They're colorful, connected to history and have an enthusiastic following.

Insulators that once stood atop poles allowing people to communicate before the Civil War to those that helped extend electricity across America are part of a growing subculture of collectors. They come in different shapes, sizes, colors and material representing a history of manufacturers.

Saturday, Aug. 4, the free North Western Insulator Club Swap Meet provides a day not only for those with a passion for collecting but an opportunity for newcomers to learn more. Wonder if that blue, glass insulator found in an attic is worth anything? The swap meet, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1126 Ebert Drive, in Nisswa, may just be the place to find the answers. For enthusiasts, it also represents an option to find a missing piece for a collection.

Colin Yennie's interest was first piqued when he saw a purple glass insulator made by the Sterling Glass Co. in New Jersey. While Colin and his wife Karen differ a bit on how that first insulator exactly came into his hands, be it a gift or something he purchased, they agree on the result. He was hooked. It started 20 years ago as Colin went with Karen on her trips to antique stores. The purple glass caught his eye.

"He picked one up and got interested in the history," Karen said. Now Colin is president of the insulator club and Karen is secretary/treasurer.

The glass insulators were first produced in the 1850s for telegraph lines to insulate the lines from the wooden poles high above the ground. Collectors Weekly noted peak production was from the 1920s through the 1940s with millions of insulators manufactured.

"Commonly made from glass or porcelain in a dazzling array of shapes and colors, including amber, cobalt blue, olive green (one shade is known among insulator collectors as 'Seven-Up'), and royal purple, antique insulators are prized for their rarity and physical beauty," Collectors Weekly reported in an article on vintage glass insulators. "In collector's circles, clear and aqua shades are considered generic because they result from the natural iron content present in most glass-making materials. Some insulators were embossed with a manufacturer's name and style number using engraved molds, yet many antique and vintage insulators were produced without any markings whatsoever."

As Colin began researching insulators, he found a club in the metro area. Karen said they didn't find a big group at the first meeting they went to, but they found avid collectors-mostly from Minnesota. The then Rochester-based couple found collectors who met a few times a year, swapping, trading and discussing insulators. An annual show in Bloomington brought in people across the Upper Midwest. The Yennies met more people, joined a local club and found there were groups meeting in national and regional get-togethers all in a small subculture revolving around insulators. As with many collectibles, the connections are as much about the people as they are about the bits of colored glass.

"It's a social get-together and trading of pieces so people can update their collections and one of the missions of our club is to educate new people," Karen said.

Collectors may come from Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota and southern Canada. The club's been in existence about 20 years. Colin became president after he retired about eight years ago. The Yennies bought a place in Nisswa about 10 years ago.

"The other mission is to educate young people so we have young people in the area that are now collecting," Karen said. Other regional club insulator meetings include one in Austin, Coon Rapids and River Falls, Wis.

This Saturday, Karen expects 30 to 50 people or more depending on the weather. Anyone in the region is welcome to come and see what everyone is displaying and ask questions.

"We always do it rain or shine," Karen said. "Ours is the only outdoor one with canopies and garage."

She said people admire anything that is rare, along with the colors that catch the light so admirably with blues, ambers and greens. But there can be clear pieces that are rare and can command a lot of money. At the swap meet, insulators may sell for $5, $10, $20 and $50 for the most part, although a rare insulator may sell for a couple of hundred dollars or into the thousands. Crafters may pick up the less expensive ones to turn them into lamps, sconces or even a fountain. Larger porcelain ones are sometimes lit with lights and strung from gazebos or as decorative yard lights.

What makes insulators interesting beyond the pretty glass, Karen said, is the history behind the pieces-how and where the colors and shapes were made and what service they provided. She said the insulator club scene started about 50 years ago. It grew slowly over the years, Karen said, but that growth picked up in the last five years. What may have been an underground culture of collectors of items that once ubiquitously topped every power pole, came into its own as the internet and social media allowed people to connect and share photos. It also helped connect with a younger generation, Karen said.

Now as people prepare to sell homes and farms, insulators are found in attics or estate sales and from collectors. Karen said line workers sometimes bring the big porcelain insulators-in brown, blue and green-to swap meets. As companies take down the power lines, they may give or sell the large insulators to workers although, Karen said they are much less plentiful than they used to be.

Insulators-in their various shapes, sizes, colors-come with their own novel names as well like the beehive, barrel, pony, helmet, jumbo, spool or Mickey Mouse. The mouse variety gained its moniker based on its distinctive top, reminiscent to collectors who dubbed them to Mickey Mouse ears. Years ago those Mickey Mouse insulators lined major metropolitan streetcar lines in Kansas City and elevated rail lines in Chicago. With the ears easily broken, they are now quite rare and collectible, Karen said.

Collectors also are able to hold history in their hands, tracing an insulator's lineage back to the craftsman who made it a lifetime ago.

Karen said that also leads to people who are interested in insulators, because of their history and connection to the railroads or the nation's electrification, even hydropower, with the large porcelain insulators used in dams. Most novices want to know what value they may have. The hobby spawned books on manufacturers and price guides.

For Colin, the initial interest in the purple Sterling insulator never waned.

"It only took one and he started researching it and it snowballed from there," Karen said. "And that's what he still likes to collect-purples from all over. .. because you can buy 10 of them and each will be a little different the way they look with the color."

Learn more about collecting insulators

The North Western Insulator Club Swap Meet is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at 1126 Ebert Drive, Nisswa.

The event includes a potluck and plenty of insulators and knowledge about the collectibles.

For more information, contact Colin or Karen Yennie at cryennie@hotmail.com .