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How I got started
I got my first start as a kid. I was always interested in things electrical, and trains too. We had a Lionel O-gauge layout in the basement to play with. My Dad was a lineman/troubleshooter for the City of Detroit, Public Lighting Commission where he began working in 1946. He brought home my first insulator, a CD 125 WU. I still have it! I didn't know any bottle or insulator collectors back then...in fact, I really didn't realize that people collected them. I was only 8. The following years I collected a few more.
Jump forward to the mid 1990's. I'm now living in Ashland, Oregon and working for the Oregon Department of Forestry. I had been very casually collecting insulators. The internet was relatively new and while I was searching for something about trains on the web, I stumbled across a very early version of the Glass Insulators Homepage. Oddly enough, at the same time, a barbershop here in Ashland, Oregon had some insulators for sale in the window. After buying two or three and paying too much, I decided to get some reference books and a price guide. At the same time, I subscribed to Crown Jewels of the Wire, a great magazine for the hobby. Also about that time, I started hunting for insulators in the field. Since I grew up in Arizona, and go back there every year, I joined the newly-formed Grand Canyon State Insulator Club. My first show was a tailgator in Holbrook, Arizona. I had lots of fun seeing some quality insulators in person, and meeting other collectors. Nathan Lamkey hosted an insulator show at his home in Salem, Oregon. I got to meet the Howard Banks family there. Later, when the GCSIC hosted the NIA National in 1999, I went down to Scottsdale. I wasn't quite prepared for the spectacle of a full-blown National show. Wow, it was fantastic. It cost me about $80 to ship all my goodies back home. Shortly after that, Howard Banks held a meet in his backyard...inspired by the early get-togethers organized by Greg Bickford. I met Gary Michener there, having purchased some insulators from him on ebay. It was there that myself, Howard, Gary and Scott Morrell, another collector from Ashland formed the idea of our own local club. Thus, the Jefferson State Insulator Club was born. I served as it's first president.
Since then, I have been very active in the club. We have held many hunts and shows, with the most recent being the 2001 Western Regional. It was a great success. I can often be found live online in the evenings on an IRC chat channel. Check in sometime!
I'll be hiking the Locke 25 line in Colorado this year, and of course attend the Medford Show.
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What I collect
I collect both porcelain and glass insulators. For porcelain, I prefer odd, colorful or pioneering uniparts, and pre-1920 multiparts. I'm a general collector of glass, but have some sub-specialties which include McLaughlins, Mexican insulators, power insulators, and insulators with amber swirls. I also like CD 143's, signals, CD 252's, dome-embossed Brookfield beehives, EC&M's and foreign versions of North American styles. I've started collecting insulators from Central and South America. I also collect suspension insulators, both porcelain and glass, as well as things like johnny balls and ramshorns. Take a look at my insulator photo album. At present, I have over 1400 insulators in my collection. I get most of my insulators at shows, and some on eBay. My name on eBay is "zafara".
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Here is a list of the insulators I'm keeping an eye out for.
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Insulator Hunts
One of the things I like about the hobby are the opportunities for insulator hunts in the field. It's getting hard to find stuff out there, but if you do enough research, or search long enough, you're bound to find something good. I've searched locally, and been on hunts for EC&M's in Arizona, Nevada, California and home. I've found pieces of threadless in Nevada and rare Fred M. Locke porcelain within a hundred miles of home. I recently found a grey Victor M4321 in the wild. I climb poles recreationally, and was involved in actually installing an open wire line in early 2002.
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