The sun had already risen, but, of course, he knew he would not see it for a few hours. He was always in the shadow of base P-3112 until around 9:30 A.M. during this time of the year. However, there was something different in the tone of the information coming his way. After what had seemed years, it appeared there was some real news to relay! The familiar hum hit him and he heard:

"Wiring CaPa-LG at P-3112 C2p3/W - over."

He replied, "This is CaPa-LG at C2p3/W base p-3112 - over."

"This is Do42-P at C2p3/W base p-3000. Two men just passed under here at the crossroad and are heading South. A woman remains here poking around in the bushes. Maintain silence until a state of normalcy returns. Instruct designated relays such as yourself to pass the message on - over."

"CaPa - LG relaying message - over" 

Silence... and then, "Wiring CaPa - LG at P-3112 C2p3/W - over."

"This is CaPa - LG - over."

"Do42 - P with situation update: The men carry long poles with red tips. The woman continues to probe the ground ... unable to determine their objectives due to my altitude. They have passed on south of me and continue towards your base of operation. Keep me posted as to their progress. Wire this message to relay points - over."

"CaPa-LG message confirmed. I will continue to monitor their progress and relay your current message - over."

"CaPa-LG wiring Do42-P at C2p3 /W base p-3000. The men hold a dark object to their eyes and I feel as if they are looking right at me. They head directly for my base of operation now - over."

"This is Do42-P: The woman is slowly making her way from my base of operation to base p-3001. She continues to probe the ground. She... she just unburied a ridged object and let out a scream! Begin a state of informal monitoring to facilitate information exchange speed. Continue progress reports and relaying - over"

Some uneasiness crept into the excitement CaPa-LG had originally felt. The men's actions indicated a definite interest in him. He hurriedly hummed the wire, "CaPa-LG wiring Do42-P! The men stand at the base of P-3112 and are extending their pole upwards! - over"

"Acknowledged CaPa-LG. Keep this line open. The woman has probed out up a few more pieces of the object and is jumping up and down. Maintain active communication mode - over."

"CaPa-LG wiring Do42-P at C2p3 / W base p-3000. The men hold a dark object to their eyes and I feel as if they are looking right at me. They head directly for my base of operation now - over."

"This is Do42-P: The woman is slowly making her way from my base of operation to base p-3001. She continues to probe the ground. She... she just unburied a ridged object and let out a scream! Begin a state of informal monitoring to facilitate information exchange speed. Continue progress reports and relaying - over" 

"Do42-P, they push their pole towards me! I can see a loop affixed to one side...opposite the loop is a red, two-pronged fork! Both men look right at me now as one passes to the other side of P3112... the man with the extended tool is using the loop to ... to... OH NO! He is loosening my tie wire! I... I... Do42-P, what do I do? - over!" 

"CaPa-LG, momentarily you will be cut off from our communications line. I can only offer a parting message. Our 75 years of service has been long and hard, but productive. Wherever your future takes you, remember the cause to which we have been called: ours is to serve the communication of mankind. Maybe your future still holds a way to fulfill this calling - over."

"Do42-P, I will strive to fulfill my function. I will wire until no longer possible. There goes the first end of the tie wire, now all they need do is unwrap it from around my front and I will be cut off. They untwist... now they push up on the wire itse...."

Do42-P hummed a message that CaPa-LG never heard, "Alert to the relay point beyond base P-3112 - two men have removed our intermediate relay at C2p3/W base 3112. Please respond with your name and position - over"

"This is No 48G at C2p3 /W base P-3123. Do42-P, reception is a little weak, but I read you. I see the men and will keep you posted as to their progress. I have received the prior communications. I will wire what has transpired to the next relay point ... is the woman still jumping up and down? - over"

CaPa-LG found himself unable to hear the humming wire anymore. He knew he was alone. At a future date he was able to record passing events in a journal. Following are the entries:

Entry 1 - by CaPa-LG:

