THE WESTERN REGIONAL NIA SHOW, MAY 5 & 6 2000, ENUMCLAW, WA.
This section also contains photographs taken at the show.
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This being my very first insulator show, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, or how to properly put together a post-show report. So this will be a photo album, and little else.

Upon entering the show building, Jim Sinsley and I were met by show host Violet Brown. After picking up some literature, I went off to look through the vast array of tables, filled with thousands of colorful insulators, old telephones, fruit jars, even fishing tackle. Of course, I spent the majority of my time at insulator tables and meeting with other insulator nuts I'd only previously known by their postings on the ICON list.

The first insulator that drew my attention was a green suspension disk with its metal hardware sitting semi-hidden under a table. I quickly snatched it up and stuffed it into the carrier on the back of my wheelchair. Soon after, I came across an insulator with a sticker on it that read "Take me and run off with me" or something to that effect. Of course, I checked with the dealer first, as I don't make it a habit of taking insulators off tables and running off with them. :)
I bought a second insulator from the same table, placed both in my bag, and moved on.

Jeff Hooper soon accosted me, and dropped a mint WT 512U in root beer amber blackglass into my hands. That's a cool looking insulator, but the sun must be shining to see much through it; as it is a very, very dark color. (Note, the picture linked here is of a Lowex flashed amber; my CD216 is a lot, lot darker - the link is only to show what the insulator physically looks like).

Most of the day was spent shuffling amongst tables and greeting fellow ICON people. I met up with Bill Winters and immediately joined the Columbia Basin Insulator Collectors club; something I had been meaning to do for a couple of months now.

Then I came across my first really big find of the show: a CD303/310 Muncie combo in pretty decent shape for a price I could hardly believe. Out came the plastic bags and the wallet, as the 18 pound monster Muncie was quickly, almost secretively disassembled and stashed in the bottom of my wheelchair before anyone else could get it.

Time to start looking for the fifty cent and dollar boxes. Plenty of good glass came out of these before the day was done; but not before I came across the other big find of the day: a National Insulator Co. CD110.5 Corkscrew for a price that looked more like a typo than a price.
I hemmed and hawed for awhile, but kept the insulator in my hand while trying to decide, in case somebody else saw it while I was busy "thinking". After several long minutes, I decided to add it to my collection, knowing full well I may never in my lifetime get a chance like this again.
Out come the plastic bags & wallet again. Paper AND plastic for this guy... even if my chair tipped over or snapped in two, I didn't want to take any chance it might get broken in the fall. Thankfully, my severely overloaded chair survived without tipping over or snapping in two.

I also ran across the gentleman who is working on the Spec-Tru color system, and we had a nice conversation in the aisle. Sorry I can't remember your name - my mind is one of the worst there is when it comes to remembering names.

Before the day was done, I also found Brent Burger (aka "The Grumpy Old Man") attending a table there. Somehow, I thought he would be quite a bit older than he was. So we talked a bit, I thanked him (again) for some insulators he sent me awhile back, and I continued on my way. A collector who lives right near me, Gilberto Hedges-Blanquez, also had a table; off of which I picked up some really nice, very inexpensive insulators.

The freebie table wasn't ignored either: several small porcelains, a CD122.4, and a CD162 in a kind of sage color ended up in my bag from this source at various points during the day.

One last trip around the building, and I saw the raffle tickets. I spent $5 on them, and placed them all in the jar behind the cobalt blue signal. I wonder who won.
I also picked up a nice emerald green CD106, making it my last insulator buy of the day. It was on an already-discounted table, with another sign that read "half off". So suffice it to say I got it for a nice price.

Before I knew it, tables were being packed up and it was time to get my ride back to Seattle. So I piled the 60 to 80 pounds of new jewels into my poor old Rascal, and headed for the door. Jim Sinsley and his wife helped load the chair and insulators into his truck, and within a few minutes we were back on the road to Seattle. As in the drive TO Enumclaw, I spent most of the return trip with my eyes glued out the windows, looking at insulators and other electricial equipment. I never knew there were even any old poles around Seattle; but there are plenty in the far south region we were driving through.

