I left the National with a week to kill, and after seeing what was dug up at the Hemingray dump, I decided to stop by and see what really was there. All I knew was that it was in Muncie, Indiana, and when I got there I started asking around to see if I could locate it. None of the gas station attendants knew where it was, so the only way left was to call the nearest collector and hope that he knew where it was. I was real lucky to have the Crown Jewels Directory, as it gave me the name of Mr. Ken Roach, and he told me just where it was.

So I started digging about eleven that morning. When I got there I just couldn't believe it. There was a space about the size of 2-1/2 to 3 football fields - just glass!, Most of the glass is clear, consisting of pieces of glass battery cases dumped there by the Delco battery plant located nearby. There were a whole lot of insulator pieces, though, and I spent about two hours just walking around looking at all that stuff. Finally I realized that the only way to find anything in one piece was to start digging. I dug for about three hours and found nothing. Then out came a mint Hemingray E2, CD 122. I was real satisfied finding that one, because I had heard that they were never actually put in use and were experimental insulators only. So I quit that day, and went back the next. This time I found an E1 and an E3, plus many more E14B's, but not a mint one of these. Even so, I had a fantastic time and managed to find three real nice pieces to add to my collection. Below are pictures of the E2 and E1 I found there.

I think there will be many more unique insulators coming from that dump in the future. I say this because I don't think anyone could have dug through the whole dump. There are many trees growing in the dump, and when I was there a lot of it was inaccessible because the weeds were so high. It would be much better in the winter when all the vegetation has died off. As far as digging down deep goes, I don't think you will do much better. The insulators I found were within two feet of the surface. If you plan to go out there, take a potato rake, as shovels will not do much good. The glass is so thick that you just can't put the shovel in the ground.

There is one problem, and that is that they're filling in the whole place. On the north side they're using the dump as a sanitary land fill area, and maybe in three or four years or less the whole place will be one big parking lot. I hope not, but this could happen. Right now, though, they're leaving the area alone where the glass is. So anyone going out there will still have a good chance. Also, anyone can dig there 24 hours a day, as it's open all the time.

In the picture of the dump you can see the piles of glass in the center. That one pile in the middle is about eight feet tall. From there up to my feet it is solid glass, and the dump extends way to the right and left. I know I've always wondered just what the dump actually looked like. I hope this gives you some idea. If you're in the area, stop by the dump, because no amount of pictures or words can explain what it looks like, until you've actually been there. And who knows, you might come up with something which no one has ever seen before.