THE ELWOOD CHAMBER SALUTES
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The History of the Elwood Glass Festival

2/21/2020

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              The Elwood (Indiana) Glass Festival is the pride of the community and one of the leading festivals in Central Indiana. It has been the city’s largest annual event for 49 years and welcomes thousands of visitors from throughout Indiana.
            Elwood’s first Glass Festival was a one-day event in 1971 that marked the 30th anniversary of the grand opening of Elwood’s highly revered St. Clair Glass Works.
            The next year, the festival was extended to a week long. It offered thousands of visitors a full schedule of activities reminiscent of the city’s old Tomato Festival days – a beauty pageant, a talent show, a fashion show, an art fair, carnival rides, games, food, and two performances by popular comedienne Phyllis Diller, and, of course, tours of the glass factories
            Today’s Glass Festival is organized and funded by the Elwood Chamber of Commerce with help from local businesses and countless volunteers from the community. It is held annually on the third weekend of August, Friday through Sunday.
            The festival is a tribute to the unique, beautifully crafted hand-blown art-glass produced throughout the Elwood community since the earliest days of the Indiana Gas Boom, more than 100 years ago. Today, Elwood is the home of two outstanding art-glass factories – The House of Glass and Carol’s Legacy Glass.
            The festival welcomes dozens of unique artisans, merchandise vendors, and food stands. Activities include live musical shows, a parade, helicopter rides, carnival rides, demonstrations, contests, a vintage car show, and bus tours to the local glass factories.
            The Elwood Glass Festival is an event that celebrates the city’s rich artistic glass history and is an event for visitors of all ages to enjoy. And . . . admission is free!
 
            For more information, please visit www.elwoodglassfestival.com, or call the Elwood Chamber of Commerce, (765) 552-0180.

Glass Artisan Application
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The History of Elwood’s Glass Factories

2/21/2020

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​A seemingly inexhaustible supply of natural gas was discovered in Elwood in the late 1880s. That, plus an abundance of sand suitable for glass-making, attracted the MacBeth-Evans Glass Company, who built the first glass factory in Elwood in 1890. Many more manufacturers followed, and during the gas boom days of the 1890s through the late 1930s, Elwood was known nationally for its glass, produced in various forms‒from lamp chimneys to large plate-glass windows.
          Glass-blowing was a skilled trade, not to be done by men new to the field, so a special train arrived from Pittsburgh in 1890, bringing 365 glass workers to Elwood. However, the glassblowers were highly paid, earning as much as $35 to $40 a day, and they were big spenders, bringing prosperity to the city. “No machine can ever take our place” was their boast as they flooded the city with their free-flowing money.
          At first, the MacBeth-Evans made only lamp chimneys and lantern globes, and for some time was the only plant in the world which manufactured oil-tempered lamp chimneys. The exceptionally sturdy chimneys were shipped to all parts of the world. In 1891, the company made the first optical glass successfully produced in the United States.
          With the depletion of the gas supplies, however, the work decreased at MacBeth-Evans, and in 1935 Corning Glass Works purchased the plant. As the industry continued its decline, the plant was finally closed down, and it was dismantled in 1938.
          Another important glass works located in Elwood was constructed by the Seiberling Glass Company interests of Akron, Ohio. Construction on the building was completed in 1891. The works, known as the Diamond Plate Glass Company, was at one time the largest glass factory of its kind in the world. It was later purchased by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, but it closed in late 1903, as the gas boom collapsed.
          Through the years, other glass factories came and went in Elwood. They included the McCloy Glass Works, makers of lamp chimneys and lantern globes; the Elwood Window Glass Company, and the Vivsen & Weiskolp Bottle Works, manufacturers of caps and bottling machinery.
          Today, two glass factories remain in Elwood to carry on the tradition: St. Clair Glass Works/House of Glass, and Carol’s Legacy Glass.
 