Once home, I thanked my host (again) and began the long job of identifying my new "family members" and finding places for them all. Since I don't have any reference books, some of the new insulators I picked up have yet to be identified.

So wraps up my very first insulator show experience, and one I hope won't be my last. Although already well-hooked on insulators, experiencing a real insulator show simply served to drive the hook in deeper.



Boy, just look at the peacock blue signal GLOW. It's almost as if it were alive!
And that yellow-green beehive next to it? A virtually identical one is my collection now.



POWER!! Pyrex stackers, Muncies and other power pieces dominate this table.



Colorful displays all over the place attracted the eye. Some people even erected
complete, miniature utility poles and screwed insulators onto the crossarms. How cool!



Backlighted displays like this were a common sight all over the place. I wish I had one or two cabinets like that. :)



This eye-popping display was difficult to photograph, but very nice to look at. Lots of power pieces, signals, lanterns and lamps probably identified this as a Hemingray display; but feel free to correct me if this is incorrect. :)



Boy, just look at these threadless, EC&M's and Cal. Electric Works insulators. So much color, so much life.



Things start to pick up at the other end. Before long, the entire building is full of insulator nuts.
On the right, Jim Sinsley and his wife attend to their display. Thanks guys, for the transportation and pointers.
Without you, I would have come home with no (0) insulators and would have never met any other ICONers; because of you I came home with nearly thirty insulators and met a dozen or so fellow "insulator nuts". (That nickname is meant as a GOOD thing, please don't take it otherwise).


Finally, the camera runs out of memory. This beautiful Fred Locke display turned a lot of heads, including mine. I've never seen the porcelain & glass combos before, except in pictures. Seeing them with your own eyes makes all the difference.



Some of my newest bounty on display. Shot from above.
This display area is FULL, so only about 2/3 of my collection
is here. To display the rest, I'll have to build new insulator shelves.

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WHAT INSULATOR NUTS WANT: (More Bounty From the Show)

Now here's something you don't see every day. A National CD110.5 twisty-top for a rediculously low price. This insulator is usually found in the $175 to $350 price range!

Although it has a nearly full-length internal fracture and thumbnail-sized chip in its skirt, it displays just fine from "the other side".
The vertical mark in this picture isn't the fracture; it is part of its "segmented thread" design and is supposed to be there.

What a find. It was almost as though it was being kept there for me to find - I was very surprised it didn't disappear long before I found it.

Here is a more formal ID on this insulator:
CD 110.5, light aqua, BE. (Base) + NAT. INSUL. CO. + PAT. MAY 1.DEC. 25.1883.JUN.1.OCT.7.1884 {segmented threads}

This little guy was never really on my "wants list" because I knew I didn't stand a prayer of a chance. Never again will that mistake be made.




Here's a delft-blue CD154 and a pop bottle green CD106.
Very nice finds for what I paid - and nice colors I hadn't seen before.



A purple beehive and a sage green signal. One was free, the other was not.


Is that what you think it is?
Is that in the window you think it is? A Muncie, maybe? Sure looks like one, doesn't it?

So here's yet another insulator I can take off my "wants list".
This monster insulator is a Hemingray Muncie Combo with pin. I found this rather sizable article at the Enumclaw show for only $35.

CD303/310, aqua, RDP. (F-umbrella) HEMINGRAY/PATENT MAY 2 ^ND 1893 (R-umbrella) MUNCIE TYPE

Sometimes you can't even find the sleeve for that much. This insulator has a good ding out of one ear, but displays very nicely from most angles. By the time I had loaded this into my chair, I was approaching its axle limit and had to dump my first load off.
Jim Sinsley not only provided two-way transportation, but allowed me the use of his table space to stash some of my finds while I went hunting for more.



Here's a cool find. A good sized green suspension insulator with its hanging hardware intact. And the camera even got the color right. :)
I haven't owned a suspension disk of any type since living in Alaska, so this gets me started off on the right foot in Seattle.