Who was the first insulator collector? When did he (or she) start collecting, and what has become of the most valuable items contained in that collection? These are marvelous questions to consider and let your imagination take over.

Maybe we visualize a foreman for Western Union Telegraph Company working through the depression years. This man must have had opportunities to acquire a collection that would have made a present day collector turn green with envy. Do you suppose he ever found an amber E.R.W.?

Or maybe we visualize the first collector living in California. Perhaps this person loves to trout fish, and has to backpack into the mountains to reach his favorite trout stream. One day he takes a rest break and sits down under a tree. As he relaxes a minute, a flash of sunlight reflecting off glass catches his eye. He wanders over to investigate and discovers an entire line of multi-colored CD 130 California Electric Works.

What has happened to these insulators? We don't know. They obviously were re-lost someplace along the line. Or, more likely, they never existed, just like the foreman or the trout fisherman. But there were a few widely scattered collectors as far back as the mid 40's. I know of several present day collectors who have been involved in this hobby for almost 30 years. These individuals must surely deserve the label of "pioneer". More than one of them has told me it was very lonely back then. For years they thought they were the only individual collecting these objects. It was not until the early 60's that they began to locate one another. These early contacts were made through articles or want ads which appeared in such publications as Hobbies or Old Bottle Magazine.

During the mid 1960's, the bottle collecting hobby really exploded in popularity. To be quite frank, we owe the bottle collectors, because they played an indispensable role in our early attempts to organize. It was these people who sponsored the first swap meets in this portion of the United States. Inevitable, where you find bottle collectors, you find bottle dealers. And it was these dealers who began offering for sale the first assortment of insulators. These dealers, in turn, often recruited other dealers. Often the new dealers trended more towards insulators than bottles or fruit jars.

By the latter '60's, our hobby began to take off in popularity. It was in 1968, 1969, and 1970 that the "first wave" of collectors entered. We had located one another at bottle shows, or through our mutual acquaintance, the dealers. Soon, we were sponsoring our own shows and swap meets in many portions of the country. As expected, the bottle and insulator dealers were all present. But now, another category of dealer appeared -- the electric lineman. Individuals who had heard the rumors about people who were goofy enough to pay MONEY for those old glass and porcelain insulators. Rumor spread fast. Lineman after lineman heard them, and for the first time in their lives, they began to really notice what they had been working with for years. Many of these linemen were young married men with heavy financial responsibilities. Here was an easy opportunity to supplement their income. And they were quick to learn that two coincidences existed. First: The insulators that people would buy were the older, out of date equipment the companies were presently replacing. Second: They could often accumulate these antiques during regular work hours Instead of turning in the old insulators at the end of the work day, they began saving them for the next swap meet. Very soon, these linemen were competing with one another. The shrewder ones bought insulators from co-workers. Employees with job seniority "pulled rank" on less experienced trainees, thereby reducing the competition for salable items the crews encountered during the work day. Some linemen took their equipment home and climbed poles after hours. Others worked to accumulate insulators over the weekends. Still others would travel out of town to take down more items to put on their sales tables.

The first wave of collectors numbered well over one thousand. My oh my -- that was a fun time! Nearly every month there was a swap meet within easy driving range of Kansas City. We were really excited about this new hobby. We spent countless hours in pursuit of new finds. Outings were planned nearly every weekend. The ordinary and mundane activities were either re-scheduled during the week, or simply went undone. That was because the weekends were reserved for insulator search trips. We drove hundreds of miles scouting the back country roads for old telephone lines. We checked the power installations in every small town we drove through. And we walked every railroad track we encountered.

Some of us became too aggressive in obtaining insulators. An early east coast dealer hired high school boys to climb railroad poles. One of these boys fell to his death. A young lawyer was electrocuted in Independence, Missouri, when he became entangled in high voltage power lines. A few collectors were arrested for trespassing violations, and another ran afoul of the F.C.C. for removing insulators from interstate communication lines. And many of us simply stole insulators. In the back of our minds, we knew we were breaking the law. We knew we were breaking the law by taking something that did not belong to us. But we did it anyhow! Fortunately, very few were apprehended. But we very quickly created a bad name for the hobby. In many parts of the country, companies began to increase their security patrols. This was necessary not only to protect their equipment, but with the hope of prosecuting any violator also.

