This insulator was a gift given to me today from the family of Ernie Clothier. Ernie was a long time employee of Niagara Mowhawk and it's predecessor companies mainly at the historic Spier Falls powerhouse near Glens Falls, New York.. This Insulator was installed during the construction of the Spier Falls power plant on the Hudson River in 1902-03 as part of the internal bus work . Paul Greaves and I had the great fortune to meet Ernie several years ago in 2009 . Ernie's 's father and grandfather were both employed at the plant in it's very early days. He shared many stories of the old days at the plant with me and Paul when we visited him . Today I went up to collect some old crossarm parts from a nearby line for a display and wile up there stopped by Ernie's for a visit. I learned today from Ernie's wife that sadly he had passed away in 2010 . I met Ernie's son Steve( who has also been an operator at the plant for many years) today and we discussed Ernie's passing and all the interesting historical stories he had shared with me . In the discussion I mentioned I had always admired this interesting insulator he had removed from the plant back around 1970 and asked what had become of it . His son son took me inside offered me the insulator (!) ... It will now become a treasured part of my collection not only because of what it is as a historic artifact, but because it is also a tangible link to a historic family and a human connection I will never forget . When you have the chance to sit with real industry old timers like Ernie, the experience can be really rewarding as their stories are priceless links to a past that is rapidly disappearing in our modern computerized and fully automated world . This is how history lives on... To me preserving the human stories is behind the things that I collect is in a way so much more important then the objects themselves !

For you Fred Locke geeks this insulator has marking 7-1 and is cemented with believe it or not... sulfur cement . It is cemented with sulfur to a cut off wood pin and is in mint condition. It appears to have never been used outside in the environment as the cement joints look new as does the pin.