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Hand-blown glass is like molasses, home-canned tomatoes, and cornbread–you can’t walk into a home in West Virginia and not spot some….or a LOT. West Virginia, with its abundant natural resources, has a long history of glassmaking, although only a handful of the over 500 glass houses that once existed here still survive. Blenko is one of them. It’s a short (or long, depending on your location) daytrip to the small town of Milton between Charleston and Huntington off I-64.
*If you visit on a weekend, you can also enjoy the gigantic flea markets for which Milton is well known.
Before you go, print out a coupon here for $5 off any purchase over $25 (good through Dec. 31, 2007) at the Blenko Glass Factory gift shop.
There’s a factory observation deck where you can watch glass creation in action. The teamwork involved in crafting glass is amazing. Each person has a specific duty and they perform like clockwork. They have quaint names for each of the six jobs–the blower, the finisher, the carry-in boy, the gatherer, the bit gatherer, and the stick-up boy. (The finisher sounds a little ominous, LOL. I think they have those in the mafia, too…..) Here, you see the blower at work.
For a full list of glass houses still in business in West Virginia, check here, and if you’re planning at trip to the Fenton Art Glass factory, go soon! They’re closing. I know I will. Clearance sales!!!
Where glass goes to die….
Outside the factory, there are piles and piles of colorful pieces of broken glass. I found a woman carting off a boxful of it. I think she said at first they were going to charge her ten bucks for the box, but then they gave it to her for free. She didn’t know what she was going to do with it, but she was very excited!
Posted by Suzanne McMinn | Permalink
