May 2000 Glass Junk From Harrisburg

So there I am, logged onto the daily insulator show on eBay. I checked out all the usual suspects by searching for "insulator*" (including descriptions, of course!). I almost went for a beautiful purple crackle glass Hemingray 42 that had been shaped into a one-of-a-kind candle holder, but I thought better of it. Since there were 20 minutes left until I had to be, "in the zone" (30 seconds before auction end) to snipe on a spool from France, I decided to do a search for, "glass + junk." I chuckled to myself as I thought about what might come up under this unique query. Would there be a "Hemingray Turtle," or chunks of slag from Muncie, Covington, or New Jersey? My musings ended as the search returned one auction titled, "Pennsylvania Glass Junk." Almost disinterested, I opened the document and watched as the hourglass began its perpetual motion dance signifying the loading of yet another oversized picture. The seller hadn't even included a narrative to read while the picture loaded. All it said was, "Glass Junk from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. No reserve, shipping $15.00."

COVER: Another electronically generated cover by artistic Gus Stafford of F ort Leonard Wood, Missouri to accompany his story, "Glass Junk From Harrisburg".

As the picture painfully painted itself across the screen, pixel by agonizing pixel, I was able to pick out a broken clear glass doorknob, a couple of marbles, and a fruit jar lid. I checked my watch as the remainder of the picture loaded - almost time to get in the zone. When I looked up I about lost it. Among this pile of discarded glass was what appeared to be a broken lightning rod insulator. What's more, it appeared to be embossed! I selected the picture and copied it to my desktop. I minimized the internet window and opened my paint program. After scrolling down the picture (1.2 Mg) I came to the lightning rod insulator. Zooming in, I saw that it was larger than a normal spool-type LRI and it was embossed, "No 2." By now you're saying, "This guy is as whacked out as I am about insulators!" I decided to bid on the auction $15.00 shipping and all. Not because of the busted LRI, but because of what was next to it in the photo. Just off to the right side lay a grass green remnant - an Emminger fin!

I managed to execute my snipe on the French Spool with barely 30 seconds remaining in the auction. Confident that I had won the auction, I went back to studying my next target. My e-mail notified me that I was the high bidder on the spool as I increased magnification to 500%. This was one time that I was happy the seller had used such high resolution for their auction photo. The Emminger fin was definitely grass green in color. Another message came in informing me that I had been outbid with 10 seconds remaining in the French Spool auction. I went back to see who had won, and discovered that a third sniper had entered with one second remaining and ambushed us both. Oh well, you have to pay to play!

I studied the Pennsylvania Glass Junk auction. The location was a town in Pennsylvania; only 30 minutes from my home in Carlisle. I noted that the starting price was $2.00 and that no one had yet bid on this yet-to-be-viewed collection. The seller's name was AFDY2K@aol.com and they had a seller's rating of zero. I contemplating contacting them since there were still two days remaining until the auction closed. I decided this probably wasn't the best course of action. Call me selfish, but I only have a modest budget to spend on insulators, and I didn't think it would be wise to allow the seller to update the auction. I could imagine reading, "I have been told by someone that this lot contains a piece of a $15,000 - $20,000 insulator in a one of a kind color." Talk about throwing fresh meat to the sharks!

I was on pins and needles for the next 48 hours. I must have checked that item at least 30-40 times to see if anyone else had made the discovery. Thankfully the seller didn't have a counter built into the auction. With two minutes remaining I got into the zone. There were several cool insulators closing on eBay at the same time, so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I synchronized my watch and counted down the remaining 30 seconds. With 10 seconds to go I submitted my $15.72 bid and held my breath. With my heart pounding, I refreshed the screen twice until the auction closed. The Pennsylvania Glass Junk was mine for $2.00 (plus $15.00 shipping)!

I pounded out a message to the seller and asked if I could pick up my prize and avoid the shipping charge. Her response only added to the suspense I had been feeling. "Congratulations! I have to admit I'm not too experienced with this internet thing. My grandchildren got me this computer for Christmas and I'm just getting my feet wet. I really didn't think anyone would want this stuff, but I guess people will collect anything. I'll be working in the yard on Saturday. If you like this lot, I have more stuff that I found digging in my garden. Maybe we can work something out. My property butts up against an old Pennsylvania Railroad right of way and the foundation of a telegraph office my husband tore down when we bought the place back in 1942. I know this stuff is old. I also found a glass ring that had a date on it from 1872. It will be nice to have a visitor. Sincerely, April."

