Anniversary Editorial
by Dora Harned
Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", March 1974, page 2
Our fifth anniversary! It's almost unbelievable how fast these five years
have passed. The different and beautiful insulators that have been discovered,
cleaned and polished, to be admired by collectors, is fantastic. The history
(part of our American heritage) that has been dug up and saved from obscurity is
just as important to an advanced insulator collector as the insulator itself.
In the first flush of collecting, when we are first bitten by the insulator bug,
we want everything that is different and that we don't have; but after a year or
so of this, we get more particular and more interested in the history and
purpose of the insulators we have. You start asking yourself why this style was
made, how and where was it used, how many companies made it, and so forth. Then
you want to talk to other collectors, companionship of your own kind, another
insulator collector. You find that people who don't collect just aren't
interested in talking insulators
This is when you start thinking about
subscribing to Crown Jewels so that you can make contacts, find other
collectors, learn where coming shows and sales are to be held, advertise for
insulators you desire, or find what you are searching for in the ads.
Contacts--this is the key word in the hobby and in the magazine. We find we need
other collectors; without them our collecting is very limited and not nearly
so much fun. So this is the reason for this issue-- a directory of
subscribers--so you can find other collectors in your area, and have a handy
reference for travels (gas permitting).
When this energy crisis started, my
first thought was what effect it was going to have on the shows and sales being
planned. So far none have been cancelled, so I guess where there's a will,
there's a way. I sincerely hope everyone can make it to all the shows they
wish to attend without too much difficulty. I do predict one thing: many more
small area clubs forming in the future. We have two trying in northern
California, one in Sacramento, and one in the Oroville area. These clubs will
become a vital part of our collecting if we are limited on gas purchases. Think
about it and get going on a club in your area if you have none. Crown Jewels is
here to help you all we can. Just let us know.
Now for a little past history
about Crown Jewels magazine. As many of you know, we started INSULATORS, Crown
Jewels of the Wire just five years ago this month, March 1969 Before that,
collectors had to depend on magazines and journals devoted to other areas of
collecting for what information they could get on insulators. As most of you
know, Don and I are insulator collectors (both glass and porcelain), and we felt
a need for a publication devoted entirely to insulators. With no capital, a
handful of insulator collectors' names and addresses, a printer willing to
take a flyer,
and a borrowed typewriter, we started in a corner of our living room.
I
believe approximately seventy-five flyers were sent out to see if collectors
were interested in a journal of their own. The response was good, and subscriptions started coming in along with information on insulators to be printed. This
is why I insist this is your magazine, because without you there would be no
information to be shared. We would have had no way of knowing what was being
found and what was happening in other parts of our large country. Anyhow, to get
back to our start, with the first subscription money I bought a typewriter for
$10 ($15 more to be cleaned and adjusted), and we used this manual typewriter
until two and a half years ago when we graduated to an electric. My, how nice!
Meanwhile, we found we had to keep records. Boy, did we have to keep records!!
As the end of the first year rolled around, subscription renewal notices had to
be made up and sent out and file cabinets bought to keep the records in. As our
subscription list grew, I found we needed a better way to address magazines, so
we bought an addressograph, and with it came more files and stencils. Then I
found a copy machine eliminated a lot of typing, so we have a copy machine. Soon
we had very little living room and a lot of office. So last summer I decided
either we have an office, or I quit.
Luckily we have an apartment attached to
our home, and this makes an ideal office. So since August of last year Crown
Jewels has had its own hone. We have come a long way since that first issue was
printed.
The above may not be of interest to some of you, but I thought you
might like to know where your dollars were spent in this time of I.R.S. Ah yes,
we do have a part time typist now two or three afternoons a week, or as needed,
hired through our local Chico State University employment office. So, as our
office and subscriber list have grown in the last five years, our help has not,
so please be patient with us if your questions aren't answered by return mail.
Also, we are still having problems with mailing. The post office manages to lose
a few copies each month; they are still slow with second class mail delivery;
and if you don't send me your address changes (no matter what you tell the post
office), they will return your issues to me. This is just the way it is.
So all
the problems aren't solved. Every day brings a new challenge, new problems to be
solved and really a very exciting life for me. It's very rewarding to bring the
collectors together. Sometimes I get downhearted and discouraged, but not too
often. I've had many chuckles in the mail over collectors' experiences. I enjoy
Insulator Collectors--they are the greatest people on earth! I want to take
this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for subscribing, and a
special big thanks to the collectors who have contributed their time and
knowledge in the form of articles, pictures, show reports, etc. that make up
each issue. These are all voluntary contributions. And we still need them each
month, especially good glass articles and pictures or sketches.
Remember, there are a lot of new collectors and
subscribers who are just starting and who will benefit from your knowledge and
experience. The new collectors are what keeps this hobby alive, and none of us
are born knowing -- we all have to learn. We need your help with material, since
I don't have time any more for research, with all the records and files to be
kept up each day. Any help is much appreciated by me and the subscribers.
Well, I feel I've been pretty wordy, so will cut
it off and wish the BEST to you all in the coming year of insulator collecting.
I will leave you with these thoughts on all the things we say, think, or do:
- Are we being fair and honest to all concerned?
- Are we being truthful?
- Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Your editor,
Dona Harned
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