Hopefully my story will encourage all collectors to keep on looking for new pieces of glass. Everyone dreams of finding that one "find" for next-to-nothing. We have had our share of hoped-for dreams turn up nothing over the past four years of collecting. Today, however, was a different story.

After a year of eating and sleeping insulators in preparation for August's National, we decided to take one last fling with our two boys and camp in the southwestern Pennsylvania mountains. This was to be THEIR weekend-- camping, hiking, swimming, and scouring "freebies" along the roadsides for their beer can collection. We had a great time as a family.

Upon entering a small mountain town, we decided to stop at a yard sale. Carol had a lucky find in that she purchased a cornflower blue fruit jar for a dollar. She was thrilled!

In the same town a block away were three antique stores, so we decided it was time to take a break for Mom and Dad and check out the contents of these stores. An old general store had room after room filled with antiques. I made a hasty evaluation of the insulators on the shelves among a lot of old bottles. Nothing better than a CD 112 STAR. Carol had made her way towards the back of the shop, and as I joined her she turned to me and gasped, "John, there is a CD 127 W.U.P. in cobalt on the shelf at the back of the store!!" "WHERE!?!?" I said. Carol could hardly get the words out. But sure enough, on the back wall among hundreds of old advertising tins, crates and boxes, was a lone insulator. A huge sign hung above which said NOT FOR SALE, DISPLAY ONLY. Disregarding the sign, I picked up the insulator. Carol asked, "What are you going to do?" I didn't know; but I had to have that insulator. I took it to the proprietor, who said he wouldn't sell the piece. You see, it had been a part of the home in which his shop was now located. All the items on the back wall were in the house, and the woman had used the insulator for a door stop! I asked him if he would take an offer. "No," was his answer. With beads of perspiration on Carol's and my face, we pleaded once more. Thank goodness for his friends present in the store who said, "Go ahead, let him make an offer." "Okay," the dealer replied. Carol looked at me, and I looked at Carol and said, "What do you think?" Carol thought a bit and then quoted a price (the words sticking in the back of her throat). "Okay," the owner said, "Okay." He wrapped it up, and the insulator was ours. After looking through the other three shops in town, we got back into the car. In the glove compartment was our price guide, and I looked up the piece. We drove off with David and Bobby asking, "Daddy, why are you and Mommy shaking?"

I don't think Carol and I realized what we had purchased until we got the piece home in our display case. Needless to say, our new piece is sitting on the top shelf.