2017 Colorado Springs National

Colorado Springs National 2017 Show Journal by Christian Willis.

August 9, 2017

Ever since it was announced that the 2017 National would be held in Colorado Springs, I knew I was going to have sales tables and a display. I couldn’t pass up such a great opportunity having a National less than an hour from my house!

I decided this time I would be displaying my collection of Hemingray embossing errors, as it was something I’d been wanting to do for the past 15 years; I just never had quite enough to fill a display case. Plus, I was always nervous about how people would react to seeing a bunch of boring aqua insulators… but I decided to just go for it. Between 2016 and 2017, I made one final push to acquire some of the elusive errors I had been looking for for years. Through my web site Hemingray.info, collectors on ICON, and daily searches on eBay, I managed to round up another 6-7 pieces, plus 3 Hemingray glassware/go-with errors I had never seen before. It was still not all of them, but close enough! I decided on naming the display “Look Closer!” and featuring magnifying glasses to encourage the public to get up close.

After months of preparation, planning my display, pricing and boxing up insulators, it was hard to believe the show had finally arrived! On Wednesday night, I packed up my display in the car. Based on the sheer number of boxes full of insulators to be taken down to the show (27), this was definitely going to take 2 trips.

First thing Thursday morning, I headed down to the Hotel Elegante in Colorado Springs and arrived around 7:15, right before we were scheduled to the start the NIA board meeting. I said hi to the other board members and we all had a nice breakfast. The rest of the day was discussing board matters, and I got several great ideas from the others on more ways to publicize the hobby. NIA President Steve Roberts also asked me to take over the role of Publicity Chairman and collapse it into the Information Director’s existing roles, which I was happy to accept.

After the conclusion of the board meeting on Thursday afternoon, I setup my display. I was right next to Francisco’s display, the young collector I met a few years ago, so we talked for a bit. There were LOTS of other outstanding displays in the show hall, so I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be coming home with any awards. I was mostly focusing on selling at this show anyway, so I was okay with that. After setup concluded, I headed upstairs to the hospitality room and mingled for a bit. Afterwards, I headed home that evening and loaded up my sales boxes. Tomorrow would be a busy day!

Friday morning arrived way too soon. Christian Jr. and I departed from the house around 6AM to get down to the show hall by 7 when it opened. We stopped by McDonald’s to grab breakfast on the way down. When we arrived at the hotel, we unloaded the boxes from the car and set up my two sales tables. I quickly realized I had brought way more insulators than I had room for! I made the best of it and fit as many insulators as I could onto the tables, but another 7 boxes didn’t even make it out of the car.

Once my tables were set up, I started making my first rounds. Ken Roberts was set up right next to me, and he had a nice CD 120 Dec. Pat. with drips in a light lime green for $35. I had always wanted one so I bought it. After that, I stopped by Jack Roach’s table and looked at a couple of CD 185 Jeffreys he had for sale. Much to my dismay, he said “you should have been here earlier, I had a lot more of those.” I asked him, “Any smooth base ones?” He responded, “Yeah, a couple.” My heart sank. Lesson learned: go look around before unpacking my sales table!

Dwayne Anthony had mentioned to me in passing that he also had a couple of Jeffreys at his table. By this time, the crowd had died down around his table, so I made my way over. The Jeffreys were the standard drip-pointed variety and average condition, so I passed and began perusing his other offerings. That’s when another piece caught my eye off to the left. Sitting in the middle of his table was a big, clear, familiar power piece. I did a double-take and realized it was a CD 301.5 Hemingray-515! In awe, I picked it up and looked it over. With the exception of a minor flat slice on the base, it was in great shape; absolutely amazing for a piece that was dug out of the Hemingray Dump. Dwayne told me it was the one from Butch Haltman’s collection. I looked at the price tag: $2,700. Pretty reasonable! “My wife will kill me,” I thought. I immediately called Maggi, and she gave her blessing. I promised her the other pieces in my collection would pay for it. And of course Dwayne was his usual gracious self and was willing to let me make payments on it.

That was it, it was mine. I couldn’t believe it! This was a piece I had been wanting ever since I first set eyes on it in the McDougald book as a kid, and now it was finally in my collection. How was it even possible? Bill Meier, Bob Stahr, Ron Yuhas, and Tommy Bolack were all at this show, yet somehow I wound up with this amazing piece. I went straight back to my table and started marking the prices down on everything. I was bound and determined to pay for this piece by the end of the show and bring it home with me! Suddenly smooth base Jeffries weren’t so important.

Around 11AM, I headed over to man the NIA sign-in table for my assigned hour. After that, I unloaded about 5 boxes of freebies on the free tables out at the show hall entrance. I ordered a pizza for Christian and I to have for lunch, and we sat at our sales table while they announced raffle drawings. I had purchased 20 raffle tickets for $20 and put them in several different lots, including a Civil Defense Radiological Survey Meter, still mint in the box. As fate would have it, I won! I brought it back to the table and looked it over. It even had the operating manual and was dated 1963, with the CD logo on the side. Pretty cool!

Christian Jr. also found several pieces he was interested in, including a Whitall Tatum salesman sample which I bought for him. At $35, it was a pretty good deal. He also picked up a few pieces from the free table out front, and made friends with a couple of other young collectors near his age and played with them for awhile: Francisco Campos and Cameron Case (Richard Case’s grandson).

