Dora Harned was a charter member of the NIA with NIA number 48.  She was one of the most influential people in the early days of the hobby and probably did more than anyone to organize, enhance, and lift insulator collecting to a level of formality that kept things moving forward for decades.  Born in Barre, Vermont in 1926, she moved to California with her family around 1940.  It was there that she met her husband, Don.

She and Don started collecting bottles around 1961, but soon discovered the colorful insulators.  They traded off all of their bottles for insulators.  In 1969, her creation was “Insulators, Crown Jewels of the Wire” magazine.  The name was later shortened to just “Crown Jewels of the Wire”.  That publication probably did as much or more to organize and connect insulator collectors around the country than any other event before or since.  A few of the accomplishments that came out of that one endeavor include:

• Provided a venue where collectors could share new finds.

• Created an advertising venue targeted directly to insulator collectors allowing them to contact each other to buy, sell, and trade.

• Targeted show advertising directly to insulator collectors along with follow-up show reports and photos.

• The magazine provided a forum for discussing issues that eventually led to the NIA’s formation, along with its code of ethics, show standards, and by-laws.

The magazine still lives on today, 45 years later, and now with its third set of publishers. 

Dora Harned was an active member of the NIA for 27 years, right up to her passing in 1999. 

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