The article by Dennis Mickey in last month's issue of CROWN JEWELS prompted me to relate a similar experience.

As most collectors already know, roaming flea markets and garage sales is perhaps our most economical source of glass. However, one may search and walk many markets over the course of many weekends and come home without any additions. Also, we have all been offered Hemingray-42's for five dollars....well, they were mint!!

These scenarios may lead to disillusionment and force many of us to abandon the markets in favor of shows and swap meets. Recently, I spent a day at two local flea markets and have since found renewed faith in their ability to yield treasure.

This particular day happened to be Palm Sunday and a popular time for dealers to display their wares. The spring air and warm temperatures brought droves of potential customers to the sales tables and parking was at a premium. As I scrutinized each table for glass, many insulators were found; and an equal number left behind. Just as I was walking towards the end of the market, I noticed a dealer setting up insulators in neat rows on the table. Among them there were Brookfield signals, Hemingray tolls, and.....five CD 252 E.S.S.Co. cables---all VNM-MINT! Needless to say, I bought all of them. It seems as though they were found in a barn and were free for the taking.

After wishing this dealer good luck for the afternoon's sales, I headed back towards the car. I had not walked fifty feet when, again, my eye was greeted with the sight of approximately eight insulators. There were two which needed to be purchased. When questioning the dealer about the price of glass, he replied, "That would depend on which ones you're interested in." I then said, "These two short ones." "You can have them for a dollar and a half." "Fine," I said and paid him. The glass in question, you might ask? A CD 133 dated Brookfield in aqua, crammed with swirls of milk and a CD 102 Brookfield in a deep olive green.

Following this purchase, I left for another market in Pennsylvania in search of the obvious. When I arrived, many vendors carried common insulators and I stopped to look in an old wooden box below one sales table. It contained nothing of interest, so I began to move on. As I was standing up, I was face to face with a mint CD 325 Pyrex in carnival with a beautiful silver hue. I rarely see nice carnival at flea markets and now I had nearly walked past one! I spoke with the dealer for a few minutes and we finally agreed on a price of twenty-two dollars.

As I circled the remainder of the sales tables, I was wondering whether or not my good luck had peaked. When I reached the last table, I knew it had. I left for home and would visit again next Sunday. While I was driving home, I thought, "What a day!" To sum up, never quit searching, for you never know what the next table will yield.