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June 15, 2002 Mountain View Insulator Show Report Home > Insulators > Mtn View Show |
 S.F. Bay: 4 of 6 |
|
Up: Insulators |
June 15, 2002 Mountain View Insulator Show Report Home > Insulators > Mtn View Show |
S.F. Bay: 4 of 6 |
 The Peninsulators Team (me) got off to a
late start to the only local show-- the only show anywhere on the San
Francisco Peninsula. The Peninsulators Team oozes dedication out every
pore.The Car was soon packed to the gills (you'd be surprised what can fit with the seats out), and was scorching down 101 at Nearly That Speed (and Beyond!). Yes, that fast. I was oh so very late. Bonus points for identifying the color of the shift knob. And no, it's not an impostulknob, that's real glass. |
 But first the traditional Chuck's Donuts
pit stop. Ahem.Ah, blessed be Chuck and all that he Chuckles. Are those big pink boxes? The Universal Sign of Pastry? *sigh* These moppets were finally let out of their cages an hour ago and boy are they starved! One them took a nip at me on the way out. Would you like to see the scar? BTW, wouldn't that name be better as "Chuck's Donut's" with two apostrophes (sorry, two apostrophe's)? Don't you think? It'd be a good conversation starter. There will be those who like the idea, because it's simpler: just put an apostophe on every time. We know what's meant anyway, it's just nit-picking. |
 Say Hi to the Nice Donut Lady. She's shy.Perhaps after being fed she'll become drowsy and we can catch a better look. She's still a bit perky now from her morning java. |
 Finally made it to the show location. It's past
9:30 now, show starts at 9, and everyone's here but me. Ah well, so I missed
everything. But it's a beautiful California T-shirt-and-convertible day and
I'm at a local insulator show with my insulator collecting buddies and surely
they didn't run out of verbiage before I got here, so at least there
will be B.S. to enjoy.Didn't get far before I was intercepted by Lou Hall in the parking lot. I think he sensed my desire for his great new bracket-- back off, man! Actually he's not nearly as gruff as he looks, and the nice fella brought some hardware for my home display. Thanks, Lou. If you have unusual brackets or hardware, let this man know! |
 Finally approaching the surely-already-picked-clean
outdoor area, where sated-looking people discuss their recent purchases.
Nuts.Good shot of various peoples' backsides. Will show the fronts later, perhaps, if they behave. |
 Made it inside the building! Gack, everyone's
long set up and the place is teeming with wildlife. Known culprits and total
strangers mix freely. Better take a quick look around ("crumb check").What I really want to know is: why are my pictures so crappy? Should have flashed these poor interior fools for one thing. |
 Here's a trio: Bob Hendricks from Fremont (why
so glum, chum?), with a psychedelic and enthused Fred Padgett and his
ever-persevering wife Susan.Fred is the the McLaughlin mind-store (Bob knows a few things too). Rumor has it Fred's working on a supplement to Dreams of Glass (in order to vent his brain of the pent-up new McL information teeming therein). |
 A fine shot of Bill Heitkotter's back, his sales
table, a stranger, and some activity they're performing back in the corner.
They both seem pleased and are surely adults, so that's just fine.Bill is a regular fixture at California shows and elsewhere, usually the first person there (at about negative fourteen in the morning). An old time lineman, he's personally plucked a lot of rare and slinky stuff out of the air himself. Go ahead and ask him; the man do talk. I sure couldn't get his attention this time, though. |
 More glass for sale, on Steve Viola's table.Where were you? This stuff was just crying for a home! |
 Dave Elliott's pony display.
