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Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", September 1988, page 27

The "Millbrook Roundtable" July 6,1988
by Sara Schroeder

Jeffrey McCurty's Hobby is Grounded in Glass Insulators

Treasures can be found in the strangest places, especially the kind that Jeffrey McCurty collects. The Millbrook resident's eyes glaze over when he finds a glass or porcelain insulator that once graced the tops of utility poles.

The use of insulators dates back to the late 1800's when they were first used to string wires to poles. However, their usefulness was shortlived and they began disappearing in the 1960's when cable made them unnecessary.

The insulators, now considered antiques of sorts, at one time were used to ground the electrical wires strung between utility poles. The wires wrapped around the insulators, preventing the current from being transferred down the pole. The insulators were manufactured from glass or porcelain because these do not conduct electricity, he explained.

Glass menagerie

McCurty, who is a social worker at the Wassaic Development Center, started his unusual hobby when he was in high school. He now has a glass menagerie he estimates to be worth $12,000. "I found my first insulator along the Hudson River. Somebody told me they were worth something. I scoffed at the time. I was only familiar with the brown porcelain insulators and they are not worth very much. Then I found out they came in all sizes, shapes and colors," he said.

And it was not long before McCurty began frequenting railroads and road sides looking for the glass and porcelain jewels. Now every corner of his Millbrook apartment is full of insulators, some of which weight up to about 40 pounds. The 34 year old said he has about 400 insulators. "My specialty is Coming Pyrex glass. These are made of the same glass as the Corning bakeware and dishes," he explained.

McCurty met others who share his interest in the curious hobby when he joined the National Insulator Association. He now serves as vice president of the club's eastern region. "My role as vice-president is keeping people interested, in touch and active." With this in mind, he will host an insulator show September 13 at the Millbrook Firehouse. He said it will be the first such show in Dutchess County and he hopes it will introduce more local people to the hobby. McCurty said he does not know any collectors from Dutchess County. "There seem to be a lot in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York City."

One reason McCurty enjoys his hobby so much is that he gets to know people from all over the country. It's obvious McCurty knows his insulators, too. And if there is a question he can't answer offhand, he has plenty of books to refer to. The largest insulator he has weighs 38 pounds and is made of clear Pyrex glass. "That one is very uncommon. It is the biggest one-piece insulator ever made. There were only several dozen made and they are all out of service. They were probably experimental." 

The insulator was made large enough to ground a 50,000 volt wire. The smaller insulators that are more commonly found in this area held only 10,000 volts, he said. 

The rarest of all insulators are the red porcelain insulators, possibly one of the hardest to find. There are also some very rare one-of-a-kind insulators that can command a price of $5,000. 

According to McCurty, the red porcelain were only produced on special order. "There were some made for a company in England and some were made for a fire house down south. You have to remember that these were made strictly for utility. They were not meant to be artwork."

Served as I.D. markers

Even though McCurty has over400 insulators, there are no two that are the same. This vast variety is easy to explain. According to McCurty, utility companies as large as Central Hudson and communication networks like AT&T are phenomena of the modem age. In the early days of electrical transmission, small local companies were commonplace and they had to share poles. The insulators were color-coded to signify who maintained which wires on the poles and how great their voltage was.

McCurty also said each utility company special-ordered its insulators and tried to keep them distinct from those of other companies. Hence the never-ending variety of shapes, colors and designs. "The porcelain, the yellows, blues and greens, are not terribly common because they were made for special companies in special orders," he said.

The electrical companies were not the only ones involved in the insulator business. After all, the insulators had to be made somewhere. From the late 1800's through the early 1900's, glass companies were in great competition with each other to meet the growing demand for electricity. McCurty said competition was so intense that some companies stole designs and molds from each other. 

As time passes, it will become harder to find insulators. McCurty explained that electric and telephone companies stopped using them with the advent of the cable and, as poles are restrung, the insulators go the way of other obsolete objects. "Now they just click the cables onto the poles."

This does not discourage McCurty, however. Nor is he worried about whether he has room in his apartment for more of the collectibles. He said he will continue to peruse the edges of railroad tracks and highways looking for the insulators which to him are as good as gold.