During this period, Crown Jewels magazine originated. More than anything else, this had the strongest influence on our hobby. We finally had our own monthly publication devoted exclusively to insulators. Soon we were learning of hundreds of other collectors in every portion of the country. We read of their new discoveries, the reports of their swap meets. Very soon we were communicating with one another for the first time. Now we had that badly needed ingredient -- the communication link. We loved it, and many of us wrote letter after letter. It was not unusual to receive insulator mail from five different collectors in one day. Soon we were trading with one another. During these years, the Post Office delivered hundreds of our packages each month. In 1969, I paid over 200 dollars shipping costs. If you read about a new discovery that interested you, you fired off a letter to that person. People did not worry at including an SASE or even a stamp. Everyone was ready to co-operate and assist one another. More than likely, a return letter requested your assistance locating an insulator the responder needed.

During these years most collectors increased their collections by trading. I was recently in a book store and picked up a book on beer can collecting. The author was advocating trading as an intentional method of keeping money out of that hobby. With the insulator hobby there was never an organized effort to do this. Collectors simply gravitated towards it naturally. I had two of these, you had two of those. I like that, do you like this? Okay -- well, let's trade! Since we did not have a price guide, we had no conception of values. We had "C.J." magazine, and Mr. Woodward's book on C.D. numbers, but insulator values were still not firmly established. Today, I look back on some of those old trades I made and laugh out loud. I once traded four mint condition "peacock Mickies" for a CD 317 Chambers. Laugh as long as you want, but do remember these things. First of all, in 1969, a mint condition Chambers was a very rare piece of glass. Second: The "peacock Mickies" were costing me three dollars each! And also remember the old adage, "Hindsight is always 20/20!"

1970 was also another outstanding year for our hobby. We held our first National swap meet. What an extravaganza! A fantastic success! Very quickly, plans were made to hold a second National. This one was held in Colorado, and it, too, was very successful. But now the problems began, regarding where the third National was to be scheduled. Do you know how you sponsored a National back then? You did not ask permission or submit a bid. You simply proclaimed yourself the sponsor, and announced the show, location and date. The early bird got the worm! The first person to make the announcement was the show sponsor. Several collectors from Kansas wanted to sponsor the third show. They had discussed it among themselves, and were ready to start advertising it. But they waited too long. Before the second National was history, a Kansas City collector beat them to the punch. His announcement appeared first, and the Kansas delegation had to postpone their plans. This was obviously unfair to them. The 1972 National was held in Kansas City. And the next year, the show was moved down the road 150 miles to Hutchinson, Kansas. Everyone in the Midwest loved the location of the show sites. For two consecutive years, the show was held within such close proximity that we could attend with very little travel time. But we did have to admit it was unfair to collectors on both coasts. These individuals had been involved in the hobby for up to five years and still had not had an opportunity to attend a National show held in a close geographic proximity. Therefore, at the conclusion of the banquet at the Kansas City National, people began to discuss the idea of forming a regulating body to help govern the hobby. Some preparatory work was accomplished at this time, but it was not until 1973 that the N.I.A. was founded.

It was during 1971, '72, and '73 that the "second wave" of collectors entered the hobby. New faces showed up at swap meets. Many new names appeared in the March issues of Crown Jewels. Inevitably, we lost some of the "first wave" collectors. They either retired from the hobby, or lost interest and sold out. But not those pioneers! They were still going strong. They would not lose interest until the undertaker folded their arms in rest! Most of the early linemen dealers were gone now also. After the larger cities had been picked clean, they quickly ran out of glass to sell.