          ● St. Clair Glass Works/House of Glass: In 1903, John “Pop” St. Clair, a French immigrant residing in Missouri, heard about the MacBeth-Evans plant and moved his family to Elwood to work for the company. But when MacBeth-Evans closed in 1938, Pop and son, Joe, set the wheels in motion to start their own company. St. Clair Glass Works opened in 1941, and their flawless crystal earned the praise of artistic glass connoisseurs. After Joe St. Clair died in 1987, his nephew, Joe Rice, stepped up to carry on the family tradition. Today, Rice is semi-retired and maintains his operation, House of Glass, at 7900 E. State Road 28 on a reduced schedule. Please call Rice at (765) 552-6841 for hours.
          ● Carol’s Legacy Glass: Local tinsmith Jeff Ball saw an opportunity when the St. Clair Glass equipment was being sold at auction in 1987. Ready for a new career direction, Ball purchased some of the equipment and opened his Prestige Art Glass factory and showroom in 1990. Today, Ball has carved an impressive niche in the specialty glass market. He has produced glass items containing dust from the original bricks of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has also made glass trophies presented at the Little 500 in Anderson.  In honor of his wife, in 2018, Ball changed his business’s name to Carol’s Legacy Glass. The factory is located at 527 South 28th Street, and its showroom is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday year round.
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The Chamber Salutes Board Member Mike Leagre

3/15/2018

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The Chamber is pleased to present this Q&A interview with Mike Leagre, owner of the Elwood-based Progressive Plastics. Mike also serves as a member of the Elwood Chamber board. We greatly appreciate Mike's time and willingness to allow us to feature him in this edition of HeartBeat.

CHAMBER: According to your website, you established your company, Progressive Plastics, in 2004. What made you decide to locate in Elwood?
MIKE: Fate. I had never visited Elwood until 2003, but found myself here, working on an acquisition plan of a local business. That opportunity faded, but another opportunity to start a similar business with a local partner presented itself.


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Meet the Watsons, the Chamber's Most Romantic Couple

2/16/2018

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Gretchen & Earl Watson
ASK EARL AND GRETCHEN WATSON how they fell in love, and they’ll tell you. But it might take a bit of prodding. They “kind of” grew up together, they said, living about two miles apart in rural Madison County and riding the same bus to school.
      “She’s three years younger than me,” Earl said, pointing out that for school kids, a gap of three years is considerable. “She was a snotty-nosed little brat as far as I was concerned.” 
And so, he didn’t really give her much thought.
      She didn’t think much about him either.


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The Chamber Salutes Board Member Jim Pearson

2/2/2018

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Elwood Chamber Board Member
Jim Pearson

The Chamber is pleased to present this question-and-answer interview with Chamber Board Member Jim Pearson, director of the Hinds Career Center. We greatly appreciate Jim’s willingness to answer a few questions and to allow us to get a bit better acquainted with him.
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Q: When did you join the staff at the Hinds Career Center, and did you initially come in as its director?
A:  In 2000, having served as assistant principal for Elwood Community High School for three years, the director’s position came open at the Hinds Career Center through the retirement of its then-current director. With my education and experience, the position was a great fit. Prior to moving into school administration, I taught industrial education at ECHS for thirteen years.


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The Chamber Salutes Copher-Fesler-May Funeral Home

1/11/2018

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Copher-Fesler-May owners Sonya and Corey May pose with their daughter Lauren Elizabeth.
The Chamber is pleased to present  this question-and-answer interview with Corey May, who owns Copher-Fesler-May Funeral Home with his wife, Sonya. Corey also serves as a member of the Elwood Community Development Corporation's board.  We appreciate Corey's time and willingness to allow us to feature him on our Salutes page.
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Q: According to your website, both you and Sonya grew up in Elwood. What years did you graduate and where did you go to college?

A: We both graduated from Elwood Community High School – Sonya in 1989, and I in 1990.


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Chamber Salutes ... Business of the Year, The Tin Plate

12/14/2017

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Patrick and Pat Rice, the enterprising partners behind
The Tin Plate, Elwood's 2017 Business of the Year
It’s been a hallmark year for The Tin Plate, the restaurant-bar owned and operated by father and son, Patrick Rice, Senior and Junior. Praises for their service and cuisine – especially their tenderloin sandwiches – generate five-star customer reviews and bring in ever more customers from throughout Indiana and as far away as North Dakota. Most recently, the Elwood Chamber surprised The Tin Plate with its Best Business of 2017 award, presented to Pat (Sr.) and Patrick (Jr.) on November 30 at the Chamber’s annual celebration dinner. We felt fortunate to pin the duo down for what was supposed to be a 20-minute interview, but due to the abundant enthusiasm shared by the two, the interview lasted over an hour. Brevity is not the Rices’ strong suit. Thankfully, for diners who frequent The Tin Plate, running a top-notch business is. Following is the result of our hour-long, sit-down Q&A.
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QUESTION: Did you start the Tin Plate restaurant or had it already been established when you opened?
PATRICK RICE JR. (PATRICK): I bought the building with the intention of taking it from what it’d always been, just a bar, to a full-fledged family restaurant that we could be proud of and that everyone would like to visit. … Prior to buying the place, he [Pat Sr.] and I were talking about buying a building on South Anderson Street to start a pizza place. In the meantime, the man who owned this building called me up and offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse. It was like it was meant to be. Dad and I walked in with flashlights…

