Traveling about thirty miles east out of Sacramento on the main highway you will enter Auburn, CA, a town of rolling hills and history. Back in 1849 Auburn was just a gold mining camp that was centrally located to other remote gold mining areas. It was the farthest point a wagon could travel from Sacramento. When the gold began to play out, miners discovered Auburn was a good place to spend the winters. Over 150 years later, insulator collectors are continuing to discover that Auburn is a good place to find insulators -- at the 49er Historical Bottle Association's Show, held at the Auburn Fairgrounds. 

The December 2002 show was blessed with perfect weather. During inclement weather, the passes to the east can get hit hard with snow, closing the highways. Brisk clear mornings led to warm sunshine on both days of this year's show. Even though dealer setup doesn't usually begin until about 1 p.m. on Friday, collectors began congregating in the parking lot well before 9 a.m. This gave many collectors a chance to catch up on the latest insulator related finds and stories. At 11 a.m. an "invitation only" lecture was given by Ron Souza in the lower of the two show buildings. One of the highlights of this discourse was the unveiling of half of an iron mold for the CD 130.1 Cal Elec Works. The meeting ended just before noon to make way for the table setup process. By 1 p.m. there was a steady flow of dealers pushing handcarts to and from the two buildings.

Craig McLaurin (left) chats with Larry Shumaker (right) as Ron Jenkins 
(center) picks a couple choice insulators off Larry's table.

Even with the excellent weather, attendance seemed down slightly from previous years. Most of the regulars in insulator collecting were present, but there was an obvious absence of some of the longtime bottle dealers and collectors. Maybe the nice weather led them to a good bottle dig somewhere? Regardless, the sales tables were a sellout, as usual. The varied selection from the 20+ sales tables of insulators was impressive, from large porcelain multi-parts to small glass miniatures. Butch Haltman offered several colorful signals from a recently purchased signal collection. Dale and Art Huber also offered some new acquisitions from their recent trip to Mexico. Dale commented that the pickings are getting very slim in Mexico, adding that his most recent trip may very well be his last. As for displays, they were a bit sparse, and sad to say, none were insulator related this year.

Dale Huber sharing stories about his recent insulator hunt in Mexico.

For a show that is known to produce an occasional walk-in treasure, this was a quiet year. However, a couple nice show-&-tell items that were purchased off eBay were shared. Paul Greaves was all grins with his smooth base CD 162 H.G. Co. in peacock blue. It was perfect timing for Paul on a "Buy it Now" listing that produced this $2,000+ insulator for a mere $165! The seller said he purchased it at a yard sale in Rolla, MO. We can only imagine what it must have sold for at the yard sale! The second item that was shared by another collector was a CD 182 Whitall Tatum Dry Spot Insulator, also purchased for a reasonable sum on eBay.

One additional item of interest appeared for sale under Rex Vaughn's table. (Picture below) The unit consisted of two CD 283 Hemingray Provo Types housed in a wood apparatus. The unit was speculated to be part of a portable switching platform since the lower heavy wooden plank or skid appeared to have excessive wear from being dragged across the ground.

If you've never attended the Auburn Show, you are missing one of the premier collectible shows in the west. If at all possible, this show should be worked into your show schedule for next year. As a bonus and added form of entertainment, you can participate in the annual Friday night collectors' karaoke-a-thon at a local watering hole. You just might see a side of one of your fellow collectors you've never seen before! Come join the fun! 

Here is the Jefferson State Insulator Gang!
(Left to Right) Bob Jackson, Bill Ostrander, Mike Doyle,
Denley Bryson, Carl Scott, Nathan Lamkey, Greg Bickford,
Scott Morrell & Ernie Carlson

Exterior and interior views of half of a mold apparently used in the production of CD 130.1 insulators. It's existence was revealed at the Auburn, California Bottle and Insulator Show December 6th by Ron Souza.