Grandson of Evaluators Ltd.

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4thgenUSMC

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I was invited here by one of your members. My grandparents on my fathers side were General George O. Van Orden and Flora M. Van Orden. They owned Evaluators Ltd in Quantico, Virginia and sold weapons to law enforcement and military personnel. I have numerous guns handed down from my grandfather, but I think I only have one S&W. I'm not sure of the model, or the year built, but it's a 357 magnum.

I'm a retired Marine, as was my father and his father and his father. Guns and low paying jobs run in the family. I'm looking forward to learning from the experts. I visited Evaluators many times in my younger years and have a few stories I'll share at some point.

Take care,
George
 
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George,
Welcome to the board! It's a pleasure to have another member of the Van Orden family here. Not sure if this was your mother or an aunt, but Flora graced our site in 2012-13.

See this thread: Anyone know Evaluators Limited Quantico ?

Many of us are well aware of the contributions made by Evaluators Ltd and collect some of their products. I know I'm not alone in saying I'm glad they left their mark!

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It's also my understanding that your grandmother suggest the name "Highway Patrolman" to Carl Hellstrom. That's an extremely popular revolver with our members! If you get a chance, post a photo of you .357 in the appropriate revolver sub-forum. I'm sure we can supply you with a lot of information.

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Thanks for the welcome guys. My aunt Flora (My father's sister), was the one who has posted here in the past.

I'll dig out my 357 and get some pics soon. As for the Patrolman, my grandmother carried a S&W everywhere she went. It might've been a Patrolman, but she called it the Mongoose, because it ate up the "Snakes" that Colt made. That pistol is still in our family and I think the serial number is somewhere in the 30's. 37 rings a bell for some reason. I'll try to get a picture when I visit that family member again.

Take care,
George
 
I'm sure excited about seeing those S&Ws. When I saw the post on another forum of a certain and very special pearl handled Colt, the name "Evaluators LMT" made me wonder if they were the later manufacturers of Berns-Martin holsters or distributors of them. This thread is going to get real interesting. It's a history packed story with great military history besides guns and holsters because of you and your families service.
 
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