featuring BILL and JILL MEIER

Whereas most of the collectors featured in these pages have multiple decades of collecting under their belts, this in not quite the case with Bill and Jill Meier. However, considering that they have been active in the insulator hobby close to nine years now, their accomplishments are nothing short of amazing. 

To begin, it is not entirely correct to place the Meiers in the "newcomer" category. Nine years in itself is no short span -- but Bill's collecting history in particular goes back much farther, to the year 1969. 

During that time period, Bill's father, an architect, maintained office space next to the Penn Central (former New York, New Haven and Hartford) Railroad in Simsbury, CT. The enticement of a railroad right-of-way was too much for thirteen-year-old Bill to resist. Often accompanied by friends, Bill would traverse the cinder pathway alongside the steel rails. He soon had amassed a sizable assortment of insulators in varying colors, styles and manufacturers. Together with his father, the pair scouted all the railroads within a 30 mile radius of their home in Avon, CT. Some of their early finds included base embossed American beehives and CD 147 spiral groove insulators. 

Guided by USGS topological maps, Bill and his father also traced old telephone lines, finding CD 115, 121 & 122 insulators as well as the occasional two piece transposition. Vacations spent in Prince Edward Island, Canada gave Bill the opportunity to add some Diamond and Dominion styles to his collection.

BILL and JILL MEIER Carlisle, MA  Bill: Born Nov. 22, 1955 Jill: Born Oct. 07,1958 Collecting Since: 1989 Primary Specialty: Hemingray, H.G.CO., & Pat. Dec. 19, 1871 The Meiers collection numbers overs 1,200 unique Hemingrays, including one threadless and 122 threaded CD's.

Bill's "Patented Insulator Extractor", marked with completion 
date July 20,1969 and fictitious patent number 2,560,851. 
The "Insulator Extractor" lifting off an American beehive after 
it has been unscrewed from the pin. 

To aid in gathering insulators from poles, young Bill created a "Patented Insulator Extractor" that not only unscrewed an insulator but caught it at crossarm level, removing the always risky "baseball glove" method of retrieval.

Bill also developed his own cataloging system in an effort to organize his early collection. Each insulator was featured on its own page, which included information about its manufacturer, color, embossing, and where it was found. A full size profile drawing showing internal and external details was an integral part of the system.

When Bill began collecting, the only reference guides available to him were Tibbett's volumes. These books, although an invaluable early tool, could also be difficult to use, owing to the nature of the hand drawn sketches they contained. Largely because they all displayed a clearly marked style number which greatly reduced the need to scrutinize Tibbett's sketches, Bill chose Hemingrays as his favorite insulators. 

Whole page from early cataloging system.

Upon leaving for Tufts University in 1973, Bill's collection remained behind, lining the windows of his parent's home. There it languished, numbering approximately 200 pieces. Bill graduated from Tufts summa cum laude with a BSEE in Computer Science and Applied Math. His desire to pursue a career in computer software engineering eventually led him to Digital Equipment Corporation's Nashua, NH location, where he first met Jill. 

Jill Fabricant, a Brooklyn, NY native, had signed on with Digital in 1980 two months before graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Computer Science. She and Bill knew of each other through work, but had only actually worked with each other for a scant few hours some six years before they started dating. In true 21st century style, Bill began his "courtship' of Jill via E-mail. They were married October 15, 1989 at Carlisle Castle -- a playground in their hometown which they both helped construct.

It was also early in 1989 that Jill entered (and Bill re-entered) the insulator hobby. The newlyweds brought Bill's dormant collection to their Carlisle, MA residence. Bill continued to consider Hemingray insulators as his favorite, but when a large variety of $1.00 insulators surfaced at a nearby flea market, the pair were nearly tempted to collect examples from every manufacturer. Excitement about attending their first National (1989 Allentown, PA) led them to focus on a specialty. Since Bill still liked Hemingray, the die was cast; a highly successful National netted them over 80 new pieces. In the years since, the Meiers have assembled one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Hemingray insulators in the hobby. 

In addition to collecting Hemingray, H.G .Co. and Pat. Dec. 19, 1871 insulators, Bill and Jill collect anything made by or related to Hemingray Glass Co., including water bottles, fruit jars, pop bottles and the like. They also collect advertisements, catalogs and any paper documentation relating to Hemingray. With aid from Elton Gish and Bob Stahr, the Meiers have a substantial library of Hemingray material, which they willingly avail to any and all interested parties.

If "Hemingray" is the first association you make in connection with Bill & Jill Meier, then undoubtedly "computer" runs a very close second. Their involvement in the computer aspect of the hobby is a natural spin-off of their careers in the software engineering industry. Bill has developed software capable of reproducing unique insulator lettering styles or "fonts", both foreign and domestic. These were the fonts used to create the 1995 Price Guide for Insulators by the McDougalds and Price Guide for G.I.F.O.N.A. by Marilyn Albers and Mr. N.R. Woodward. Bill also maintains the ability to digitally scan two dimensional images. For example, he can scan an old, faded and creased blueprint of an insulator and clean it up to produce a crisp, Woodward-style line drawing. Both of these developments have been featured in a number of recently released insulator guide books. Also, Jill has developed a custom inventory and invoice system for the NIA product marketing items she oversees. 

