Shortly after I started collecting insulators, I noticed an old power line was being dismantled not far from where I lived. A friend and I went over to take a look and saw the linemen removing yellow U-503 porcelain cables from the crossarms. When we asked the linemen for a few, they said, "No, you can't have any!" We knew it was useless to press further, so we left.

For a while after that, I searched the local antique shops for any U-503's. I finally found one (and it was MINT), but I left it there when I saw he wanted $22.50 for it. He also had a blue porcelain signal for $17.50. Just a tad too expensive. After that, I simply gave up on getting a yellow U-503 for my collection.

In April 1990, when I was looking through the auction notices I found a junk dealer was selling most of his stuff so he could move west. I thought I was dreaming when his ad said "...1,000 assorted insulators..." Just too good to resist, right? When I got there, the dealer told me the glass insulators were in the barn and the porcelain in barrels out back. In the barrel, there was nothing worth a second look except some unused pins for the CD 100 Surge insulators.

When I went out back to look at the barrels, I was speechless! There had to be at least 8 barrels full of porcelain and there were some YELLOW U-503's in each barrel!! It seems he got these insulators when Sioux Falls Utilities rebuilt some of their lines in the late 1960's. Not knowing if I would be able to make it to the auction, I bought a U-503 and a porcelain pony. That evening I called my friends, Hank and Evonne Jonker of Orange City, Iowa, and made plans to go to the auction together. 

When we arrived on Saturday morning, there was already a crowd at the auction site. After we got our bidding number, we went to look in the barn. We agreed the glass was not worth bidding on, but I did not see those Surge pins anywhere! We went out back, stopping to look in some boxes along the way. When I showed the barrels to the Jonkers, they were amazed at the sheer quantity of insulators in the barrels. 

We quickly agreed that the barrels were too heavy to move, let alone put in the pickup. While we were figuring out what to do next, we saw some milk crates nearby that were already full of insulators. A quick check of the crates turned up some nice pieces, including a CD 196 H.G.CO. in light aqua! We decided to look through the barrels and switch the nice stuff we found with the more common stuff in the milk crates. While we were switching the insulators, some people looked at us, but nobody seemed to care. 

For the most part, the fun was digging through the barrels. Not only did we get a bunch of yellow U-503's, we also found a couple of blue porcelain signals. Evonne even found a signal with a wild glaze -- it had orange stripes running through a black glaze! But is was not all fun. When I was reaching for a Macomb signal that might have been the scarce U-244A, I brushed against a broken Westinghouse cable. I found out that broken porcelain was a lot sharper than broken glass. Fortunately, it was a small cut! By the time I got back, Evonne had already filled the barrel and started on the next one. No way was I going through that one again! 

When we were satisfied, we walked around and looked at some other items that were for sale. When the auctioneer got to the row where the insulators were, we headed over there. He opened bidding at $5.00 and we were successful (okay, the ONLY) bidder and got all 7 crates for $5.00, which was a good deal. The Jonkers also picked up an old gas station cart and a railway oil can. 

When we got back to my place, we unloaded the milk creates so we could "divvy up the loot." After the Jonkers had taken their share, I still had the CD 196, about 70 U-503's, a Cook cable that needs a new U- number, and a lot of porcelain signals. There were Macombs, marked G.P.CO., Pittsburgs, and one unmarked blue signal. In short, I made out like a bandit! I kept the nice stuff for my collection and the rest became trading/sales stock.

A few months later, the Jonkers decided to go back to see if the barrels were still there, and they brought back about 60 more U-503's! The new owner didn't seem to care about the insulators and said they were free for the taking. I went up with a friend and got permission to get some insulators. After a few trips, we had brought back almost 200 good porcelains, of which 100 were the yellow U-503's. I know the dealer took three barrels with him when he moved to the Black Hills, so there may not be an ending just yet.

The drawing of U-503 was used with permission of Jack H. Tod, Porcelain Insulators, Guide Book for Collectors (Unipart Pin Types), 1971, p.93