Well, they are all foreign to this collector who, in June 1998, was a 'Brit abroad' and so took the opportunity to go insulator hunting while staying with friends near Oklahoma City. This article recounts the insulator dimension to the two-and-a-half week period, my fifth trip to the United States but only the first during which I went collecting.

I am still trying to put a finger on the year I started collecting insulators in Great Britain; I was certainly collecting in 1975, although I may have commenced as early as 1972. However university 'got in the way' from the late 1980s and, although my interest never waned, I became more of a 'passive' collector. My first encounter with American insulators was with two Whitall Tatums, back in May 1993. They resided at the Oklahoman house of my hosts, Dana and JoAnne --- one year the insulators would be on a window sill, the next I'd find them outside on the patio and the year after they'd be back indoors again on a table. I am embarrassed to admit that, at the time, I didn't realize what they were --- my excuses being that their shape was a significant departure from the British Cordeaux pattern and that glass communications insulators are almost (but not quite) unknown here. During my first trip over the 'duck pond' I was fascinated to see the different styles of power insulators, pole construction and substation design. In subsequent years (excluding 1994, when I couldn't make it over) the novelty of the differing American designs started to wear off, although my interest in the contrasting forms remained. In 1997 I happened to be in an antiques store on the outskirts of Oklahoma City when I spotted what was obviously an insulator (the wire was a giveaway, although even without it I was now capable of recognizing the 'object' for what it was!). Having inspected the near-mint Hemingray, I initially passed it by and browsed elsewhere in the shop -- only an afterthought made me go back and purchase it for US$5.38 (I later identified it as a CD 152 - and worth US$1 mint!). Having already made the transaction, I spotted another two sitting on the top of a display cabinet. My attention was caught again. . . but those I did pass by. A few days later I changed my mind and decided that I would like to purchase both --- although the opportunity never arose for a return trip to the shop. I still considered myself to be a passive collector at that time, although I now look back in amazement at my reckless indecision!! 

My reasons for visiting the Great Plains every May / June is for the severe weather; by profession I am a weather forecaster and in my own time I'm an active researcher specializing in British and European tornadoes and other severe storm phenomena. With friends, I chase storms across the Great Plains for hours on end --- on a few occasions clocking up over 800 miles in a day. Each and every outing provides valuable 'in-the-field' experience from which I learn and then apply in Britain --- as well as an excellent opportunity to see the Great Plains, insulators included. The rekindling of my latent interest in collecting occurred back on home territory in late August 1997, when I happened to be surfing the Internet and browsing the personal pages of a forecaster at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. 

One page http://www.wildstar.net/~tornado/bazaar.htm is entitled "Bizarre Bazaar", a collection of all sorts of links to weird and wonderful sites. First in the list was "Anatomy of an insulator"; "because you need to stay informed" was the following tongue-in-cheek quip. It linked to the page of the same name http://www.insulators.com/general/parts.htm on none-other than Bill Meier's insulator web site: www.insulators.com/. Incidentally I recall seeing this link on more than one previous occasion but, rather strangely, I never followed it. However on this fateful occasion, I did. Interested in what I saw, I worked back along the URL up to the home page. I was gobsmacked --- other people collect these things --- I wasn't the only person in the world!! The rest is history; I spent the next year catching up on everything. I sent an e-mail thanking the page's author for including the insulator link and was amazed with the reply. He wasn't making fun of the hobby, for it transpired that one of his colleagues was an avid insulator collector: enter Steve Corfidi. Now what are the chances of two professional weather forecasters being obsessed with severe thunderstorms and insulators?? Having made e-mail contact with Steve, I was looking forward even more to my next trip over. As a storm chaser I am often asked what I do on non-chase days, to which the answer used to be "oh, not much. . . visit some state parks, do some shopping and so on . . ." Suddenly the perfect combination was within my grasp: storm chasing on the thundery days, insulator hunting on the sunny days!! 