A part of the Meier's collection displayed on floor to 
ceiling shelves in front of an eight foot sliding glass door.

Surely the Meiers crowning accomplishment is the creation of an Internet Website about insulators. Found at http://www.insulators.com. the site is visited by thousands of people from all over the globe every month. Hundreds of new collectors have been exposed to the hobby as a direct result of this Website. In addition to the Website, the Meiers maintain a mailing list server of 400 plus names of collectors. Keith Roloson started the mailing list years ago, and two years ago the group gained a name -- "ICON" for Insulators Collectors On the Net. 

Few in the hobby have been more generous with their time and efforts as the Meiers. In addition to the hundreds of hours he has devoted to the Website, Bill currently serves as N.I.A. Eastern Region Vice President. Jill presently is the N.I.A. Product Marketing Committee chairperson. Together, they head the Yankee Pole Cat Insulator Club, and have hosted the club's annual show in both 1996 and 1997. In 1995 they took on the monumental task of co-hosting the National in Marlboro, MA. Middlesex News (MA) coverage of the show included an interview with Bill and a photograph of the Meier's display. At last year's National, Bill's efforts were acknowledged by naming him recipient of the 1997 N.I.A. Outstanding Service Award.

Bill and Jill have been exhibitors at dozens of shows at local, regional and national levels. They have won numerous awards including the Milholland Educational Award (twice); Bob & Phoebe Adams Showmanship Award (twice); Best First Time Displayer at a National; and several N.I.A. First Place Specialty awards to name just a few. Their display at the 1995 Marlboro National integrated their computer skills into a hobby first -- a technology laden interactive display. Since then, the Meiers have included a computer in all their National displays in order to present additional educational information to the viewers. 

Bill holds an "Amber 8" CD 112.4 Hemingray No.8 
in golden amber, while Jill has a CD 164 H.G.Co.
in peacock blue -- two of their favorite insulators.
Jill's sweatshirt pictures one of their award winning displays.

In addition to insulators, Jill maintains a topical stamp collection, which highlights stamps featuring insulators. Her collection also includes stamps depicting earth features and marine life, as well as other topics. She has authored an article for Linn's Stamp News entitled "Insulator hobby embraces postage stamps" which was about insulators on stamps. Together with Bill, she has written articles about their insulator specialty for Crown Jewels of the Wire and Rainbow Riders Trading Post. 

Like all collectors, the Meiers have some interesting stories to tell about some of their favorite pieces. When they started collecting together in 1989, they purchased a few insulators from Dick Bowman through his ads in Crown Jewels of the Wire. They learned that Dick would be at the Brimfield (MA) Antique Flea Market, and decided they would like to meet him in person. Bear in mind that Brimfield is huge; it encompasses over 20 acres of dealers -- and the Meiers had no idea where "Marshal Dick" was set up. Surprisingly, it only took a few hours of wandering around to find the good Marshal, then a few more hours to pour over the two dozen or so insulators Dick had on his table. The final result: six insulators purchased, $42 spent, and the Meiers returned home with their first Surge, Mickey Mouse and carnival Pyrex. 

In September 1990, Duane Davenport hooked up with the Meiers while in New England at a training course as part of his job with Digital in New Mexico. Bill says he remembers Duane coming to see their collection carrying a CD Hemingray No.8 in golden amber in an insulated mug! The Meiers expressed interest in acquiring the piece and struck a deal in which Duane received a peacock Mickey Mouse, a purple Hemingray No. 12 and some cash.

Mr. "Amber 8"

Although this was the first insulator the Meiers owned that was valued over a thousand dollars, they're quick to note that it's not the value of the insulator that makes it so special to them as much as is the friendship they've developed with Duane. Bill is so enamored of this particular insulator that his computer node name on the Internet and his license plate proudly proclaim "AMBER 8". 

Jill and "Hemi" the cat -- short 
for "Hemingray" -- of course!

When asked to comment on the firestorm of controversy that has been raging within the hobby recently, the Meiers responded that they found it "hard to imagine that insulator collectors would compromise the hobby by injecting questionable specimens into the mainstream," but noted that stranger things have happened. They feel that it is unfortunate that an accurate method of determining authenticity has yet to be found; a method that would remove conjecture and rely on pure science. And, as many in leadership positions in the hobby have stated, the Meiers contend that "it is always in the best interest of an individual to be well educated in anything he or she collects. Among the many benefits education provides, it helps to protect people from items that may not be what they are said to be. This pertains to cases of intent to defraud, as well as ignorance on the part of the seller."

Where is our hobby headed? Not surprisingly, if you ask the Meiers, they see it centered around the growing popularity of the Internet. As mentioned earlier, their insulator Web site is attracting hundreds of people monthly, many of whom are new to the hobby and would never have found out about the hobby by any other format. Bill and Jill agree that the future of the hobby rests with bringing new collectors into the fold. To that end, the Meiers feel that whatever time and energy they can spend working with newcomers will be repaid to them many times over, both in terms of the enjoyment and satisfaction they personally receive, as well as from the assurance that the insulator hobby will continue to remain strong.