As we entered this Bicentennial Birthday year, did you pause a minute and
reflect on what a dramatic part your insulators played in the development of
this great country of ours? Try to imagine how it might have been without
insulators. Much slower progress indeed. Also we would not now have this
wonderful hobby of collecting and preserving insulators, a little bit of our
American heritage. We would not have the pleasure of seeing our jewels displayed
in our homes and at shows.
But the brightest jewels in my collection are the friendships I have made through this hobby. They mean more to me than anything
else. Some of these friends I have met only once or twice at shows. Others I
have never met except through their letters. And some friends I see quite often,
because they live in our area. But they are all equally important. There is
nothing that can replace friends.
If you try, you can find a whole magazine full
of friends with mutual interest in the pages of this issue. The object of this
directory is to help you find new collector friends in your area or in your
travels while on vacation. We did try to include telephone numbers this year to
make it easier for you to contact other collectors, but I am sorry to say not
everyone sent in their number before our deadline. (And I have to have a
deadline, or I would be until next August getting this issue out.) But we are
still receiving telephone numbers with renewals, so next year the directory will
be much more complete. I apologize to you for not including your number if you
wanted it published, and will include it next year for sure. Also, we have made
it easier for you by including the 'Yes" and 'No" question of the
directory on the new subscription and renewal flyers. A few omittals were
received after the deadline--too late for us to omit. Next year I promise to do
better.
Now comes the bad part of this editorial. A magazine is not run on
friendships alone. It takes Money. The printer's costs have gone up--they need
more money. You already know about increases in postage; but do you remember
that in March 1969, when we started Crown Jewels, a postage stamp for a
letter
was $.06; and now it's $.13, with forecasts of $.23 by 1981. It seems every office
supply I buy has doubled in price in the past seven years. I'm sorry, but in
order to keep Crown Jewels coming to you, it is necessary to increase the
subscription price. Starting April 1, 1976, the subscription rates will be $7.00
per 12 issues by second class mail and $10.50 by first class mail Hopefully, we
won't have to raise our rates again for a good long time, because (believe it or
not) it does upset me. Maybe it's the sign I was born under, but I don't like
changes, especially this kind, and I've put it off longer than I should have.
Another thing I would like to mention--If you receive your Crown Jewels damaged
or with blank pages (which doesn't happen often), please drop me a postcard, and
we will send you another copy.
The sad part of this issue is the obituary column we had to carry. I'm glad
we don't have this type of column too often. We have lost four faithful
subscribers all in a month's time. I had a nice telephone conversation with
Evelyn Milholland (a most gracious lady), and she assured me that Marion's book
(4th Revision) is all ready for printing and will be published sometime in the
future, and the Price Guide will be periodically updated by a close associate
of theirs. I'm sure all of you join with me in extending our heartfelt sympathy
to family and friends of the deceased. Our hobby has suffered a great loss in
the death of these fine people.
In closing I have a suggestion. If you have an
insulator club in your area, why not join it and take an active part. It makes
the hobby a lot more fun. And if you don't have a club, why not start one. It's
not hard to do, even if just a few collectors are interested. You don't have to
meet every month unless everyone wants to. Four times a year keeps the interest
up; and we need small insulator clubs to activate and increase the enjoyment of
our hobby. I'd like to see insulator clubs in every state, and I believe we
already have a couple in Canada. The third club is now forming in central
California. It would be nice if each club could have a delegate to sit in and
represent us at National Insulator Association meetings.
Our sincere THANKS to
all of our contributors of the past year. Your thoughtfulness and efforts are
appreciated by all of us.
I now leave you with this thought:
- To think kindly of
another is good.
- To speak kindly of another is better.
- To act kindly toward
another is best of all.
Best Wishes for another Happy Year of Collecting,
Your Editor,
Dora Harned
