I'm 28 years old, a Masters student at Auburn University studying Ergonomics and Occupational Safety and Health. Born in Mt. Kisco, NY in 1967, I moved to Connecticut in 1976 and consider myself a native Yankee because the family has been there since 1630!
Since the age of 3 (yes, 3!) I wanted to be a lineman but found myself graduating as an Industrial Engineer in 1990 from Western New England College in Springfield, MA instead. Oh well, can't have everything! Got into insulators as a result of stringing wire and putting up poles in the 4 acres of woods at our house in Connecticut. One day I realized I needed insulators for the poles, and conveniently started digging them on a local abandoned RR line. Hence, my collecting days began.
In 1981 I joined the Yankee Pole Cats and went to my first show, where I stared in disbelief at the number (and prices) of insulators at the show. Been hooked ever since. I recall my father saying he would NOT pay $50 for an insulator (it was a CD 151 cobalt NATCo HGCo!)
I still prefer digging to buying insulators, and if there's a hope of finding an insulator I want, I'll put off buying it. Always in the mood to go digging, so drop me a message if you're going digging somewhere!
I also like to hear digging stories, so grab my ear and start squawking!
If you like hunting for insulators, check out my stories about insulator hunting for Boch U-928s (Part I) and (Part II), and The Quest for National Corkscrews CD 110.5 on the Glass Insulators homepage!
Also check out the following sites:
Written by Steve Jones,
Last updated Wednesday, January 10, 1996