I kept my eye on my display throughout the day, and it seemed to be fairly popular; a lot of people were taking the handouts which I always see as a good sign. I had to replenish them a few times. By the end of the day, I had sold about $1200 worth of insulators and I was well on my way to paying for that 301.5.

At 4PM the show hall closed, so I made sure my display had plenty of handouts for the judging, and we headed over to the membership meeting. I presented to the membership as the Information Director and Drip Points Ad Manager. After we adjourned, Christian and I headed out to get dinner at Cracker Barrel. Christian had pancakes and I had chicken fried steak. After dinner, we played checkers at one of the tables in the restaurant, shared some Butter Rum Lifesavers, then headed home.

On Saturday morning, I headed back down to Colorado Springs on my own. I had enough money to pay Dwayne $1700, which only left $1000 to go. Dwayne said, “No, that only leaves $800 to go.” He had knocked off $200 on the price for me. What a guy! He gave me the piece to take home.

I had also brought a bushing from home that I wanted to get Bob Stahr’s opinion on. I had purchased it years ago on eBay because it looked suspiciously Hemingray to me. He took one look at the bushing and immediately pulled up a Hemingray advertisement on his laptop picturing that exact bushing, and the related patents and design drawings. The piece most likely dates between 1935-1940 and was part of a switching assembly. Cool! I can now display this proudly among my other Hemingrays.

I kept wheeling and dealing, and in the afternoon Maggi, my mom and the kids had arrived. I showed my mom around the hall, and she and Dwayne got caught up (they hadn’t seen each other since the 1996 Long Beach National!) At 4PM the show hall closed, and the family went to go get dinner while Christian Jr. and I stuck around for the awards banquet.

We arrived in the banquet hall a few minutes before it began, and Mike Green invited us to sit at the Show Hosts table. That was very nice of him! The banquet began at 5:30PM, and it was a great spread: potato salad, cole slaw, BBQ beef & chicken, beans, cornbread and biscuits, with apple cobbler for dessert.

The entertainment included live music, the traditional insulator sing-alongs, and standup comedy by Mike Green. Before we knew it it was awards time. All of the exhibitors were presented with a handsome wood plaque including a royal purple WGM toll mounted on a sidepin. When the time came for the Specialty category award, I tried to stay calm. I knew it probably wouldn’t be me, as over half of the displays (15) were entered under the Specialty category. Then it happened: Steve Roberts announced my name! I couldn’t believe it; I went up to accept my award. According to Gene Hawkins, the tally was very close (within about 3 points or so) so I’m very grateful to have won. My display was also a close second for the Jim Overstreet award.

We also found out that everyone’s meals at the banquet had been paid for by Don and Camille Rohde, and Mike Bliss dressed up as Hee Haw’s Jerry Turner and gave a very moving speech on the hobby. The rest of the awards ceremony was a blur and went way over the 9:00 end time, but it was a great evening with a lot of touching and funny moments. Christian Jr. was even presented with a miniature version of the display plaques, complete with a mini purple private issue insulator on a baby side pin! Pretty cool. We headed home and crashed in our beds around 11PM.

Sunday morning, we let Christian Jr. sleep in and I was back down to Colorado Springs for the final day. I arrived around 8:15 and sorted my insulators by price range. I sold a few more pieces but it had definitely slowed down. Around mid-day, a man in his late 20’s was interested in my $1 each (3 for $2) section and asked me how much for the lot. I took him out the car and showed him the other 7 boxes full! He bought them all at 3 for $1. I got about $20 and he got about 60 insulators. I could already tell it was going to be a good day! I kept selling, and before I knew it I had enough to pay Dwayne the remaining $800, with money to spare. I started looking around the show hall some more. I certainly wasn’t expecting to buy anything else, but we all know how that goes. Over at Dennis Weber’s table I found the unlisted CD 196 H.G.CO. with two backwards “N”’s, as well as a porcelain 1920’s Stonehouse Danger sign, the one that mentions “insulators, poles and wires” specifically. The pair was priced at $300 but he sold it to me for $250. Score another sign for my Stonehouse collection, and the first sign that truly ties my two collections together.

I also picked up a Hemingray-made micarta core suspension sleeve at Justin Martin’s table. It had a resin repair by Paul Greaves, but for $65 I couldn’t complain!

As we neared the end of the show, I began tearing down my display and sales tables. Mary Ann Pike stopped by my table and let me hold her near mint CD 1025 she had displayed in the Seldom Seen display. What an awesome piece! (I hadn’t been that careful holding a piece since getting to hold a CD 130.2 Seilers at the 1996 National.) I also showed Don Briel some unlisted pieces that will be added into the next price guide, including my CD 115 MAD IN USA, CD 106 Hemingray No.G (upside-down G for a 9) and the CD 196 with the backwards N’s. I also walked by Colin Jung’s table and a Hemi blue 190/191 caught my eye. Upon closer examination, the top had the HEMINGAY error. I had never seen one in Hemi blue, so of course I had to snatch it up for $35. It was an appropriate final buy for this great show!

Maggi and Christian Jr. had arrived to help me tear down my sales tables and display. After we finished loading up the car and van, we said our goodbyes to everyone and headed home. Christian Jr., Maggi and I stopped at Famous Dave’s BBQ and had a nice dinner.

When I got home, I unpacked everything and admired the CD 301.5. I also checked the McDougald insulator book where I had first seen this piece as a kid. Upon close examination, I realized the picture in the book was of the very same insulator I was holding in my hands! Unbelievable. This was an outstanding show I will never forget!

Click here to view my display and handout.