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 This is the new rear insulator display
area Dave set up recently. It looks through the wall into the front
room, se cool.Presumably he didn't ask permission before building this. All that glass is for sale-- he's thinning out! If you have any rare or unusual tolls, however, Dave is surely interested. The collector on the far left is a regular show attendee. He's the current possessor of my First Cobalt Insulator, a $50 crashed Hemi No 19. It was Ron Norton's First Cobalt Insulator (purchased for $50) before me, and the guy before him's First Cobalt Insulator, and so on. The current owner has sworn to uphold the pattern. |
 By the time I finished making an orbit inside,
quite a few more people had arrived; by 10 o'clock it was difficult to
maneuver and the crowd was working themself up to quite a civilized frenzy.I swear I was jostled. And not just once, either. So, the show is definitely picking up steam. Colin Jung was alarmed and hid behind a post until the wave crested. Recently identified: in the foreground, that's the back of Mark Smith (aloha-ey shirt) and the back of his daughter Jamie's head. Reaching for glass is Bob Jackson. |
 Another crowd shot, mostly backs (with one young
interloper's face). That's Larry Shumaker behind his sales table, looking a
bit pensive.However a few brief blasts with a hose were all it took to control the crowd. That Larry, he sure knows his crowd control. What a pro. I'm getting pretty good at recognizing backs: that's half of Jamie Smith, Mark Smith, Steve Marsh, um, and, um. |
 Where does he get these things?? Bill Rohde,
International Man of Mystery (his face is always inexplicably shrouded in'
darkness. No wait, that's just the hat), shows off the walk-in he acquired
at the recent Medford show. It's embossed R 5083, is 18½" long,
4½" in diameter, and weighs EIGHTEEN POUNDS (because it's
super-thick glass all the way along). There were apparently three saved
from an old power plant, taken 30 years ago. The R 5050 is an exact match
in a Brookfield catalog, so presumably the R series is a Brookfield line.Cash, glass, and the promise of a check later, it is now in the home of Your Illustrious Author, oh frabjous day! The Mother of All Bushings! |
 Closeup of Mother's nom de bzzt. Note
upside-down embossing -- super rare!I have three different R-embossed bushings now: R 5050, R 5083, and R 5088. The 1912 Brookfield Catalog has a drawing of the R 5050 as No 158, and another unknown (to me) bushing as No 259. The 259 is a symmetric through-wall (like two single ones fused back to back) as is The Mother Bushing. At 4½" long and 2¾" diameter, the 259 is strictly a runner-up wiener dog, tho. |
 Oh, man. Lee. You are so guilty. What have
you done? Tell Doctor Peninsulator.Folks, meet Lee Lickiss from Paradise, California. He brought me some hardware for trade. |
 Three California Regulars: Steve Marsh,
Paul Greaves, and Bob Jackson, poring over Larry's sales table. Jack Foote's
head has been surgically grafted onto Bob's, looking backward. Bob's
through with being snuck up on.
|
 This educational display of faked insulators
was put together by by Colin Jung, Bill Rohde and Dave Brown, with Lee Lickiss
kicking in one bogus piece.Represented are irradiated, heated, assembled ("Baby Muncie"), and painted insulators. Someone wanted wanted to buy the set of Painted Pyrexi in the top right corner. Colin resisted the lure of easy money and is to be commended. |
 A rare frontal shot of Colin Jung, yakking with
Lee (shown here in the traditional rear view).Colin's sales table. Mmmm mmmm. I came home with that great E.S.B. battery tray. Every even heard of a battery tray? Go-withs rule! |
 The non-combatants don't seem to have
suffered any.Pictured are: horizontal, Jamie and Laura Smith; seated, xxx, Alice Shumaker, Dave's Mom Irene, and Linda Viola. Who's the xxx? And there's that guy again, always sneakin' into the shots. |
 Him again. Well crop you, buddy!That pretty glass is for sale. The light one is yellow for sure, tho with a wire ridge bruise. |
 This is the last time I ask anyone to pose.It's Steve Viola and Scott Prall, carny barking for Larry. |
| This year's show, as always, is put on by Dave Elliott, with help from the other Elliotts (brother Tom and mom Irene) and Linda Viola (Steve's Other). They took care of setup, teardown and the feed (submarines, salads, chips, cakes; nothing but the sound of chewing for awhile). Thanks!! |