Tony: “The old dog came to Bradford I believe in 1997 or 98 for the first time, so my instructions for the day were to go to Bradford Airport, and hair care center and auto garage and pick up John Hanlin and Tony to show them the sights in McKean Co. and a nice meal — fast forward to Nov. 21, 2020 and ironically and 9:29 that night I received a text from Tony, obviously neither one of us knew that Tony would die of a massive heart attack,” said Brandon. “So it’s kinda special to me to be the first person in Bradford to meet Tony and be the last person from Bradford to speak to him as well.” Ruple shared that one of Tony’s favorite sayings was that something fit like “Boots on a Rooster. “What an unbelievable gentleman, first and foremost,” Ruple continued. “No one is more deserving than Tony Bose to be inducted into this Hall of Fame. Please rest in peace old dog.” Once the panel had finished speaking on the extraordinary gentleman and knife maker Tony Bose had been, the plaque to hang on Case Cutlery’s Wall of Fame was presented to Reese Bose by the five panel speakers, in an emotional moment. Shortly after the Bose presentation came to an end, a bride rode through the gates in the passenger seat of the Case Cutlery Jeep. She exited and walked the aisle, while fellow Case Collectors Club guests watched. The couple had met through their travels at Collectors Club events, and when they wanted to tie the knot, they picked Bradford and the grounds of the Zippo/Case Museum as their destination, according to Case representative Fred Feightner. The couple exchanged vows with District Judge Rich Luther officiating. Once the ceremony was complete guests retired to another tent in order to enjoy a prepared BBQ chicken dinner with a piece of wedding cake as dessert. Live music played in the background as collectors enjoyed their dinner and at 6:30 p.m. the silent and live auction was held. While Friday’s events were specifically for Case Collectors Club Members, today’s events for Made in Bradford, which begin at 9 a.m., are open to everyone. Activities and entertainment at this free event will include a temporary tattoo/balloon artist, inflatable children’s play equipment, pin trading, Case “passport” stamping, Case whittling demonstrations with Brian McKinney, and live musical guests playing throughout the day. Musical entertainment starts with Dan Roche from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by Those Guys from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Case knives will be sharpened and cleaned for free from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A special birthday cake will help celebrate the iconic Zippo Car’s own anniversary at 2 p.m. Consumer Relations associates will be on hand with fun games and giveaways, and to answer questions about Zippo and Case products throughout the day. Commemorative Case knives and Zippo lighters will be available for sale in limited quantities, exclusively in the store. The museum will feature four temporary exhibits as part of the celebration, including one focused on the 30th anniversary of Zippo acquiring the Case brand, and some of the special dual-branded collectibles that have been released in the decades since their merger. The big tents in the field adjacent to the museum will feature area makers’ booths offering their goods for sampling and for sale, and many Case and Zippo collectors will be onsite with immense collectible displays, with many of the items available for swap or sale. Food truck vendors will be offering a wide variety of food choices for any appetite. They will include the Bradford Brew Station, Campers Kettle Corn, Tammy’s Pit Stop, The Good Place, The Lunch Bus and Napoli’s Brick Oven Pizza. The event will wrap up at 5 p.m.
A couple historic moments were “Made in Bradford,” Friday evening during the 30th anniversary celebration of Zippo purchasing Case. An esteemed knife maker and Case collaborator, Anthony “Tony” Bose was inducted on to Case Cutlery’s illustrious Wall of Fame — and the history making didn’t end there — directly after Bose’s memorial dedication a couple exchanged their vows during the first ever Collectors Club wedding, with District Judge Rich Luther officiating, in front of a crowd of fellow collectors.
In addition to those memorable moments, club members enjoyed a BBQ chicken dinner served with a side of wedding cake, as well as live musical entertainment. The Case Collectors Club auction took place around 6:30 p.m.
At 4 p.m. the panel of five, including Lisa Miller, Rich Brandon, Maury Port, Ed Jessup, Bill Ruple, plus Reese Bose — the son of Tony Bose accepting the award posthumously for his father, spoke as to why Bose had more than earned the honor to be inducted into the Wall of Fame. The previous inductee was Bob Ferguson back in 2001, “and there has been no individual worthy of this honor until Tony Bose,” said Brent Tyler, AVP of Marketing at Case Knives.
“In 1972, Tony began his knife making career making a knife for a friend, he later admitted to me that it was probably the worst knife he ever made … But the important thing is that he knew after making that knife he was hooked,” explained Miller.