So in June 1998 I paid renewed attention to every pole I passed as soon as I was on terra-firma at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers Airport. Every substation came in for close scrutiny --- the excitement was just like my first trip over but this time with an added dimension! With American friends and my British 'chase partner' (fiancée!) Janine, I went on several chases over the next few days. During this time my eyes repeatedly homed-in on to the insulators on railway-side poles; the glass insulators in a multitude of shapes and colours certainly held my attention. It was actually a few days later before I went on my first American insulator hunt --- and I never imagined it would be rolled into a chase.

Our target area for the day, 8 June 1998, was central Kansas, so myself, Janine and Steve headed north towards Enid. Steve pointed out many poles along the way. Most were modem power poles but they were still of some interest nevertheless --- instead of just gazing at them, I now had an onboard commentator knowledgeable in American insulators and pole construction. As we continued north, I spotted a few tall disused comms poles still standing on the roadside. We must have been following an old telegraph line --- most of the poles had disappeared but, periodically, there'd still be one standing, saved from its fate as a result of its reuse for another wire. The number and the condition of the sparkling insulators was rather variable. I particularly remember a rose-pink piece glistening in the sunlight. . . it was a spectacle with which I had no parallel. Steve pondered how many treasures might be lying in the roadside ditches --- probably well-buried but there, nevertheless. As we headed north, we neared a line of maturing thunderstorms --- storms which developed sooner and farther south than we expected. They didn't look that good and we were concerned that this west-east line would prevent anything from developing farther north, where conditions were otherwise more favourable for stronger thunderstorms. In fact, the storms ahead of us were looking positively 'flaky' --- and that was confirmed by the relatively few sferics (crackles produced by lighting) on the radio. Attention turned back to insulators. . . 

Most of the small towns we passed through displayed newer (power) pole construction and insulators, although one did have some old-style construction --- and Steve spotted the older designs nearly 'a mile off', long before I'd even seen a pole. I had a passing interest in pole construction, although that changed once my attention had been properly focused on it. I counted myself very lucky to have Steve kindly point out many interesting facets, for without him I'd have been none-the-wiser. Such was his interest and my inquisitiveness that we actually put the chase on pause, taking time out to cruise around the streets to inspect the distribution system in closer detail! We wondered if we might be able to locate the power company's yard to see if they had any old insulators available. Unfortunately we were unable to find it, although we did find a substation near the centre of the town which was presumably where the yard once was. I expressed surprise about the number of overhead distribution wires in built-up areas. In Britain, most urban distribution wiring is underground --- primarily to protect them from severe weather, particularly lightning and high winds. American power companies evidently feel continued repairs to the low voltage distribution network are more cost-effective than the longer-term view of putting wires in urban areas underground. Still, I wasn't complaining --- especially as the American methodology was working to our advantage! We were touring the streets on the northern side of town, having already covered a substantial portion of them, when we noticed slightly more lightning activity just to our north. Attention transferred back to the thunderstorms. We continued to be disappointed with the weather's meagre offerings but at least the insulator dimension to the trip saved the day. However, unbeknown to us, the day was far from finished --- and on both counts!

While watching the line of the nearby storms we thought we could see under the cloud-bases to something interesting much farther north. After a short while, a gap appeared between the nearer clouds, and thunderstorms could indeed be seen developing to the north --- right where we hoped they would, in central Kansas! We headed north with a greater sense of urgency, pausing briefly on two or three occasions to photograph the developing storm in front of our eyes. Such was our timing that, as we reached the optimum position and distance in relation to that storm, two tornadoes formed and existed simultaneously in front of our eyes! The spectacle lasted for a few minutes, only half a mile or so to our north and in open fields where no-one could be hurt and nothing could be damaged. We congratulated each other on our own joint-forecast that we were able to personally verify in spectacular fashion! When both tornadoes dissipated we decided to move east. We were concerned about heavy rain and, more especially, large hail on the west side of the tornadoes --- the rain and hail were trying to swing around to the storm's southern and then eastern flanks and thus towards us. As events transpired, the heavy rain did reach us but the hail didn't. We attempted a second intercept with the storm but it was moving away to the northeast and we had increasing difficulty with closing in on it. The roads were now wet and we were losing road options --- time was also pushing on, so we abandoned the second intercept and called it a day. 

