On December 13, approximately two-dozen members of GCIC converged at the home of Kevin & Cheryl Jacobson in Phoenix, Arizona, for a joyous day of insulator swapping and Christmas merriment. This is a very active club that meets regularly in member's homes for club business and fellowship.

For a few of us that arrived a day early, Kevin made sure we had sufficient in-home activities to bide our time with and that would be transporting the Jacobson insulator collection from the computer room to brand new backlit showcases in what is now dubbed the official "insulator room". Kevin & Cheryl's primary specialty is embossed 1871 patent date Hemingrays. The collection sure took on a different "light" when all the insulators where placed in the well-lit showcases. By the way, it may be of interest to mention that the custom showcases that covered the entire span of one wall were delivered and installed just hours earlier, at 1:00 a.m. in the morning!

A portion of Kevin & Cheryl Jacobson's collection 
unveiled in their newly constructed showcases.

Club members began to arrive shortly before noon on Saturday as Cheryl completed last minute preparations for an early dinner. Several tables of insulators were set up in the pool area on a beautiful brisk, sunny day. Those offering insulators for sale were: Arthur McConnachie, Brad Blansett, Roger Nagel, Steve Kelly, Steve Marks, Tom Katonak, Bruce Young, Kevin Jacobson and Dwayne Anthony. Tom Katonak also offered up a few mineral specimens from his extensive collection, plus a fossilized dinosaur egg that quickly sold as it hit the table. 

Like lizards sunning themselves on a rock, 
(from far left) Roger Nagel, Steve Marks, Dwayne Anthony & Steve Kelly 
enjoy the December Arizona sunshine at poolside.

Steve Kelly brought along three unembossed CD 126s to share from his collection. One had a noticeably odd dome shape, leading one to speculate that it could have come from a reworked, previously embossed Brookfield mold. Jim Harlow set up a display of insulators recently picked from abandoned lines, including an amber-swirled, green aqua CD 154 McLaughlin No 40 picked in California last spring. He also displayed a McLaughlin water bottle bowl that he had just acquired. Jim had seen the item in an antique shop over a year ago, but was unaware of its significance as an insulator go-with. When a very similar item was pictured in the October 2003 issue of Crown Jewels of the Wire, explaining its ties to the McLaughlin Glass Co., Jim immediately recalled the one he had spotted a year prior in an Arizona antique shop. On a whim, he sent a collector friend to see if it might, by chance, still be there, and it was! Only a handful of these unique, custom made bowls have been reported in collector's hands.

The most outstanding show-and-tell arrangement was displayed by Kevin & Cheryl. This would be their newly acquired, one-of-a-kind, purple CD 732.2 Patent Dec 1871 threadless, with original patent drawings and a specially designed steel pin. This combined display certainly rates as one of the finest for historical significance in the insulator hobby today. It was a real pleasure to see it in person!

Threadless purple CD 732.2 on specially designed iron pin,
with a portion of the original patent drawings in the background.

To appease the swelling appetites, an abundance of tantalizing appetizers appeared just before noon, followed by a full banquet-style offering of turkey, ham and all the trimmings. Later in the evening the "girls" congregated in the formal living room around the Christmas tree, while the "gentlemen" shared tall insulator stories in the family room. At one point, the girls, led by Carol McDougald, appeared from the hallway carrying candles and singing Christmas carols. The guys responded with a short rendition of Chantilly Lace. The best part of spending an entire day of jovial socializing with fellow insulator collectors is that you never know what's going to happen next, especially if you're in the company of the high-spirited members of the Grand Canyon State Insulator Club!

Carol (from left) McDougald, Lynda Katonak and Terri Taylor enjoy the Holiday Spirit.