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.

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.

With one foot firmly planted in Elwood and the other in Tipton, Elwood Chamber of Commerce member Brenda Noble stands her ground as a staunch advocate that everyone – regardless of their situation – should and can have a home of their own.

Brenda, who works as an independent associate broker out of the Anew Realty office in Tipton, also has a strong background in the Elwood community. The Noble family came from Elwood, she has long-attended church there, she managed the Elwood Country Club for years, and she treasures her many friends throughout the community.

Two-term Elwood Chamber of Commerce Board President Dave Berkemeier has greatly enjoyed the twelve years he lived and worked in Elwood, but like all good things, his time here has come to and end. However, if there’s one thing that won’t end anytime soon, it’s his love for the Elwood community and the work he did on its behalf.

​Dave dropped in at the Chamber office shortly after New Year’s and spent a few minutes chatting about the years he spent in Elwood, his work here, and his experience as Chamber board president.

​Much of Doug Denny’s life operates in cycles … wash, rinse and spin dry. But these days, he’s more than ready for a new cycle, he says, one that gives him time to cool down and load up with some new adventures.

​Doug has operated two Goforth Coin Laundry locations – one at 1354 South B Street here in Elwood and the other at 112 State Road 28 in Alexandria – for a dozen years, buying them after he retired from Delco Remy in 2004. It’s been a good business, he says, because it’s all about providing a service people need.

​​“Mostly, I enjoy the people,” he said, “and keeping busy -- in fact, sometimes too busy.”
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