In the 1990s, Bose quit his full-time job to make knives full-time in a shop he had built out behind his house (after his wife kicked him and his knife making supplies out of the kitchen.) He was a humble man, and never could quite understand why anyone wanted his autograph when he was out at different shows, Miller related.
A group of five of Tony Bose’s close companions in the world of knife making spoke about his character, dedication, famous sayings and many, many more fond memories. Sitting in the last chair on the right, was Reese Bose, Tony Bose’s son who accepted his fathers’ award posthumously.
“Tony believed that he did not design knives, he resurrected them from the grave,” said Miller.
The next speaker, Brandon, explained his first experience meeting Tony: “The old dog came to Bradford I believe in 1997 or 98 for the first time, so my instructions for the day were to go to Bradford Airport, and hair care center and auto garage and pick up John Hanlin and Tony to show them the sights in McKean Co. and a nice meal — fast forward to Nov. 21, 2020 and ironically and 9:29 that night I received a text from Tony, obviously neither one of us knew that Tony would die of a massive heart attack,” said Brandon. “So it’s kinda special to me to be the first person in Bradford to meet Tony and be the last person from Bradford to speak to him as well.”
Ruple shared that one of Tony’s favorite sayings was that something fit like “Boots on a Rooster.
Bill Ruple of Ruple Knives sits with a panel of Tony Bose’s close peers laughing at stories of Bose’s antics and his famous anecdotes.
“What an unbelievable gentleman, first and foremost,” Ruple continued. “No one is more deserving than Tony Bose to be inducted into this Hall of Fame. Please rest in peace old dog.”
Once the panel had finished speaking on the extraordinary gentleman and knife maker Tony Bose had been, the plaque to hang on Case Cutlery’s Wall of Fame was presented to Reese Bose by the five panel speakers, in an emotional moment.
Shortly after the Bose presentation came to an end, a bride rode through the gates in the passenger seat of the Case Cutlery Jeep. She exited and walked the aisle, while fellow Case Collectors Club guests watched.
A special treat during the Case Collectors Club event on Friday evening at the Zippo/ Case Museum after Bose’s induction into the Case Wall of Fame was a brief, yet stunning wedding. The bride arrived by horse-drawn carriage — better known as the Case Knives Jeep.
The couple had met through their travels at Collectors Club events, and when they wanted to tie the knot, they picked Bradford and the grounds of the Zippo/Case Museum as their destination, according to Case representative Fred Feightner.
The couple exchanged vows with District Judge Rich Luther officiating. Once the ceremony was complete guests retired to another tent in order to enjoy a prepared BBQ chicken dinner with a piece of wedding cake as dessert. Live music played in the background as collectors enjoyed their dinner and at 6:30 p.m. the silent and live auction was held.
While Friday’s events were specifically for Case Collectors Club Members, today’s events for Made in Bradford, which begin at 9 a.m., are open to everyone.
Activities and entertainment at this free event will include a temporary tattoo/balloon artist, inflatable children’s play equipment, pin trading, Case “passport” stamping, Case whittling demonstrations with Brian McKinney, and live musical guests playing throughout the day. Musical entertainment starts with Dan Roche from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by Those Guys from 1:30 to 4 p.m.
Case knives will be sharpened and cleaned for free from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A special birthday cake will help celebrate the iconic Zippo Car’s own anniversary at 2 p.m. Consumer Relations associates will be on hand with fun games and giveaways, and to answer questions about Zippo and Case products throughout the day.
Collectors of Case items and frequent flyers at Case Collectors events brought their newborn baby girl to her very first Case event — with a onesie to match.
Commemorative Case knives and Zippo lighters will be available for sale in limited quantities, exclusively in the store.
The museum will feature four temporary exhibits as part of the celebration, including one focused on the 30th anniversary of Zippo acquiring the Case brand, and some of the special dual-branded collectibles that have been released in the decades since their merger.
The big tents in the field adjacent to the museum will feature area makers’ booths offering their goods for sampling and for sale, and many Case and Zippo collectors will be onsite with immense collectible displays, with many of the items available for swap or sale.
Food truck vendors will be offering a wide variety of food choices for any appetite. They will include the Bradford Brew Station, Campers Kettle Corn, Tammy’s Pit Stop, The Good Place, The Lunch Bus and Napoli’s Brick Oven Pizza.
The event will wrap up at 5 p.m.
