I first became interested in insulators when a relative gave me some old fruit jars belonging to her mother that had been in her basement. She then handed me a beautiful green aqua CD 115 Hemingray, telling me it was found on the farm belonging to her husband's grandfather. Since I was actively researching my family's tree, I became interested in this insulator and its historical ties to my family. I had already gained an appreciation for antique glass, so naturally I became curious to look into the hobby.

In January 1990 I decided to subscribe to Crown Jewels. I was very interested to find out what kinds of insulators were available in the U.S. and if I might be able to find some when I arrived in Colombia, my next assignment in the U.S. Navy. I wrote to Carol McDougald and asked her to "put me on all insulator mailing lists". I added that I would be living in Guatemala for 7 weeks for Spanish training and would be moving to Colombia in June and asked her to forward C.J. there for me. Carol wrote back encouraging me to look for Colombian "crown jewels." She added that she and Marilyn Albers were very interested in buying any insulators I could find, as well as receiving information on manufacturers. I decided I wanted to be a member of NIA after getting my first magazine.

Upon arriving in Guatemala I immediately began to search. My first adventure was during a climb up a volcano over 12,000 feet! I remember spotting dark green sombrero insulators and excitedly taking their picture. But later I learned they were common French-exported Sedivers. In another effort, I scoured all the antique shops I could find in Antigua, but only turned up common American Whitall Tatum and Hemingray signals. I did spot one purple and several blackglass green tolls, but they were still in use. Upon arrival in Colombia I kept "looking up" as Carol and Marilyn had advised, but it took me several months before I spotted my first glass insulator, a CD 167 Armstrong in Blackglass Amber (I thought it was Colombian at the time). As a new collector, I could only imagine how I was going to get one.

My first success came one evening when riding home from work, I spotted several downed poles in my neighborhood! ! I nearly died with excitement at the prospect of finally holding some Colombian insulators. I walked down to the site with a pair of vice grips and a plastic bag to carry my haul. But upon arrival, I only saw porcelain U-2278 NN's. But it was nonetheless my first and only available insulator, so I decided to free one from a pole amidst the destruction I saw around me. Several pieces were destroyed on site and used to fill holes for new poles already planted into the ground. Upon closer inspection I saw a couple of broken U- (?) T-Bars! I searched to find all the pieces to glue them together, but they weren't to be found. I went home with a couple U-2278s, one U-1690 and one CD 167 Armstrong in amber blackglass. I was excited and disappointed at the same time. Deep within me, however, I knew this was just the beginning. 

My first plan of attack was to see if insulators might be listed in the yellow pages. At first I looked under electrical parts/supplies. I found a few shops close to my apartment and began my quest. At first nobody seemed to know what an insulator was. It was very frustrating because I thought I was mispronouncing it in Spanish. But at last I came to a shop and was shown 2 GAMMA porcelain spools! And they were nice because they were stamped in English: "Made in Colombia 1990". I decided to send samples off to Carol and Marilyn right away. Boy, did I make their day. 

After having scoured all the electrical parts shops in my area, I decided to search the yellow pages again. This time I looked under the Electrical Insulator heading. Would you believe it? There were about a dozen shops listed. . Matrimol LTDA advertised pin-type insulators! I was so excited that I took a taxi to the plant. It was listed as having a factory on site. Upon arrival I was confused to see what appeared to be a residential building, with no sign. Nevertheless, I inquired if insulators were sold there in my somewhat rusty Spanish. I received a yes, and was escorted up a few flights of stairs. I was asked to have a seat and the plant manager would assist me in a moment. I immediately spotted a display case full of insulators -- some glass ponies, porcelain signals, and others in an unusual epoxy. The manager arrived and I asked where I could obtain the displayed insulators. She told me that the glass pieces were American and the porcelains were made in Medellin, Colombia. As a new collector I hesitantly took her word for it. The porcelain pieces I thought would be unobtainable since there were being produced in the most dangerous place in Colombia. I then inquired about the epoxy insulators Matrimol produced. The manager promised and later mailed me a copy of their catalog. 

With determination to find something on my day off, I inquired where I might find the porcelain pieces locally. I was given an address on the other side of town. The taxi fare was rising quickly, and I still had nothing to show for my efforts. 

