There has been some discussion in the recent past about the National Insulator Assn. ( NIA ) and how effective this organization is with respect to Canadian insulator collectors. I have been speaking with the current NIA president, Kevin Jacobson, and the past president, Dudley Ellis, about this very topic over the last year or so.

With this column, I would like to write about my take on this topic and perhaps briefly explain how the NIA operates for those who have not been exposed to the organization. The official description of the NIA reads that the NIA is a non-profit corporation formed for educational purposes, whose board and committee members are unpaid volunteers. It is the NIA's goal to encourage growth and public awareness of the insulator hobby through collecting, dealing and educational endeavors. The NIA strives to protect the interests of insulator collectors and dealers, by establishing standards by which insulator collectors and dealers may fairly deal with one another.

The NIA has a membership of about 1250 active collectors from allover the world. There are only about 20 active members in Canada, and about the same number from all other combined countries outside of the USA. It can be said that this organization is mostly centered around American membership and the large yearly show that the NIA supports. This show and sale is known as "The National" and has always been hosted by various insulator clubs and individuals across the lower 48 states of the USA.

The purpose of the NIA is to represent the insulator collecting hobby as a whole, promote the hobby through education and public awareness and to try and provide a sense of direction for collectors. This purpose is not limited to the USA, as it encompasses the whole hobby of insulator collecting, no matter where the collector may live. This can be a tricky task at times as we operate in a free society and we are all allowed to speak and operate as individuals. The NIA has established many guidelines to help collectors with such topics as insulator descriptions, ethics of collecting, insulator identification and has several large documents detailing the history of insulators and insulator manufacturers.

The NIA is a non profit group that operates on membership support. With an average yearly operating budget of approximately $12,000.00 (US). This can roughly be broken down into 2 sources. Memberships ($8,500) and merchandise sales ($3,500) combine to provide what one might think is a substantial amount. This is not quite so however. Publication of the NIA's quarterly newsletter "Drip Points" and the related postage amount to about 40% of the budget. The National show insurance and promotion account for another 30% of the budget. The cost of the NIA merchandise amounts to 20%, leaving only 10% for such things as fake insulator investigations, other postage, the yearly directory publication and educational materials. The last few years have been lean ones and the budgets have not always balanced.

The big question of "What can the NIA do for me as a Canadian collector?" begs for a solid answer. The biggest bonus for any NIA member is the first day of the National show. This is usually a 3 or 4 day show by the time all is said and done, and the first day of the show is only open to NIA members. The next bonus for NIA members is the "Drip Points" newsletter. As a Canadian collector, the National show might as well be held in Europe as the USA. Canadians need to get passports for air travel to the US and the land travel route is not far behind with this US requirement. The National will not likely ever be held in Canada, as the border is such a hurdle. There are not enough serious Canadian collectors to support such a show and likewise there are only a handful of us that are able to get away and go south to take in the larger US shows in any given year. I would say there are less than 10 Canadians at any given National, so this NIA only day is not a big deal.

Drip Points is a nice insulator read, but it has very little Canadian content and serves as a communication tool for the current NIA membership. There has been some very valuable insulator news published in the Drip Points newsletter over the years. This info is only published via the Drip Points as the membership has supported the hours of leg work involved in researching these sometimes controversial topics. Some copies have not made it through the mail to current members. With Drip Points being a quarterly publication, one tends to forget that it should be in your mailbox every 3 months. This has caused some discontent in the past.

It should be noted that Drip Points is available in an email format. An emailed copy saves the NIA the price of postage, which can be significant ( nearly $600.00 in 2005 ). Not all collectors are on-line though, so hard copies are needed. All past issues of Drip Points are available on-line once they are a year old. The NIA web site is www.nia.org. Back issues may be available via the mail for a postage and paper donation to the NIA.

Recalling that all efforts, including virtually everything to do with the NIA, are done on a volunteer basis. The NIA also has to be very careful as to what is said and when. While I fully believe most of the past and present NIA directors are operating in the interests of the hobby, there has been some doubt cast on the NIA over some specific topics and events. Some collectors have taken these causes so personally that the NIA has been threatened with several lawsuits in recent times. These topics are generally not known to many in the hobby, but a few individuals have gotten really involved and the threat of a lawsuit against a non profit organization supported by the common collector is really a hit against all collectors. Serving NIA directors have also been threatened, which causes me to wonder just how far has this hobby gone for some individuals? Obviously there must be more at stake than most of us realize, but it must boil down to either personal differences or someone trying to do something with fake insulators where big dollars might be involved. In any case, serving with the NIA takes a lot of time, energy and a thick skin it seems.

This in all honesty, leaves the Canadian collector wondering why should I sign up with the NIA? The bottom line is that the NIA is good for the insulator collecting community, and even as a collector located north of the 49th, sooner or later you will see or learn something that the NIA has researched and made the hobby aware of in the way of insulator education.

Fake insulators are showing up in all manner of places. I found 2 nuked insulators in an antique store last December. This store happens to be owned by a former insulator collector from the 1970s. He knew colors sold well, but had no idea that these colors were faked. He had never seen them before and as he is no longer actively collecting, had no idea such things were out there. There was no such thing as an amber CD 128 back in the 1970s. It's sad to see that the times have changed so as to spoil this pioneer collector's image of the hobby he once enjoyed with great enthusiasm.

In wrapping up this topic, I would suggest that the NIA's contribution may not always be directly visible to Canadian collectors, but it's certainly a factor in how we enjoy our insulators. If you can spare the membership dues, supporting the NIA is the same as supporting Crown Jewels Magazine, your local shows & clubs, Insulators.com and InsulatorsCanada.com. All of these vehicles provide us with information and resources and need support to keep this hobby of ours alive and well.

The header picture in this column is an NIA National show commemorative. These have been made in different colors and embossings to commemorate the yearly NIA National show / convention since 1970. They are a collectable in their own rite. While they look very similar to a CD 135.5 or a threadless 736, they are all base embossed with the date and location of the NIA convention to avoid being mistaken for a real antique insulator. This particular one is from 1985. The embossing reads: "16th NIA Convention St. Charles, Illinois June 7-9 1985"

Thanks for the pictures of this commemorative go to Dwayne Anthony of CA., for taking the time to capture the profile & embossing for this column.

Upcoming Canadian shows include:

• OVIC 2007 in Perth Ontario April 21st.
• The Spring Insulator Ranch Meet in Merritt BC May 5 & 6
• The SWOIC Meet in Mount Brydges Ontario June 2
• The WCIC meet in Drumheller Alberta July 14
• The Fall Insulator Ranch Meet in Merritt BC Sept 8 & 9

See Coming Events at the back of this issue or www.Insulators.com in the Upcoming Events pages for more show information.

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 

Good Collecting ........ Robin

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