Welcome to a resurrection of sorts. A few years ago Mark Lauckner started this column to offer an insight into Canadian insulators. Mark has had a number of projects on the go these past few years, and his time to write has been very limited. I approached him a while back and inquired as to his thoughts on the "Canadian Forum". He's passed the header to me and while I can't write in the detail that he did (does), I hope to be able to offer a word or two on Canadian insulators.

CANADIAN - INSULATORS

An introduction of sorts:
I've been collecting insulators in an organized manner since the early 90's. Before then, I had an interest in insulators, but collected with no real direction. I can remember my dad and I gathering up little piles of insulators along the side of a dirt road somewhere, while we were on a summer vacation. That must have been in the late 70's. Thinking back, it must have been a rural open wire phone system that was being taken down.

As my collection grew, space became an issue. My first specialization phase resulted in most of my porcelain insulators being passed on to others. There have been several more phases as my collection evolves. I'm sure this is a topic that is familiar to most collectors. Unfortunately, space is a constraint that most of us have to deal with at some point in our collections.

One of the main considerations that guides my collection, is that I like to look at a row of one insulator style in a range of colors or embossings. I do have a few one-of-a-style insulators, to add a bit of diversity. Mostly I stick to telephone and telegraph styles with a slight preference for Canadian glass over American glass. The American glass does have some attractive colors not found in Canadian insulators though.

I've found most collectors to be "good eggs" and enjoy speaking and dealing back and forth with other collectors, both far and near. Computers and the internet have allowed many of us to enhance our collections in ways that would have been nearly impossible before they became commonplace. Likewise, this column would not be happening for me, were it not for e-technology.

I hope this column becomes a regular feature for readers to learn about and discuss Canadian insulators. Stories, articles, reviews and general information are all areas that may be covered in "Canadian Forum". Feel free to drop CJOW or myself a note if you have anything you would like to see covered in the way of Canadian insulator news or information.

Good Collecting.......... Robin

Late Breaking News... 

For those of you who can make it out to the Ottawa Valley Insulator Collectors show in Perth Ont., John and Carol McDougald are planning on bringing their cameras to gather pictures of nice Canadian insulators for their upcoming color insulator book. Let's show off some Canadian glass!

Details on OVIC 2004 can be found in the upcoming shows section of this issue.

Robin Plewes, Almonte Ontario. Phone: 613-256-7638
E-mail: robin.plewes@cmcelectronics.ca