Now, another very important event took place -- the publication of Marion Milholland's first book and its accompanying price guide. The new book was exactly what the hobby needed. Now we had a monthly magazine, a national governing body, a comprehensive design system for classifying insulator shapes, and finally, a well researched and organized catalog of various glass shapes, colors, embossings, and their suggested values.

With the acceptance of a current price guide, the common practice of trading quickly changed. After all, if my piece was listed at 20 dollars, and yours was 40, you would not trade even up. Therefore, collectors and dealers became more value conscious. This book, when coupled with the intense interest of the second wave collectors, combined to increase hobby interest even higher. Now, it was the newcomers' turn to scour the countryside in search of new finds. At the same time, the old-timers were carefully comparing the Milholland book to the contents of their collections. We made mental notes of insulators not listed in the book. Everyone was hoping to find an unlisted item to show Marion, so it could be included in his next supplement. During the many swap meets held through these years, the Milhollands found time to attend nearly all. For a good indication of how popular swap meets were in 1973, turn to page 80 of the March issue of Crown Jewels. It seems unbelievable, but it was true! Three and one half pages of announcements for upcoming shows. How the Milhollands found time to attend so many shows was an indication of their dedication to the hobby. Marion must have felt like the Pied Piper. Everywhere he went, he always had a crowd tagging along after him. People were always wanting to show him a new color, embossing, or an unlisted variation. Quite often, we had to stand in line to talk to him. The poor guy rarely had time to shop the aisles, looking for something he wanted. We simply monopolized his time. But he never seemed to mind. He was the ever pleasant individual, always there with his research book taking notes and writing down new listings. And being patient, while he explained the difference between CD numbers 259 and 260. Or kindly correcting us, saying that what we actually had was a CD 106, and not a 102. I once heard him discussing how fast he was acquiring new additions. He stated that within three months of the release of his first edition, he had already added over 800 new listings. That was a good indication of how fast the hobby was developing at that time. During a discussion, I once asked Mr. Milholland if he had ever dropped an insulator he was holding. He said yes, only once, and it was one of his most embarrassing moments. He went on to explain that during a show in a southeastern state, he was examining the first Hawley helmet he had ever seen. It slipped from his hand and fell onto a concrete floor, but, miraculously, no damage occurred. The owner reacted so quickly that the insulator was caught before it bounced a second time. This probably was one of Marion's most embarrassing moments, but quite understandable, when one thinks of the many thousands of specimens he examined.

By 1974, we had moved beyond the early years of the hobby. Just think for a moment of how far we had progressed in such a short period of time. In 1968, we were only beginning to see what was overhead. They had been there for many years, but we had not noticed them. Once we did notice them, we quickly recognized them as objects of beauty, desirability, value and historical importance. We have succeeded in preserving enough specimens to insure their permanent inclusion in the collectible field. For this accomplishment, we should all feel proud. 

When we recall the major events referred to in this article, our hobby seems analogous to a number of puzzle pieces awaiting assembly. It simply required the tireless efforts of a number of dedicated individuals. First we needed the early insulator dealers to display some items for sale. Then we had to have some swap meets, to bring us all together at one time. So we hitched a ride on the shirt tails of the bottle collectors. Next, we found a Don and Dora Harned to begin the essential monthly magazine we are now reading. After that came the books necessary to help us describe and classify what our collections held. These books were provided through the efforts of N. R. Woodward, Marion Milholland, and Jack Tod. Soon after this, we founded the N.I.A. to provide the necessary rules and organization. Finally, it required the active participation of many collectors. The next time you have occasion to use your Milholland book, open it to pages three through eight. There you will find the names of some of these individuals. Not many of the names listed are still involved in the hobby. But they were involved, and they, too, made an important contribution. Collectively, these efforts have culminated in this well organized hobby we share today.

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(Editor's Note: Since Charlie couldn't make it to the Tacoma National, he wrote the above article for us to bring back memories. I can tell his spirit and heart were with us in Tacoma, even though his body wasn't. Thank you, Charlie. I, for one, remember how it Was.)