I e-mailed her back and said that I would be there on Saturday at 9:00. I also asked her if she still had the glass "ring." She sent me the directions to her house and added that she checked the glass ring. The full embossing that remained was, "FEBY 20TH 1872"! I checked my price guide under CD 141.9 and there it was! This was a second piece of an Emminger! My mind raced as I thought about "building" an Emminger from shards. What if there were more? What if a whole Emminger awaited me on arrival at April's house? Needless to say, I didn't sleep much during the nights leading up to Saturday.

April's house was at the end of winding Pennsylvania farm road. The road was lined by oak trees that guarded the rutted trek up to a two-story country home with peeling paint and a weather worn wooden porch. An old John Deere tractor lay rusting in the front yard next to yet another oak tree that sported a rope and tire swing that had fallen into disuse with the passage of time. True to her word, April was in the yard clearing away some brush that had emerged from the winter snows. She looked to be in her eighties, with white hair, a plain house dress and comical knee high rubber boots. The ground was pretty sloppy and I almost slipped as I stepped out of my truck. She invited me in for a cup of coffee.

The house smelled of cats - a lot of cats. Before long I had two old barn cats rubbing against my legs as she poured my coffee. Trying to contain my excitement, I talked to her about the weather, the promise of Spring, and my own affection for cats. After what seemed like an eternity of small talk, she went to the cupboard and brought out the box that I'd won on the auction. I immediately picked up the Emminger fin. Grass green! She noticed me staring in wonder at this seemingly useless piece of glass. "What are you so worked up about, son?" she asked. I explained to her that I was an insulator collector. From her expression I could tell that she didn't understand. "You know, those glass things that used to be on telephone lines?" I said in an effort to make it clearer. "Oh! I know what you're talking about! There used to be a line of poles back on the right-of-way when we got here. Each one had two of those glass things, "insulators" you call them, on pins that stuck out from the sides of the pole. My husband, Earl, God rest his soul, collected them all up when he knocked the poles down in 1942. The wires were already broken before he did it. He spent the better part of a week rolling up the wire for the war effort. They actually paid him for the copper."

Now don't get me wrong. I am as grateful as the next person for the effort that the "Greatest Generation" put into winning World War II, but my brain was locked on the phrase, "he collected them up." I asked her what happened to the insulators. "Oh, those! Well they sat in a box in the barn until 1959. That year, Earl bought my son a .22 rifle for his 15th birthday. I came home from the market one day and there they were, lining up bottles on the back fence so they could do a little target practice. I didn't mind at first, until I saw the growing pile of broken glass that was accumulating at the base of the fence. I went out into the back yard and told them to stop right this minute! They were acting like a bunch of hooligans. I made Earl clean up the mess since I didn't want my son to cut himself on the broken glass. You know, I'll bet that piece of green glass in your hand has been in the ground since that day. I didn't put two and two together until just now."

My heart sunk. How many times had I heard the line about shooting insulators with a BB Gun? Now I held the remnants of just such a tragedy. April got up and refilled my cup of coffee. "It sure is a good thing that I stopped them when I did," she said, "or I wouldn't have these to show you today." She went to the closet and pulled out a wooden Coca-Cola tray. I saw the familiar shape and color of Coca-Cola Bottles as she turned, but my eyes also caught a flash of green and aqua that didn't fit! "I've been told that people collect these old Coke bottles. Do you have any idea how much I should try and get for them?" I didn't answer. I couldn't speak. There in the tray were five Emminger's and two CD 132.2 Paisley's! If this weren't enough of a sensory overload, two of the Emminger's and both Paisley's were a stunning dark green! April cleared her throat, "I said, do you have any idea how much these Coke bottles might be worth?" "Ma'am, I'm not sure about those bottles, but I sure wish I had enough money to pay for the insulators!" She laughed, "Those old things! Why they can't be worth more than a couple of dollars a piece!"

Now many of us have been in a similar situation. Someone has something of great collectible value that we want to buy. They have no idea what the item is worth and are just as happy to get rid of it with a small profit. Do you tell them what they have, ala "The Antiques Road Show," or do you fight to keep a straight face and laugh all the way to the bank? For my part, I've never been able to steal from the innocent. "April, I don't have enough money to pay you for what those insulators are worth," I said. "That's all right son; I'll take a check. Just make it payable to MRS. April F. Day." The F stands for Fool's, of course!