It was at about this time that we were driving alongside a railway, complete with comms poles that were festooned with glass insulators. The rain was still heavy but the sun was shining (remember that we were on the southern edge of the storm) . . . a rainbow of brilliant intensity developed in front of us, in all its completeness and with wonderfully-vivid colours. "Insulators at the end of the rainbow!", I quipped. We decided to pull off the main road and crossed the railway on a gravel road. As we stared at the wet insulators glistening in their watery coats, the rain eased and eventually stopped. We were bathed in warm sunshine again. I was eager to get out of the car and take a closer look. "Wow.,. . the real thing!!" --- I was mesmerized! I wondered if there was anything around the base of the nearest pole, so I scratched around --- no luck. Oh well, I wasn't expecting to find anything really --- come to think about it, I wasn't expecting to see a tornado (never mind two!) so I hardly had cause to complain. I rooted around the base of the pole on the opposite side of the gravel road 'just in case'. Lo and behold, I spotted a part of a clear insulator sticking out of the ground. I carefully pried it out --- my first American insulator found in the wild! I beamed as I took my new acquisition, clutched in hand, to show the others. Steve's face lit up; Janine rolled her eyes skywards! 

After Steve and I swapped a few pieces which we'd brought along for each other, I suggested / asked / pleaded / begged that myself and Steve wander down the line for while, if that was okay with Janine. She seemed happy to oblige and, anyway, was glad for the chance to stretch her legs after a long chase (and to "get a bit of a tan"!). Steve and myself then headed down the line, checking around the base of each pole. The first few produced a mixture of shattered specimens, or pieces with significant damage --- as well as a few decent insulators, which I picked up. A few poles yielded nothing, although that was the exception: shattered or badly damaged pieces were the norm. We'd already collected quite a few nice insulators when it became clear that we couldn't carry any more. Steve suggested that I leave some because, at the rate we were going, we'd probably find a better specimen of the same type at some stage farther on. I was staggered at the number of pieces (of any condition) that we found at the base of each pole --- I had only been used to finding an often badly damaged insulator every few miles on abandoned railway lines back in Britain. Even Steve admitted that we were doing unusually well. Another piece was recovered from the clutches of the undergrowth --- Steve praised the work of one unknown linesman, who did an excellent job with a wire tie. I offered him the piece but he declined --- he unselfishly insisted on me taking all I wanted, because he had quite a few insulators at home and, anyway, could collect American pieces in the wild whenever he desired. 

Searching around the long grass and bushes was difficult but it had its rewards. Steve rightly pointed out that many of the pieces we were picking up had probably rested there since our earliest school years, while a few may have been on the ground years before we were born. I decided to put every insulator I found but didn't take at the base of the corresponding pole; should some future collector come along the same line then pieces could be readily acquired. Of course, I was gathering the pick of the bunch! --- but, nevertheless, there were still some reasonable pieces left over the half-mile or so that we walked. There was also the practical problem of their being a finite amount that both of us could carry, which wasn't helped by the lack of anything to carry them in. However the haul was already a good one and time was getting on. We returned to the car, not realizing until then how sodden our jeans had become from the knees down because of walking through the rain-soaked grass. We headed back south, grabbed a great meal at an Applebee's restaurant near Wichita and continued on into the night.

We saw some lightning to our east which was presumably the last thunderstorm in the southern storm line which we initially encountered. Arrival in Oklahoma City was at a not unreasonable hour in the morning for storm chasers but what would surely be ridiculous for insulator collectors --- or anyone else for that matter. But what a day. . .

Two other 'expeditions' warrant a mention, the first of which was 'premeditated '.

On June 11 Janine and I headed south to Houston, Texas, where we were delighted to meet Marilyn and Bill Albers. My first recollection of Houston on stepping out of the car was the fierce sunshine. There might only be a few hours of darkness at that time of year at home in Wolverhampton at 52 degrees north (similar to Calgary, Canada) but the sun's heat at 29.5 degrees north and at almost the solstice was something else! 'Something else' also aptly describes Marilyn's collection. She said it would "knock my socks off' --- and she was right. I drooled over her amazing collection of glass and porcelain, which included quite a few 'expatriots' from Britain. I returned to Oklahoma with more goodies --- and more eye-rolling from Janine . . .