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The Chamber Salutes ... Jerrad Reid of Elwood YMCA

11/15/2017

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         Elwood YMCA's new director, Jerrad Reid
This week, the Chamber is delighted to introduce Jerrad Reid, the new director of the Elwood YMCA. Jerrad is new to Elwood and, in addition to his leadership and physical fitness experience, he brings a fresh perspective to our community .
QUESTION: Congratulations on your new position with the YMCA. I know the Chamber members are eager to learn a few things about you. … So for starters, please tell us a bit about your new position.
ANSWER: Sure, so first and foremost my position here at the Elwood YMCA is all about showing the community that the YMCA of Madison County is an organization that despite past reputations is a place that

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The Chamber Salutes ... Board Member Steve Morris

11/1/2017

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Chamber Board Member Steve Morris
This week, the Chamber is pleased to feature a question-and-answer interview with Board Member Steve Morris, Madison County Federal credit Union's vice president of branch operation and Bank Secrecy Act Compliance officer. We appreciate Steve's ready willingness to allow us to re-introduce him to our community.

Q: Please tell us a bit about your position with the Madison County Federal Credit Union.
A: I am the Vice President of Branch Operation and Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Officer. I have been with Madison County Federal Credit Union since June 2009. I oversee the daily operations of our five locations.


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The Chamber Salutes ... Alternatives Incorporated

10/17/2017

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Natalie Warren of Alternatives Incorporated
October is NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH. Please note these eye-opening statistics according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 
  • More than 10 MILLION Americans are
    victims of physical violence annually.
  • On average, nearly 20 PEOPLE PER MINUTE are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.
  • 19 percent of domestic violence involves a weapon. THE PRESENCE OF A GUN IN A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATION INCREASES THE RISK OF HOMICIDE BY 500 PERCENT.

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The Chamber Salutes ... Board Member Sharon Church

9/26/2017

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Board member Sharon Church at her desk at St.Vincent Mercy Hospital, where she is controller.

Who better to represent Elwood’s Chamber of Commerce than someone whose roots run deep in the very community they represent?

Roots don’t run much deeper than Sharon Church’s. She was born and raised in Elwood, graduated from Elwood Community High School, married her husband, Kevin, in Elwood’s East Main Street Christian Church, and when she was ready to settle into a career and raise a family, she and Kevin decided to stay right here in the very town they had called home their entire lives.

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The Chamber Salutes … Lucky Strike Lanes

8/30/2017

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Lucky Strike Lanes owner, Chuck Kane

When Chuck Kane accepted a consulting job in Warsaw seven years ago, he thought it would be a one-year commitment. But earlier this summer, after seven years in Warsaw, the Elwood native decided it was time to come home, where he could apply his professional expertise to updating his own business, Lucky Strike Lanes. Since then, that’s where his entire focus has been.


“We’ve been tweaking old ideas,” Chuck said, “stealing some and coming up with new ones all our own. … We have a lot of potential. If our stars align, we’ll have some success.”

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The Chamber Salutes … Prestige Art Glass

8/17/2017

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Jeff Ball displays the piece he made to commemorate his wife, Carol, who passed away early this year.
Jeff and Carol Ball started Prestige Art Glass in 1990 because, as Jeff puts it, “I like creating and building things that make people happy. So I thought it might be a good way to spend my life.”
            Local glass artisan Joe St. Clair had died in 1987, and three years later, his equipment was being sold at auction. Jeff, a tinsmith by trade, had already decided to craft a new career direction, so when he learned Joe’s equipment was available, he and Carol snatched some of it up.
            “Joe seemed pretty happy with his life,” Jeff said, adding, “We’ve been making glass ever since.”
            Over the years, he said, Prestige Art Glass has carved a niche for itself as a source for specialty glass items.
            “We get requests almost every day for custom pieces,” he said.

