The
following
article
is
from
The
March
1998
Yankee
Pole
Cat
Insulator
Club
Newsletter.
It
was
written
by
Joe
Maurath,
Jr..
"Mike"
was
among
the
very
first
members
of
the
Pole
Cats
and
had
dedicated
a
significant
amount
of
time
and
energy
in
establishing
the
foundation
of
our
club
which
formally
began
during
November
1971.
She
passed
away
on
September
19,
1997.
Mike
organized
and
hosted
the
first
three
insulator
get-togethers
held
in
New
England.
These
took
place
on
the
Grafton
State
Hospital
grounds
(where
she
worked
for
many
years
as
an
occupational
therapist)
beginning
in
the
summer
of
1969,
and
followed
by
shows
in
the
summers
of
1970
and
1971.
These
events
were
well
attended
and
significantly
contributed
to
organizing
the
insulator
hobby
in
New
England
and
neighboring
states.
The
1969
event
is
believed
to
have
been
the
insulator
hobby's
third
formally
recognized
show!
Mike
was
an
intense,
strong-minded,
very
logical
individual
and
these
traits
certainly
must
have
been
instrumental
in
helping
her
patients
recover
and
get
well.
She
paid
very
close
attention
to
detail.
It
was
not
uncommon
for
her
to
stay
up
nights,
with
a
minimum
of
sleep,
analyzing
an
insulator,
book,
magazine,
etc.
She
was
well
known
for
rational,
detailed
conclusions
about
whatever
she
was
researching
or
"putting
a
fine
tooth
comb"
through.
I
first
got
to
know
her
sometime
in
early
1969
and
we
continued
our
friendship
for
many
years.
Our
introduction
was
initiated
by
the
late
Mrs.
William
Cook
of
Uxbridge,
Massachusetts.
Mrs.
Cook
and
Mike
enjoyed
hunting
and
collecting
rocks,
minerals
and
insulators
for
some
time
before
I
met
Mrs.
Cook,
which
was
in
late
1968.
I
enjoyed
periodic
visits
with
the
Cooks
and
viewing
their
collection.
It
apparently
wasn't
too
long
thereafter
when
I
was
introduced
to
Mike.
One
of
her
pet
peeves
was
Mr.
Cook's
witty
humor,
very
especially
when
he
would
purposely
pronounce
Whitall
Tatum
as
"White
Hall
Tatum"
and
making
sure
that
he
knew
that
she
bears
"West
Brookfield"
while
observing
a
W.
Brookfield
insulator.
Mike
saw
absolutely
no
sense
of
humor
in
such
"careless"
interpretations
and
pronunciations,
while
I
had
to
bite
my
smile.
Mike
employed
the
English
language
with
seriousness
and
correctness
and
admirably
observing
this
quality
as
an
impressionable
young
man,
I
encouraged
myself
to
write
and
express
myself
as
well
as
she
did,
I'm
hopeful
some
of
these
fine
traits
'rubbed
off"
through
the
years.
Beyond
insulators,
Mike
and
I
had
a
lot
in
common.
We
had
a
keen
eye
for
where
the
better
insulators
were.
I
absolutely
amazed
her
(which
was
difficult
for
anyone
to
do!)
when
I
spotted
several
dark
aqua
'Santa
Ana"
(CD
178)
insulators
out
of
the
corner
of
my
eye
several
hundred
feet
away
from
the
road
up
along
a
heavily
wooded
path.
She
practically
refused
to
believe
that
I
could
identify
the
insulators
on
that
line,
being
at
such
a
distance,
only
known
then
as
a
style
used
on
the
West
Coast.
Contributing
to
her
amazement,
she
knew
she
had
to
have
been
driving
at
least
50
mph
(the
speed
limit
was
probably
35);
the
following
day
she
went
back
for
a
closer
look,
and
she
discovered
that
the
insulators
indeed
were
CD
178's!
They
eventually
were
identified
as
being
of
Brookfield
manufacture.
Insulator
hunting
expeditions
for
us
were
a
regular
thing
through
later
1969
and
the
early
1970's.
Either
she
or
I
would
spot
something
good
in
our
travels
and
later
we
would
go
back
and
get
the
goodies.
Among
the
insulator
tips
we
shared
were
numerous
visits
to
a
several
mile
long
telephone
line
with
two
pins
per
pole
that
yielded
quite
a
few
CD
102
So.
Mass.
Tel.
Co.
ponies.
A
section
of
railroad
line
with
inactive
wires
had
many
later
style
CD
162
Brookfields
ranging
from
clear
to
light-medium
purple.
She
spotted
that
line,
and
like
all
of
our
insulator
hunting
trips,
Mike
was
most
generous
about
splitting
up
the
loot
at
the
end
of
the
day.
There
were
numerous
other
insulator
hunts,
snagging
a
good
insulator
here
and
there.
Mike
was
a
person
of
fine
integrity
and
upon
my
mother
readily
observing
this
quality
Mike
was
duly
trusted
as
we
traveled
lengthy
distances,
always
arriving
safety
back
home
after
climbing
numbers
of
abandoned
poles.
In
addition
to
our
insulator
hunts,
Mike
and
I
enjoyed
going
to
several
insulator
shows.
I
credit
her
for
bringing
me
to
the
first
big
show
I
ever
attended,
which
was
in
Middletown,
New
York
in
May
1970.
I'll
never
forget
how
great
of
a
thrill
that
show
was!
Mike
enjoyed
color
and
began
specializing
in
arranging
a
continuous
spectrum
of
CD
162
Hemingrays
in
the
early
1970's.
Many
of
our
long
time
members
remember
her
display
of
these
with
open
spaces
here
and
there
with
a
small
sign
stating
"Can
you
help
me
fill
the
gaps
with
the
correct
colors
missing
here?"
Mike
finally
acquired
most
of
the
missing
links
through
the
years
and
displayed
a
fantastic
array
of
CD
162
Hemingray
colors,
systematically
arranged
and
exhibited
at
the
1995
Marlboro,
Massachusetts
National
show.
Mike
will
be
missed
by
all
who
she
knew,
touched,
inspired
and
encouraged
to
physically
and
personality
grow. |
|