The last opportunity I had to collect insulators in the United States in 1998 was again born out of a chase. 

On June 16 we headed west to the Texas border where we found a small amount of shallow cloud extending north-south across the sky. We were in the right place and so waited for quite a while to see if anything would develop --- but on this occasion the atmosphere did not deliver. Granted, though, thunderstorms on this day were a long shot so we didn't set out with high hopes, Determined to salvage something from the day, I tried to hunt down a railway using the excellent Roads of Oklahoma map. I navigated us to the right place but there was no trace of the line --- I then realized the road had been widened with the extra two lanes now occupying the track bed. There were no signs of any poles. 

After a short distance the road left the track bed, with the latter continuing ahead of us --- complete with poles. Each pole had one cross arm which held several insulators --- and that's where they stayed, tantalizingly close but just out of reach. On this occasion there were very few pieces to be found on the ground --- in fact only two, both of which I recovered. The one insulator was complete with the original copper wire attached and was also on its wooden spindle --- it looked as if the piece fell from its lofty perch for some reason. Much of the wire lay draped along the track bed, necessitating care in not tripping over it. I mused about the active days of the railway and wondered what part it might have played in the settling of the Great Plains and the West, or its importance to the local agricultural community. Whatever, its wires are now silent, its rails removed and vegetation is colonizing the track bed. It could have never been a significant line, otherwise it would still be in use today.

Back at 'base' near Oklahoma City, I spent several hours lovingly scrubbing all of my acquisitions clean and then cataloguing them (I had purposely brought over my copy of the McDougald's guide). I had managed to select mostly near mint or very near mint pieces, with a few mints and a few specimens when I could find nothing better. The pieces I found in Kansas were Hemingray CDs 145, 147, 152 (with the excellent tie-wire job), 154 and 214 (the 'find' by the car); a Star CD 145 and a Brookfield CD 145.1 actually came back with a few more than this list suggests, due to embossing variations on the same CDs. The two pieces from just inside Texas were identified as a CD 154 (green tint, round drip points) and a CD 155 (clear, corrugated base). The CD 154 was embossed HEMINGRAY-42, underneath which was 0 and, on the reverse side, MADE IN U.S.A.  --- this is similar to the 7th Hemingray listed on page 100 of the McDougald's Insulators: A History and Guide to North American Glass Pintype Insulators, except the listing mentions dots following the number --- there are no dots on my piece (a new variation?!). The CD 155 was embossed HEMINGRAY-45, with MADE IN U.S.A. on the reverse and 2-51 (and 16 dots) below that --- this is similar to the first Hemingray listed on page 103, except the listing mentions numbers and no dots (another new variation?!). lf my decoding is correct, the insulator was made in 1967 (1951 plus 16) from mold 2, which in turn was made in 1951 --- therefore the insulator was manufactured in the twilight years of Hemingray's insulator production, which ceased in the late 1960s due to poor sales.

I had a handful of insulators of the same CDs and with the same embossings, so I gave most of these to my hosts and I brought back the remaining two duplicates for British collectors. Security at Will Rogers Airport gave me a few funny looks when I explained what they were and that I collected them. They must have thought me strange but harmless though, otherwise they wouldn't have let me proceed to my flight --- or perhaps they were glad to see me leaving the U.S. and didn't want to hinder my departure!! It wasn't until the autumn that I was able to check my new acquisitions with the on-line price guide at the Crown Jewels website http://www.crownjewelsofthewire.com/PriceGuide/priceguide.cfm. "Hmmm. . . US$1, $1, $1, $1, $1 to 2. . .". Okay, so my finds were about as common as they come. I wasn't disheartened because it was never my intention to sell any --- they are all unique in my collection and came with an exciting story of personal discovery attached. Admittedly it would have been nice to have found something worth more than two dollars --- but then there's always 1999! 1999 also brought in a haul of US$1-2 pieces from locations in Oklahoma. Maybe in 2000 then!! 

My thanks to Steve for a truly unforgettable day, to Marilyn and Bill for their wonderful hospitality, to Dana and JoAnne for four walls, a roof and a lot of washing-up liquid and to Janine for putting up with my "minority interest" hobbies. . .