Teen-ager's Collection On Display At Library

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", November 1992, page 34

Grandmother's hobby becomes her own

Not many granddaughters in this day and age can say --- or will admit --- that their hobby is the same as their grandmother's. 

But in the case of 15-year-old Christie Merritt of Carnegie, her devotion to that hobby has rekindled her grandparents} interest as well. 

Now through the first week of October, Merritt has her antique telephone, telegraph and power insulators on display at the Weatherford Public Library through the first week in October.

She began her hobby two years ago while on a trip to Red River, N.M., with her grandparents. The telegraph lines along the railroad between Dalhart, Texas, and Clayton, N.M., were being taken down and the insulators were on the ground. 

Most of the insulators were broken, but Merritt salvaged about two dozen. Several had a patent date of October 1907. 

The teen-ager is the granddaughter of Kenneth and Carolyn Merritt of Carnegie. Her grandmother had been very active in the hobby several years ago and even was historian for the National Insulator Association. 

Now Christie's grandpa is a member of the NIA, Christie is number 5,094. 

Miss Merritt said a lot of history exists behind the insulators. Her oldest ones are dated 1865 and 1871. Many dated after 1876 were either telegraph in the late 1800s and until 1920 were either closed due to fire, floods, lawsuits or selling out.

Her favorites are the Mickey Mouse-style, which was manufactured in clear, blue and carnival glass. She said she also likes the beautiful shades of the rainbow in the porcelain power insulators manufactured at the turn of the century. 

Christie and her grandparents donated to the Weatherford Library a book on glass insulators by McDougald's, the price guide and a one-year subscription of "Crown Jewels," the only monthly publication on insulators.

As early as the 1960s, technology was fast moving forward. Telephone poles, wires and insulator were beginning to be removed and were replaced by underground cable wires.

The insulators were left behind. At this time folks began collecting them for their odd shapes and beautiful colors, Merritt said. 

The National Insulator Association was born 23 year ago with about 100 members. Now there are more than 5,000 members and each year the national show is held at a different location in the United States. 

The NIA promotes the history and educational aspect of the telegraph and telephone insulators and the two men who first began using them, Samuel E. Morris in 1847 and Alexander Graham Bell in 1876.

In the past six months, the Merritts have established a Sooner State Club. For more information, persons may contact Carolyn Merritt, Route 2, Box 27, Carnegie, OK 73015 or call (405) 654-1770.

The club is making arrangements for a spring show and sale in Oklahoma City with neighboring states' collectors also participating.

Christie Merritt will show two unique insulators. The San Francisco Wood was used in 1900 to power the street cars. The wood is of lignum vittae, a very dense and oily wood from the South Seas. What few remain survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.

The cobalt blue, dated May 2, 1893, was used only in the Kansas City, MO, area and around Lawrence, KS. These are very scarce, she said. They were dismantled from the overhead wires in the 1970s.