Six full years have passed since we started this little publication, INSULATORS 'Crown Jewels of the Wire'. This is the 73rd issue. How quickly these past years have flown! Have you ever noticed how fast time goes when you are enjoying your work? We have truly enjoyed bringing this magazine into your lives and homes. We sincerely hope that it has enriched your lives and provided the needed knowledge to help you with your hobby. Seven years ago when Don and I started collecting insulators we fully realized the need to be able to contact other collectors to keep our own interest in the hobby alive. Little did we dream then how many wonderful friends we were to make all over the United States and Canada. These friendships are our most prized possession--all because we became fascinated with the insulator collecting hobby. 

But life is not without its little trials and tribulations. Almost every day the mailman brings a new challenge of some kind. For instance, on my desk is a new gift subscription received almost a week ago. Yes, I have the name and address of the receiver of the gift subscription and the name of the lady who sent it; but there was no money included and no address of the lady sending the gift. I can't very well bill the receiver of the gift for the subscription, and I can't bill the lady without an address. It is very important for you to always include your name and address in all your correspondence. And when you have a change of address, it is important to include your old address along with the new, especially if you happen to have a name like Smith or Jones. We have several subscribers with the same name, and I don't want to move the wrong addressee. That causes irritation for both parties and also upsets my ulcer! 

Another very upsetting thing is the mail I don't receive; and there apparently must be some, because I will receive a letter asking about a previous one which I have no record of receiving at all. No correspondence is ever thrown away. I have a separate file folder for each correspondent, so all your letters are in a file with your name on it. Mail sometimes gets lost between you and my mailbox, and vice versa. Many of you have had to write because you did not receive an issue of Crown Jewels, and I mailed you a second copy because somewhere between me and you the first copy mysteriously disappeared. Thank heavens, it doesn't happen too often, but it does happen. So any time you fail to receive an issue, be sure to let me know, for we don't want anyone to be left out. 

One more thing that seems to be very confusing to our subscribers is Crown Jewels' deadline for receiving ads or other material for a certain issue. The deadline is the 20th of the month two months before the date on the issue. In other words, the 20th of January was the deadline for the March issue you are reading, the 20th of February for the April issue, and so on. The reason for this is that Crown Jewels is printed in Riverside, California, some 600 miles south of us. It takes time to mail the copy material to printers and for them to get it set up, photographed, printed, folded, collated, stitched and trimmed. Then Crown Jewels is boxed and freighted back to me for addressing and mailing to you. We try very hard to get it in the mail to you between the 12th and the 15th of the month preceding the date on the cover. In other words, the April issue should be in the mail by the middle of March, so that, hopefully, the Post Office can get it to you in the first week of the month stated on the cover. Yes, I could have it printed closer to home; but, at the prices they want around here, we would have to raise the subscription and ad rates, or go broke in a very short time. Besides, the Scharffenbergs are the ones that talked me into this wild idea of publishing an insulator magazine, and they do an excellent job of printing and are mighty nice family people. The whole family pitches in to help produce it; and even though they don't collect insulators, they are interested in our hobby. 

Now for a peek into the present and future of the insulator world. I have had many collectors ask if collecting is slowing down. No, I don't believe so. However, it does seem to be leveling off somewhat. A few collectors have sold out for one reason or another, usually personal, like health. But new collectors take their places. Never a day goes by that we don't receive at least one new subscription or an old renewal along with the regular renewals. I think you will find this year's subscriber list down some from last year's. I blame this on the state of our economy, not a lessening of interest in insulators. I have been in contact with several of our authors, and they say books aren't selling as well as a year ago, either. Some of the vibrations I am receiving concerning the cost of printing and publishing are that it is getting so outrageous that it is not feasible to have books reprinted after the current supplies are gone. It would really be a shame if we couldn't get the books to go with our hobby of insulator collecting. We, the collectors, really owe much to the authors who have devoted their time, knowledge and efforts to writing these books that make collecting so much more enjoyable for all of us. Stop reading for a moment and think-- where would our collections and hobby be if we had no publications to refer to? Gives you something to think about, doesn't it? 

Again this year I wish to thank all of our contributors of articles, artwork, cartoons, information, poems and everything else that has been sent in to be published in Crown Jewels. Sometimes it takes a little time to get the material set up to fit the pages, and we also have to be careful not to reprint copyrighted material. As I have said before, you, the collectors, are the essence of the magazine, and I do appreciate all your letters, material and encouragement. My sincere thanks to all of you for your faith in us. 

We wish you much happiness in your hobby of collecting insulators during the coming year and hope this 1975 Subscriber Directory will introduce you to many new friends. 
Your Editor, 
Dora Harned