Artisans at Lafayette Glass, Clarksburg

In reviewing the history of glass production in America and in particular West Virginia, I see that the early producers of glass would have been artisans. This was because historically glass production had been the work of artisans that were skilled in the arts of creating and sculpting glass. Olga S. Hardman wrote the following description of the methods to produce plate glass prior to automation in her article: The Lafayette Cooperative Glass Plant.

The Lafayette began as a pot furnace operation, i.e., the glass was heated in clay pots. Sand, potash, limestone, coal dust, and cullet (broken glass) were placed into the pots and heated until molten. This material was then gathered onto steel pipes, which were 3/4" in circumference and 58" long, by a "gathering boy." It required gathering 3 or 4 times to get a sufficiently large lump (20 to 30 pounds.) The gathering boy then took this molten mass to a cast iron block where the "glass-blower" blew a ball to a 42" circumference. The glass blower's helper, called a "snapper," would then carry the ball up to the blow furnace where the ball was heated again and the blower began the process of forming it into a cylinder. The blower would then swing the cylinder (called a roller) in a shaft in the floor (called a swing hole.) By blowing, turning, swinging, and intermittently reheating the glass, the desired cylinder length of 55" to 60" was achieved. The cylinder was then split open on one side and then taken to the "flattener" where it was flattened in the flattening oven. After cooling, it was then ready to be cut to desired window size by the "cutter." If your home was built at the turn of the century, the glass for the windows in your home was probably made by this method.

1908 Postcard of the Lafayette Glass Plant

When we look at glass production, we just aren't looking at a factory producing glass though, we are also looking at people and their various cultures and what they brought to our communities and country. Many of the workers at the Lafayette plant came from the European countries of Belgium, France and Spain. Not only did they bring their knowledge of  glass with them to West Virginia, but also their culture. This included French pasties and cookies such as the "galette." They also brought their music with them and the love of bands. They formed concert bands and had social halls to play and dance.

1907 Postcard featuring the Lafayette Concert Ban

 The Lafayette plant survived a fire and a world war, but was eventually closed after a price war with Pittsburgh Plate Glass drove them out of business.

Today, you can see Scottish heritage in the May 3-5, 2013 Scottish Festival and Celtic Gathering being held in the Bridgeport/Clarksburg area.They will showcase Celtic music, The West Virginia Highland Dancers and have Scottish Heavy Athletic Events.

Dancer with bagpipe accompaniment

Questions for consideration:
1. Why would skilled artisans from Europe choose to come to America to practice their trade?
2. How did their culture and experiences impact West Virginia and particularly Harrison County?
3. Imagine you are a "gathering boy." What would life be like for you as you worked at Lafayette?