I found myself disconnected from the communication line. I was turned round and round by the process of a loop being placed over me, pulled down, turned, lifted, reseated on me, turned, etc. I then was struck with utter horror as tool-bearing man pushed me from my base-of-operations-pin! How barbaric this creature called man could be! To go to so much trouble just to watch me smash to pieces on the ground - and after so many faithful years of service to his causes! I braced for a shattering impact when all of a sudden I felt a soft landing in the hands of the other man! To my amazement, they lifted me to the light and said things such as, "what a beauty," and "look at the way it sparkles!" I realized immediately my first appraisal of them as barbarians was an error. I thought back to the man who installed me. He gave little or no thought to me individually. His only remarks were how heavy it was to carry my colleagues and I up to our operation-pins. To him we were a burden. These two men seemed different. They also kept mentioning something called "Csor-Brew 2003." I also learned they call our primary bases telegraph poles,' the tool they use is an insulpicker (which they also refer to as a BIRP* or a CHIRP*)

*Much later I found these to be acronyms - see further entries.

Entry 2 - by CaPa-LG:

I was wrapped in newspaper and placed in a bucket. An automobile ride later and we arrived at a house. I was put into a refreshing liquid that burned off all of the train soot I had acquired over the ages. I found the men had been more busy that day than we along bases P-3000 through P-3153 had been aware of as many more of my colleagues were sitting on the table with me. One of the pieces sitting on the counter was rather odd looking gray and purple fellow with horizontal ridges all up and down his sides (he may have been what the woman was screaming and jumping about). Poor guy! He was also broken into 3 pieces and looked like he had been dug up out of the mud. In fact he was so filthy he looked like he had been laying in dirt for at least 50 years or so! We all waited to see what would happen to us.

Entry #3 - by CaPa-LG:

After some time had passed, I was again wrapped up in papers and placed into a box. I remained this way for quite awhile and could feel I once again was on a long road trip. I once heard a voice ask something about "... anything to declare," but caught little else of the conversation.

Entry #4 - by CaPa-LG:

I find myself now in a very strange place indeed. For one thing, the people in this house do NOT know how to speak properly! They rarely ever say '"Eh?''' at the end of an inquiry and they also draw out their vowels! They have a cat who is called with the same company designation (Brookfield) as relay contact No. 48G at C2p3 /W base P-3123. The man that some call the King CREB actually has a case with lights behind it where he stores us so he can see our colours better! He continues to pick me up and look at me. He appears to like the string of amber in my side that the factory workers had called an impurity when I was made. He displays this side prominently for everyone to see... How embarrassing!

He also says I am a CD143 [060] (F-SKIRT) CANDIAN PACIFIC RY CO {MLOD} SB in light green (I could have told him the Canadian Pacific Light Green part!). He tells me a book he owns places my value at 10 to 15.00 U.s. dollars (which, by the way, are very boring dollars as they are made only of green instead of the multi-coloured currency I am used to!). However, he says that my true value is much greater because of my past history and my communications value. Imagine that!

He still says I have a communications value! Is this guy nuts? I'm not even attached to the system anymore!

Entry #5 - by CaPa-LG:

After a long talk, I finally understand everything that has transpired. Lee (the man who used the tool to retrieve me) has explained everything to me now. What he told me follows:

It was in 1999 that Lee met Mike Csorbay (Chor-bay) and Debbie Kinloch (Kin-Lock) through an insulator transaction over the internet. Mike had some CD152's he acquired and was calling 'snow cones'. An affinity for snow-filled insulators prompted Lee to send Mike an email inquiry.

Tammy, Lee's wife, had her birthday coming up soon and so the couple planned to spend it in Niagara Falls as normal. Since Mike and Debbie live relatively close to the Falls' area, a meeting was set. Since Mike and Debbie have a (fascinating!) parrot farm, their duties keep them close to home year around. They have had very few times they have been able to visit the Brewer family in the States, but have, numerous times, invited their southern neighbors to see them in Canada.

Included in these visits have been what Mike & Lee term Csor-Brew outings. Mike and Debbie invite Lee up for a few days to hunt us insulators in the wild. Debbie prefers to bushwhack and probe for glass around the base of poles while Mike and Lee use insul-pickers to pluck glass from pins. Mike has a warped sense of humour (much like Lee's) and the first time he saw Lee's insul-picker he dubbed it "Brewer's Insulator Retrieval Pole" or "BIRP". When Mike duplicated it - well, Debbie's ingenuity improved the loop by making it a spiraled, double loop - he dubbed his the "Csorbay Handy Insulator Retrieval Pole or "CHIRP" (also very relative to their chosen profession)! Therefore, to Chirp (not chip) or to Birp an insulator is a frequently occurrence on the annual Csor-Brew's outings.