Upon arriving at Electro Gamma, a local electrical parts distributor, I was greeted by a painted trademark of GAMMA insulators on the outside wall! I asked the driver to wait for me while I confirmed they sold insulators. I forgot all doubts as I was handed a GAMMA Sim CD 155 (U-?), a U-221, , and a strain insulator. I then inquired if they had a copy of a GAMMA catalog. They did! I asked and they xeroxed a copy for me. I was told the Sim CD 155 would probably be given a new U-number! Was I ever a happy collector! And just as exciting, I had discovered a Colombian porcelain insulator manufacturer! Reading through the catalog I learned that GAMMA's insulators were produced using the wet process and "a good design technology that guarantees that the pieces can withstand strong electro-mechanical forces without losing the dialectic properties." The earliest GAMMA I found is dated 1966. The catalog confirms it's manufacturing beginnings "date back twenty five years with electric porcelain and 100 years with ceramics." 

I've done some research and based on my samples, I've been able to determine the following markings on GAMMA insulators associated with specific manufacturing dates:

1966-1968
1968-1975
1976-Present

With catalog and GAMMA's in hand I was feeling mighty fine. I paid the patient taxi driver and decided to look around in the neighborhood. I spotted a glass insulator sitting on a window display shelf. I was so excited and went inside to inquire about it. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a CD 221 Ice Green Hemingray. As I looked around I spotted a shelf behind the counter, laden with dozens of glass and porcelain insulators!! I wanted to leap over the counter and rescue them! Instead I courteously asked if I could look at them. The sales girl (after attempting to determine what electrical project I was working on) agreed, and I about died when I saw a CD 155 TELECOM in blue-grey and a CD 203 TELECOM in dark vibrant peach with drips!! I had never heard of this name on an insulator, but recognized it immediately as Colombia's long distance telephone company! A little more movement of pieces uncovered a CD 122.2 NN and a CD 116.6 NN (Both recently assigned CD numbers!). Unfortunately many of the pieces were damaged, but I bought the dark peach, a couple of CD 155 TELECOM's, the blue-grey NN's, and some similar to a CD 155 GAMMA's (U-?). I asked the shopkeeper if she knew who made the 2 NN's and she said that PELDAR did. I never heard of that company but decided to look into it. I went home that day with boxes of jewels in hand and a big smile on my face.

The next weekend I decided it was time to visit PELDAR, S.A., which turned out to be one of the largest glass manufacturers in Colombia owned by Owens Glass of Ohio! I met with the director of sales in the corporate headquarters in Bogota. I had copies of Glass Insulators From Outside North America and Worldwide Guide to Porcelain Insulators ready in hand. The director was amazed at my interest in insulators and wondered if I wanted them for my business. I said that it was a hobby of mine, but that I was very interested in obtaining more information on Colombian insulators to have it published. He went on to explain that PELDAR to his knowledge didn't produce insulators. I was very disappointed. The man wasn't completely sure of himself, and the company president was too busy to be bothered. But he suggested I go directly to TELECOM for more information. I guess I couldn't hide my disappointment, and before I knew it the kind man was escorting me directly to TELECOM headquarters and even directed me to the appropriate office! He explained that when he visited Owens Glass Headquarters in Ohio, everyone was so kind to him that he wanted to repay a favor to an American! 

Four of the blue and green CD 154 ZICME insulators found to date

Everyone at TELECOM was surprisingly helpful under the circumstances (the company was on strike and the government is in the midst of trying to sell it to private investors and a big rally was being planned that night outside the building I was in!) After visiting several offices, I met with Alberto Royero, a physical engineer for the company. He pulled out an old chart that listed several companies who had contracts with TELECOM to provide them with insulators in the past. I was excited and copied down the names of ITT of Colombia and Abengoa, S.A., who were listed as providing glass pieces, and Electroporcelana Gamma and UMERCA LTDA with porcelain. Unfortunately Mr. Royero wasn't sure who made the "CD 155 and CD 203's" I had found. Although he thought that ITT of Colombia probably did. He gave me business cards of distributors that TELECOM does business with. However, only one of them sold TELECOM's and they were in very short supply -- most in poor condition. , Perhaps whoever made them is no longer in business? Their names were not listed in the yellow or white pages. It continues to be a mystery who these companies are. Perhaps they are located in one of Colombia's other two large industrial cities -- Medellin or Barranquilla.

