Collector of the Month

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", May 1978, page 18

William Hungate displays one of more than 500 insulators in his collection which he started in 1968. 

(The following article is copied from Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Oregon, Sunday, February 5, 1978, and was written by Chris Beeson, with the title "Hungate Is An Insulator Collector With Enthusiasm".)

(Photo by Owen Duvall)

One of the nation's most avid insulator collectors, William "Bill" Hungate, 2520 Garden St., hopes to attend his first national convention this year to share his enthusiasm with others involved in the hobby. 

Hungate has been doing his part to preserve electrical artifacts since July, 1968, collecting more than 500 insulators of all types, colors and sizes. He was once contacted by a representative of the Smithsonian Institute who was in the process of documenting the artifacts for historical purposes. 

Hungate, an employee of Southern Pacific Railroad since 1942, began his hobby by walking along railroad tracks picking up insulator odds and ends. 

"It began when my wife asked me why I didn't have a hobby," he said. "Someone had given her a beautiful insulator and it intrigued me." 

Gaining a basic knowledge of insulators, Hungate took his newly found hobby with him to work. 

"I got my first by going along the tracks and picking them up," he said. "They used to replace them and just throw them down on the ground along the lines. You can still find them if you look hard." 

Telegraph, telephone and powerline insulators are the main types, he said. "They were used to keep the flow of electricity going. In our club, we are finding more types all the time -- wood, adobe, plastic, glazed pottery and combinations of metal and glass." 

The value of insulators is steadily increasing as more and more utilities are turning to the use of microwaves in power transmission. Price of insulators today ranges from $.50 for a basic unit to $1,000 and more. 

Hungate is a charter member of the National Insulator Association, which now boasts a membership of 859. 

"All over the U.S. there are 1,500 or more serious collectors and probably hundreds more we don't know about," Hungate stated. "A couple of years ago I read that insulator collecting is one of the newest and fastest growing hobbies of our time. It's ranked fourth behind stamps, coins and models." 

Several of Hungate's most prized insulators include an 1867 Brook's rams horn, which was used on the transcontinental telegraph line which traveled West through Reno. 

"It was found in Reno near the old Central Pacific Railroad right-of-way," Hungate said. "It was discovered with the use of metal detectors since the casing is metal and the core is glass." 

Another treasure is his Corning Pyrex insulator which weighs 38 pounds and was once used on a 70,000-volt line. It is the largest single piece glass insulator ever cast and is among part of his collection which is displayed at the Klamath County Museum. 

"The Corning insulator I own was used on a line in Washington," he said. "Most of the ones in the country which still remain may be found there. Some are still on the lines because it takes about two men to get them down and they can only remove them when the power is off." 

Hungate's collection also includes various foreign insulators, including one from Asmara, Ethiopia, the only one to be found in the United States. 

Insulators come in every color of the rainbow, said Hungate, except red. "Red is hard to make because the color often separates and you get a red and yellow split." 

The National Insulator Association will hold its 9th annual convention in Reno in July, the first convention to be held within Hungate's grasp. "And Baby, I'll be there."