New at the Tehachapi Museum: Telegraph insulators, porcelain boxes and Anthony family exhibits

For April 6 First Friday Art Walk, the Tehachapi Museum will feature several new exhibits. The Museum is open from 5 to 8 pm for First Friday and also offers appetizers, desserts, and champagne for guests.

"Telegraph insulators" are the small bodies of glass that are attached to the poles for the purpose of insulating the wire, to protect them from touching anything that is a conductor of electricity. Glass, porcelain, and other materials are used because they are non-conducting. Should the wires touch the wooden poles, which are strong conductors, the current of electricity would be broken and no communication could be made through them.

The need for the insulators arose out of the discovery of electricity, which in turn led to the invention of the light bulb, telegraph, telephone, and other electricity-oriented innovations. Also, as railroads began crisscrossing the continent, there came the need for signal devices. Electricity had to be moved economically from one place to another.

The collection on exhibit was collected by Natasha and Evan McTyre and contains some unusual examples, from several inches to almost a foot in height, ranging from porcelain to multicolored glass.

Judy Reynolds, Museum Director, describes another new exhibit, "Most of us have small, or large, collections of items that we hadn't planned on accumulating. My sister, Patsy Crow, has five different collections: bells, handbags, plates, bunnies, and small decorative boxes. She is especially excited when she finds items that fits into more than one of collections, such as small boxes that are also bunnies.

"In April and May the Tehachapi Museum will showcase her box collection featuring many bunny boxes: one box purchased at Ellis Island (our father entered the US twice through Ellis Island); some similar to the famous Fabergé eggs; some from Russia and India; and a Beatrix Potter box.

"The collection of approximately 35 boxes are from many sources: fairs, antique stores and one purchased by her granddaughter at a dollar store. Collectibles do not have to be expense to be precious."

In our Family Case, we are showing the family tree of John Anthony, who emigrated from Greece to Tehachapi. The exhibit includes articles from the Tehachapi Fire Department, of which his son, Tony Anthony, was Fire Chief for 40 years.

In addition to First Friday, the Museum and Errea House Museum are open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. For more information call (661) 822-8152.