The other day Mr. Hyve and I went through our stock of insulators, separating the good ones from the junk. The junk consisted of Hemingray 42's, Hemi 9's, Whitall Tatum #1's, and such. There was a Chicago with the entire crown missing and mega-damage to the skirt. There were also a great many clear insulators of various breeds. None were mint, or even close to mint. The Hemi 42's could be described as having two drips remaining, instead of having two drips missing. Colorwise, they ranged all the way from aqua to clear. These were junk insulators, pure and simple. 

We had decided to load them all up and take them to the dump (I mean sanitary landfill...a contradiction in terms if there ever was one)., But it costs about $2 in gasoline to go out to the dump and back, so I got the bright idea to set a few boxes of these lovelies out near the curb with a sign reading "Insulators -- 25 cents each". I figured after we'd collected the $2 for gasoline, we'd take the rest out to the dump.

The boxes were in place -- the sign was up. Neither one of us really expected any of them to sell. We more or less forgot about them and went about our business 

Well, we shouldn't have been so dubious as to the results. Within five minutes there were people and bicycles all around those boxes. There were joggers (who never stop for ANYTHING for fear they'll cool off, or something)...there were little old ladies and their dogs...kids ... mailmen., A couple of the ladies even got into a mild altercation because they both wanted the same crashed Hemi 42. The problem was resolved when I found another 42 for the other lady that was in the same state of disintegration (the insulator, not the lady).

Those insulators hadn't been out more than three hours when we had made $11.25! We'd asked, on our sign, that the money be put in the mail slot., When we got back from a short errand, we wondered if some might have been stolen, so we counted the insulators left in the boxes, and counted the money in the mailbox. We came up 11 cents short. Someone either did not have enough money with them, or they didn't feel one of the insulators was worth a whole quarter. But on closer inspection of the floor by the mailbox, I found a dime and a penny! I had overlooked them the first time, as they had gotten wedged in between the carpet and the wall. 

That evening a little station wagon drove up, and the guy who got out looked like Charlie Manson -- and I was a little bit scared. But as it turned out, he was a very nice person, and bought 36 insulators. He was delighted with them, even the clear Hemi 9's (probably the most common insulator in existence, as more of them were made than even the ubiquitous Hemi 42, I believe). And just to show how a person will buy an insulator for just about any reason....he wanted a Whitall Tatum #1 (clear) after I told him they were made in Millville, NJ, because...(and this is no lie) his former girlfriend's mother was from New Jersey!

Later that evening there was a knock on the door and it was "Charlie Manson" again. My heart did a big flip-flop from fear, until he asked me if I could give him just a little history on some of the insulators he'd bought earlier. Well, he'd certainly come to the right place, at least where the Hemingrays were concerned, and I think I told him much more than he ever wanted to know (or could possibly remember) about the Hemingray Glass Company. 

All of the above happened on a Friday. Today is Saturday, and while I was writing this story, a lady came to the door, apologetic because she had disturbed me, and wanted to borrow one of our boxes long enough to carry 20 insulators home., She was afraid we'd see her cart off a box and think she was stealing it. (Our sign says "Empty boxes -- 50 cents"). We have found that when people are put on the honor system, 99% of them are trustworthy,. We've yet to have even a crunched Hemi 42 stolen. And to this hour, we've made $25.25, and unloaded 101 insulators!

There is a moral to this story...don't throw any insulator away, no matter how crunched. Somebody out there will buy it for a quarter. And all of this proves one thing; insulators hold a fascination for most people, and interest is growing. So, instead of taking your beat-up insulators to the sanitary landfill, why not set them out in front of your house, put a sign up advertising them for 25 cents each, and watch the action begin. You never know!

P.S. No mail orders, please!