Entry #6 - by CaPa-LG:

Lee says we insulators are no longer used for communication purposes like when we were installed, but he contacts Mike through a device known as a satellite. He says this device can handle many, many times the amount of communication that used to pass through my single wire. He also says these satellites are above the atmosphere (and I thought P-3112 was tall! I would love to see a satellite's base!).

Entry # 7 - by Lee: 

Csor-Brew 2003 was different than the previous two outings. I had a great time as Mike & Debbie surprised me with an impromptu Canadian collector get together. Some friends I had not seen for awhile were there (Ken Gardner; Manfred & Susan Hager; Gord & Sue Foertsch). I also was able to meet a new friend - Phil Ort. Others were invited, but unfortunately, due to some email errors and the impromptu nature of the get together, were not able to make it. For such short notice, we had a nice gathering.

It is an interesting experience to be surrounded by knowledgeable (very much so) Canadian glass collectors. Names such as Hemingray, Am Tel, Kerr, Kimble, Corning, H.G.Co, etc. do not get thrown around that often. Instead Montreal, Can Pac, Great North Western, Hamilton, and Diamond, are tossed around with other words such as whittle mould, rolled base, peach, hydro, etc. However, there is one common word that is heard pretty regularly. Maybe my ear is just more attuned to it. But I noticed even some of the more "Canadian only" collectors tend to notice a specific US company -- you guessed it... "Brookfield!" Mr. Brookfield himself said they sent the factory seconds to our Northern Neighbors. The amazing gems my friends have found in the wild prove it! That day, tiger-striped 145 beehives; and gorgeous shades of deep, crude looking olive amber's (like the Brookfield CD 145 No. 44 mould) were the prizes being talked about when the conversation drifted to non-Canadian manufactured glass.

We got out in the field the day after the swap meet. We made a very quick stop by the side of the road in a small town. Mike had previously spotted a pole by the side of the main road where a 143 was sitting atop an unused pole that looked as if it could topple over at any moment. The 143 was on a wooden pin that was so rotted I could see that all was needed was to lift it as the nail that normally would hold such a pin in place had long ago lost its grip on the rotted wood. I quickly got my pole from the van; attached the forked head; Debbie got into the 'catcher's position'; I extended the pole; lifted the gem from its perch; and it fell to her waiting ball glove. The piece turned out to be a light aqua (F-S)CANADIAN.PACIFIC.R.Y.CO (MLOD) SB. An added plus is the nickel-sized bubble the piece proudly displays in its crown. Our escapade lasted only a few minutes. The longest portion of time was spent setting my BIRP to a workable length. I doubt anyone knew we had been there.

The next stop was along a track. This is where Mike and I spotted CaPa-LG.

As I type, CaPa LG (Can. Pac. Light Green) at C2p3/W (Crossarm 2 pin 3) base P-3112 (a pole tagged with the number 3112) - is in front of me. A hidden truth about this little guy and the other gems found that day dawned on me and inspired this article. By the way, we got a few more 143's; a couple CD143-shaped, white porcelain pieces; and Debbie's gray and purple Withycombe.

It is true that our insulators have maintained their communications value despite their removal from their humming wires. They are still, in a way, fulfilling their original purpose. An insulator was the object of the first communication that brought Mike and Debbie into the Brewer family's circle of close friends (earning them the names of Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbie with my children) and insulators commonly are the major topic of discussion between us.

Insulators have not lost their ability to facilitate the transmitting of information. Rather, by becoming cherished objects, they now are centerpieces (centrepieces!) for bringing people together. CaPa LG at C2p3/W base P-3112 may be off of his pin and wire, but he is a master of communication still. He may only book at $10-15.00, but in his case, I know he is worth a lot more than the Price Guide states he is!

Lee Brewer

Editor's Note: Lee Brewer used a lot of imagination to describe his insulator hunting trip to Canada a couple of summers ago. We invite you to share your adventures with other readers by writing us. - Howard