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The Chamber Salutes … The House of Glass

8/17/2017

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Joe Rice at work
Joe Rice is the last member of the St. Clair family still actively involved in making glass art. His grandfather, John “Pop” St. Clair, established St. Clair Glass in 1938, specializing in paperweights, ashtrays, pen holders and lamps. When Pop died in 1958, his son, Joe – who was Joe Rice’s uncle – took over the operation until he died in 1987.
            “I started working with my uncles at 408 North Fifth Street in 1962,” Joe said during a recent interview. “I was making glass paperweights when I was 12 – with no formal training or apprenticeship, just hands on.”
            In 1971, Joe’s brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Maude, started another glass business west of Elwood on State Road 28.

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Chamber Salutes Nan Coppess of The Old Watering Can

7/18/2017

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Nan with The Old Watering Can's official greeter, Jack
Nanette Coppess had been a special education teacher at Summitville Elementary School for 15 years, when she made a life-changing decision.

“I had always enjoyed flowers, landscaping, and doing crafts,” she told the Elwood Chamber during a recent conversation, “so that kind of pushed me to opening my own store. And then I had to decide whether I wanted to continue teaching or take on the store full time. So, here I am.”

It will be three years in September since she and her husband, Terry, opened The Old Watering Can, and she says that, although she deeply misses teaching, she hasn’t had a moment’s regret since.

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The Chamber Salutes Teresa Perez of Faith-In-U Fitness

7/5/2017

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Teresa Perez, Faith-In-U Fitness owner
“Fitness was a passion of mine,” said Teresa Perez, owner of the Faith-in-U Fitness Center here in Elwood. “I’ve been running since I was 18 and was into sports and fitness my entire life.”

Although doing sit-ups and crunches was her passion, sitting at a desk and crunching numbers was her profession. The dichotomy got her thinking.

“I felt like I was put here for more than being an accountant,” she said, “like God had a plan. But I couldn’t figure it out.”


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The Chamber Salutes Board Member Theresa Clymer

6/15/2017

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Board member and Floors & More owner Theresa Clymer

Stepping into Elwood’s far eastside Floors & More Designs, you are greeted by an impressive, spacious showroom jammed full of product display cases and flooring options. But what’s even more impressive is the friendly welcome that awaits you from Floors & More owner Theresa Clymer.

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The Chamber Salutes Board Member Doug Bohall

5/31/2017

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Doug Bohall, Elwood Chamber Board member and pastor of First United Methodist Church
The Rev. Doug Bohall, of First United Methodist Church, is seven months into his first year on the Chamber Board, and he appears to be enjoying every minute of it. Not only does the Greenfield import bring a wealth of experience to the board, he views the Elwood community with a pair of discerning, fresh eyes. We recently had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting  with Mr. Bohall about the paths that led him to ministry, to becoming a community leader, and ultimately to the Elwood Chamber. Following is the result of our chat.

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The Chamber Salutes FTL Packaging & Shipping

5/15/2017

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Bob and Donna French, owners of FTL Packaging & Shipping, pose with their daughter, Alex Adams, who helps out at the business part-time. (Click photo to enlarge.)
 When your package absolutely, positively has to be there overnight, who you gonna call?

Bob and Donna French have been taking care of Elwood’s shipping needs just shy of twenty years, and if the community has a say in the matter, the Frenches will be taking care of it for twenty more.

Bob and Donna went into business for themselves in 1998, when they opened FTL (Freight Transport Logistics) Carriers, a trucking service that specialized in shipping large freight.


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The Chamber Salutes Cloud Nine Therapeutic Massage

5/1/2017

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Amber (second from left) poses with (from left) Elwood Mayor Todd Jones, her daughter Alivia, her son Cyrus, her husband Chad, and Chamber Director Marcy Fry at the ribbon-cutting in February for Amber's newest business, Boston Baked Pottery.

Editor’s note: It seems like Chamber member Amber Loy-Boston, owner of Cloud Nine Therapeutic Massage, is always on the go. We got lucky recently when we caught up with her for a few minutes, just long enough to ask a few questions about what made her decide to go into massage therapy, how she started her business, what led to all the other services, and what she sees in her future. Following is the result of that conversation.
 
Q: What led you to decide to go into business for yourself?
A: It was 2008. During a birthday party for my best friend’s son, the moment had come to break the news that we were moving to Florida. It was mentioned for me to go to massage therapy school to continue what Amber Ball had already pioneered seven years prior in Elwood.

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