Friends And Neighbors

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", January 1994, page 5

Hobby won't insulate teen; it makes him rich.

Shaun Kotlarsky doesn't think he's unusual, but he admits what he collects is anything but ordinary. 

The l3-year-old Waterford resident has spent the past two years collecting insulators.

Insulators are plastic, glass or porcelain hood-like objects that sit on wooden pegs at the tops of electrical poles. The electrical wires are wrapped around the insulators, which ground the electricity and keep it from going down the pole. 

First used in the early 1800s, insulators have been used the world over. Glass is the most common type found, although porcelain, rubber and plastic ones also were made.

"I think they're neat to collect," he said. "I don't like baseball cards because they rot." 

The originals, and also the most valuable, were made without threads to tighten the insulator to the wooden peg. Shaun proudly displays one of these in his immense collection. 

Altogether, Shaun estimates he owns between 1,500 and 2,000 insulators. He said he won't be sure until he finishes cataloging each piece, complete with a color photograph, date and place of purchase, type of insulator and price paid. 

Shaun's interest in the antique electrical piece began when he was 11 years old playing at his grandmother's house. He happened upon a piece of clear glass and asked his grandmother about it. She explained what an insulator was and what it was used for. He had already expressed an interest in electronics, hoping to be an electrical engineer someday, he said.

Waterford (Michigan) REMINDER, Thursday, November 11, 1993