“Bea Lines” Says Goodbye

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", December 1996, page 22

This is my last interview for “Bea Lines”, and I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in the hobby in this way. I have had the pleasure of knowing personally all 33 collectors interviewed in 26 articles (some stories were on couples). I chose high as well as low profile people; dealers, authors, collectors, long- as well as short-timers, and I count all of them as my friends. I thank you all for taking the time to be a part of “Bea Lines”. Each of you was most generous with your personal information and photos, which made my job much easier. I am listing you below, along with the month, year, and page number in the Crown Jewels of the Wire in which your biography appeared, and the state or province in which you lived at the time of your interview. (To read the “History of ‘Bea Lines’” through November 1993, please see that issue, page 24.)

“Bea Lines” ran for 11 years 6 months; from June 1985 through December 1996. I “traveled” to 13 states and 2 Canadian provinces, and visited 5 western, 3 midwestern, and 5 eastern states. This was not by accident but by design, so that all 3 regions would be represented more or less equally. I interviewed a total of 18 westerners, 7 midwesterners, 6 easterners, and 2 Canadians, making the column an international one. Following is the breakdown on states and provinces, along with the number of times they were visited: Alaska, 1; California, 5; Florida, 1; Illinois, 1; Missouri, 3; Montana, 1; New York, 1; Oklahoma, 1; Pennsylvania, 2; Texas, 3; Utah, 1; Washington, 3; Wisconsin, 1; Ontario and Quebec, Canada, 1 each.

I want to thank Dora Harned, editor of Insulators-Crown Jewels of the Wire for 16 years and 2 months, who showed much enthusiasm for my idea. She allowed me to announce “Bea Lines” in her last issue before her retirement (see CJ 5-85-6), adding a nice endorsement in an “Editor's Note” on that same page. Dora, you were the first one to have faith in my idea and I thank you for your encouragement. I also thank Carol McDougald, editor of this magazine now for over 11 years, who took up where Dora left off, willingly accepted my idea, and published every interview without editing one word. Thanx, Carol, for your generosity, your patience with my sporadic contributions, and your enthusiasm and support of “Bea Lines”. I have been humbly proud (?) to have my name listed in the front of your magazine as “Bea Lines” Editor. That was an unexpected perk, and a real honor.

I will miss writing “Bea Lines”. However, a similar column will now be done by Richard Wentzel of Millville, New Jersey, who answered the call for a volunteer, graciously offering to continue with a collector profile column. Richard, I wish you well, and hope you enjoy this aspect of the hobby as much as I have. I'm very much looking forward to reading your column in the future.

H. G. “Bea” Hyve