Insulator of the Month - American Beauty
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", December 2004, inside front cover
Not only is Denny Hackthorne's CD 145 American a favorite because of its
beauty, the adventure behind it is also unforgettable. What Denny had to do to
get this insulator, even he can't believe. Read the full story below.
Story of Insulator of the Month
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was November, 1971. I was working as
a lineman in upstate New York. I found an open wire lead with three full arms
holding Bs, Brookfields, HGs, Gayners, Hemingrays, Lynchburgs and the grand
prize 145 Americans. We rescued some great Americans from that line including
golden amber, yellow, yellow olive, green and yellow green.
I was on a trouble rig which gave me plenty of time to walk the line. There
was a light snow falling and I had walked about five miles and found no
Americans. On the top arm of a 45 foot pole I saw it. The light was shining
through the insulator and it "glowed".
Even in 1971 you dared not walk the railroad with hooks, (climbers), on. The
pole was not stepped. I was deep in the boondocks with nothing around. Had I
given it any thought, I would have made no attempt to pick the American. I found
myself at the base of the pole and shimmied up the pole like a spider or monkey.
The American was not tied in and an easy task to remove and slip in my pocket.
The decent was splinter free as I had on heavy insulated Carhartt coveralls.
Once on the ground I looked up and asked myself, "How in the heck did I do
that?" I have many insulators with a higher price tag, but none more
valuable. IT still "glows".
Denny Hackthorne
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