Our 4th Anniversary!! My how time does fly! We have all had lots of pleasant memories and a few sad ones in this past year.

When this magazine was first started in March 1969 there was hardly an insulator show and sale in the whole country. Now there are so many a person would be hard put upon to attend all of them. The big problem now is to put on a show without having conflicting dates with another show. In the beginning of the insulator hobby it seems most of the activity was centered on the West coast. Not so now. The Eastern section is now much more active than we are. By this I mean they have formed clubs, elected officers, meet once a month and seem to be a more closely knit group than us Westerners. They also have an East Coast magazine published monthly called 'The Cross Arms". This is a most attractive little Journal published by James Garrity of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and carries mostly news of Eastern happenings.

By stating that the Eastern states are more active I do not mean activity has slowed down in the Western states. We still have just as many collectors as ever, plus new collectors starting every day We just aren't as organized as the Eastern states. Perhaps it's the greater distances we have to travel in the West to get together. I do not mean to imply in any way that collecting is on the decline. I feel just the opposite is true. Collecting is on the increase. I have heard rumors of a few big insulator collectors selling out or just becoming inactive. This is true: but for one selling out there are at least three new collectors coming into the hobby. (This is a very, very conservative estimate; my observations are coming from my mail bag.)

Porcelain collectors are really on the increase, just as I predicted last year. One of the reasons is the high prices on the better glass. Also the availability of porcelain. There's very little glass worth anything still in the air, at least here on the West coast, and insulators are very hard to find except in shops or the hands of other collectors. Gone are the Good Old Lays of easy collecting. Now almost everything is buy, sell, or trade. This is where collectors really miss out by not attending every show possible. You never know where you night find a "sleeper". And that's the fun! Plus the good fellowship, friendly bartering, and the feeling of comradeship that comes from spending a day or weekend with people that all share the same interests. And if you can capture the prize insulator you have wanted for your collection, this is the bonus that gives you a warm glowing feeling all the way home. Try it, you'll like it.

We do have one sad phase to our hobby as it grows and draws more attention and values increase. This is stealing, I'm sorry to say. Some of us have at one time or another lost an insulator from our table at one show or another. Never anything too outstanding, but it is very annoying. But now the time has come when we are going to have to police our own hobby. I believe most of you know what I am talking about. The J. Paul Kelly collection was stolen from his home while he and his wife were attending a show and sale in Ohio. This is a very tragic thing to have happen. We urge all of you to be on the look-out for the insulators described in the full page ad in "Crown Jewels" in December, January and February. Also, last night I talked to Rod Wing of Garden City Michigan who has started a slush fund to be given to the person or persons who can furnish evidence which will lead to the arrest and conviction of the party guilty of this shameful theft. Rod Wing is accepting pledges only. Please, no money at this time just what you feel you could contribute. "Crown Jewels" urges all of our readers to help in this. Perhaps if the reward is large enough the party responsible for this theft will receive his just desserts. It may even save your collection from being "ripped off". (I believe this is the modern terminology for stolen.) So let's all write Rod Wing, 28439 Rosslyn, Garden City, Michigan 48135, and send him our pledge. Remember, do not send cash at this time;  Rod won't accept it. This is the time for all of us genuine and sincere insulator collectors to stand together.

''Crown Jewels'' will do its best to keep you posted on how things are going, even if we do get to you late. Yes, there's no sense in trying to hide under a mushroom.. We know we are more often than not late in getting published and still later in being received at your end. Just to clarify matters for new subscribers, we are still working with one less on our staff than when we started "Crown Jewels" and had only 200 subscribers compared to nearly 2000. Who's on our staff? Look on page one, then discount Don, my spouse, who has a part-time job working 60 hours a week. (Sure glad it isn't a full time job, or I'd never see him.) Anyhow, back to more serious things. I do feel badly that "Crown Jewels" has lost some of the personal touch we had at first. But as we grow and the mail gets heavier, it's not always possible to answer each letter personally as I once did. I still try, but sometimes it takes a long time for you to get an answer from me. I am really sorry. Also I am finding out not all letters mailed are received by me. I talked to Greg Kareofelas about a month ago when they were taking photos for a new book, and he asked about the pictures he sent to me of the Georgetown, California show. I never received them! So it's not just your issues of "Crown Jewels" that get lost in the mail. First class is also sometimes lost and doesn't arrive at its destination. If you are disenchanted with our United States Postal System (Please note I said system, not employees who are victims of the system.) and from the letters I receive I believe there are lots of us, please write to your Congressman protesting about our Postal System. It may not do any good, but we know for sure it won't it we don't try, and we have to let our Congressmen know how we feel. If enough write (Get your friends to write, too--they don't have to be collectors.) we just may be heard.

Well, we have to leave some room for the directory, so in closing I again want to thank all of you for subscribing, and all the old subscribers for renewing. You have really shown your faith in sticking with us through thick and thin. (Sometimes it's been pretty thin.) Also a big special Thank You to all of you who have contributed your time, knowledge, talents and articles to "Crown Jewels" to make it a successful magazine in bringing the insulator news into your homes and life. You are the "Crown jewels". Without insulator collectors there would be no need for a magazine on insulators. So to all of you our sincere thanks, and the Best of Insulators to you in 1973. 

Your Editor, 
Dora