Johnson Reel Collectors Assn. (J.R.C.A.) since 10/10/14

Many of you know that I service and maintain the fishing tackle for Camp Barnabas, a nearby summer camp for disabled kids.  Most of their tackle is the cheapest variety of Chinese Shakespeare's and  Zebco's.  For the 2016 season, I decided to try to upgrade their tackle a bit, and provided some 6 Johnson graphite reels, with thanks to Chad B. for a generous donation.
When I collected their equipment at the end of the 2016 season, I was stunned and, frankly, a bit outraged, that nearly all of those graphite Johnson reels were unusable, front and back covers missing, nothing but parts.
For 2017, I resolved "No more good stuff", so the Camp got the cheapest stuff I could round up.  I still felt the kids deserved better, and over the winter, I began to wonder if the Century 100B reels might a better choice.  Yeah, they're old, and parts are a bit of a problem, but they're built like an M1A1 Abrams tank and they're easy for Skip to work on.  Plus, the only part readily removable without tools is the front cover.  A phone conversation with Al cemented my resolve to give Johnson's another shot.  For the 2018 camping season, I'll introduce a pilot program of a handful of Century 100B's and see how they survive.  Don't care if the front cover looks like the reel has been dragged through a gravel pit behind a Jeep Wrangler, don't care if it has a 1967 pushbutton and a '78 crank handle, as long as it casts, retrieves and the drag works.  Not spending over $15, in my mailbox for complete reels.  Donations of complete reels or parts are welcome.