A few weeks later I returned to my "insulator hunting grounds" (electrical parts shops) in search of some special pieces. My big goal today was to find a ZICME! A few weeks earlier I found ZICME listed in the phone book and took a drive out to its warehouse. In an empty field in front of an old warehouse stood a sign that said: "PELICME LTDA, DISTRIBUTORS OF ZICME PRODUCTS". I knocked on the door with no answer. I had photos of ZICME's that were found in Colombia, had seen ZICME listed in the phone book, and had received many promises from shopkeepers to find them, but now having seen the warehouse I was sure I would. As I was strolling through the usual neighborhood, I decided to explore a little more in a different area. I found a small "hole in the wall" shop that had a little sign -- Electrical Parts, Used. I decided to check it out. I said my usual routine and was escorted to a back room. As I walked in, I saw a pile of insulators -- glass in one room and porcelain in another. As I dug through the pile I found four CD 154 bubbly green and blue tinged ZICME's!! I picked them up like they were pure gold. My legs even began to shake! Unfortunately three of the four had noticeable chips on them. But since there were only two CD 154 ZICME's known at the time, I couldn't help being excited!! I ended up spending several hours digging through the piles. I even handled a couple broken T-Bars (Sim U-2085's). Altogether I've located 6 CD 154 Zicmes, 2 with a bold embossing.

GAMMA signal (sim U-2239) with two unique variations

As I dug around, I saw something that really made my day -- a couple of boxes labeled "COOPERATIVA INTEGRAL DE VIDRIERAS" and COOVINAL listed at the bottom -- filled with the NN insulators. First evidence of a Colombian glass insulator manufacturer! And later on I was able to find a factory outlet, where I surveyed their catalog. Accordingly, COOVINAL was founded in 1944 by Colombians using European technology and capital, Colombian craftsmanship, and within time, became one of the largest factories of its kind in Latin America. Today they export a large portion of their production. They are big producers of glassware, dishes, decorative items and CD 122.2, CD 116.6, CD 1049 insulators and likely the CD 122.2 NN peak-dome insulator. As of this writing only 8 of these peak-dome variations are known to exist, with 4 of them in mint. 

Rainbow of CD 203 TELECOMs - dark peach, pink smoke with 
milky swirls, pink No Name, medium smoke, clear with blue tint

A few weeks later I had returned to to my sole source for CD 203 TELECOM's. I had tried unsuccessfully to view the supply of insulators on the shelf up close, but each time the owner said there was nothing more to see. But this Saturday the owner was out and his son was working. I asked to look at the stock of insulators and the young man eagerly led the way. What I saw were GAMMA porcelains, a supply of E.S.A. CD 154' s ( without the usual markings), and some SETO porcelains from Japan. Upon closer inspection I located 7 CD 122.2 NN's with a peaked dome! This variation wasn't listed in COOVINAL's catalog, so I eagerly bought them. And as if that weren't enough to make my day, when moving a few pieces around I found the most beautiful insulator I had ever seen in all of Colombia -- a peacock blue CD 1050 NN! (This is a brand new CD number). I was on cloud nine for a few weeks after that discovery. I later learned that a CD 1050 in cobalt blue was found in Colombia around the same time as mine, and brought back for Marilyn!

What a coincidence that two rare beauties were found in totally different parts of the country and given to two Colombian insulator collectors at the same time is just astounding to me! 

CD 1050 peacock Colombian spool

My most recent discovery went something like this. I woke up this morning with a new determination to obtain some T-Bar insulators. Somehow I felt I was going to get one, but where I didn't know. I decided to start the day at Pasaje Electricos, the small electrical shop in Bogota that has been helping me find insulators. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a U-2239 GAMMA with the rare peak dome variation! Alva Sanchez said she had some unemployed workers out looking for insulators for me and found this one. I was excited as this was only the second of this variation I have found, both having the 1972 date.

Upon leaving, I remembered a T-Bar insulator I had seen on a building front in Bogota. I attempted to buy it previously, but was told to return when the owner would be there. I promised the saleswoman I would return, and that was over one month ago! Just maybe this time I could convince her to sell it to me. Upon arriving, I saw two young men painting the store's sign -- within reach of the Sim U-2085 T-Bar!! This time using a photo of a T-Bar found in Colombia, I explained to the owner that I wanted to buy the T-Bar insulator for my collection. I offered her 10,000 pesos for it and one worker replied, "how about $100.00?!'' I said no way. The woman started getting nervous, fearing it belonged to the electric company (Energia Bogota). I told her to not worry because it was very old and no longer in use. This seemed to satisfy her as one of the workers leaped up the ladder to retrieve it! However it had been there for years and so it took one hack saw, two blades, and patience with a crying boy and nervous shopkeeper before I finally got it! But it was worth every minute! And now I have two more friends helping me in the search for Colombian Crown Jewels.

Each day I'm getting closer to obtaining the elusive SCA Zicme and I hope it will be sooner than later. I have other exciting stories I would love to share with you, but as fast as I could share, I'd probably make a new discovery. Such is the life of an insulator collector in the "land of Juan Valdez."

Believed to be a crossarm containing the elusive purple CD 154 Zicme