Thanksgiving Getaway

We went on an extended Thanksgiving road trip visiting friends in our native NJ and in PA before spending the holiday with family members in PA. Our return to Nashua, NH, preceded the 5-inch snowfall this past Tuesday, December 2, the first of the season.

Most folks will agree that long-time friends are truly the best even if the get togethers are less frequent than we would like them to be because of distance and other reasons. Whenever we can, we connect with my high school friend, Sara, and husband, David, also NJ natives, who now reside in PA.

Christmas tree photo has become a tradition for us and friends, Sara & David

Many of our get togethers have taken place during the holiday season of either Thanksgiving or Christmas and we catch up with a meal and lots of conversation. At Christmas, there are always photos by the tree wherever we happen to meet. Thankfully, their tree had already been set up ahead of our visit.

Individual photos are always followed by a group "selfie" photo and we've always managed manage to fit everyone and the tree in the picture.

Thanksgiving dinner was celebrated with the grandchildren and their parents. The only one missing from the above photo was Patrick, the photographer.

The Christmas tree was set up and decorated by family

The family Christmas tree was set up and decorated as a group effort before everyone sat down to dinner.

Harrisburg, Lincoln & Lancaster Railroad train ride with Santa and the conductor

The train engine is a 1868 steam locomotive replica

There wasn't any Black Friday shopping for anyone, instead we all went on a family outing in Elizabeth, PA — riding on a narrated train excursion through the Stone Gables Estate on the holiday decorated Harrisburg, Lincoln & Lancaster Railroad. 

Photos from the train ride and a group family photo (minus myself)

The ride featured a replica of an 1868 steam locomotive, pulling replicas of an 1848 Pioneer Coach and a mid-1860s Combine & Day Coach. (Stone Gables Estate is a biblical faith-based ministry/business. Its mission is to donate 100% of net profits to aid abandoned children worldwide.)

Selfies were taken by the hotel's holiday decos

Our Lancaster, PA, hotel was fully decorated the morning after Thanksgiving. Elves in the form of hotel employees worked to set up multiple tree displays and a gingerbread house in the lobby, all good photo opportunities, which we could not resist.

A variety of red cars in keeping with the season

While other family members left for their home on Saturday, we stayed for the weekend and traveled 30 min. from Lancaster to Hershey, PA, to visit America's Transportation Museum. The museum is dedicated to the preservation of automobile history and is also known as the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) Museum, which is rather confusing as the museum is not affiliated with that organization.

The 71,000 square foot museum opened in June 2003. It displays over 130 cars, buses, motorcycles and automobiles in themed settings from the 1890s to 1980s. Rather than display the cars in long rows, the AACA Museum incorporated an educational approach in its displays by adding scenery and set designs to complement the period in which each car was built. Vintage autos are shown in unique settings through the decades. 

Vintage Tucker autos in the museum

Major collections include the Cammack Tucker Collection, billed as the world's most extensive collection of Tucker automobiles. (The collection is named for David Cammack, a historian and collector whose entire collection was donated to the museum after his 2013 death.)

We spent over 2 hours touring this museum, a welcome escape from a cold and windy day outdoors. A future post will feature more of the displays. (I appreciate your comments on our Portugal visit. There's more to share, those posts will most continue in the New Year.)

Your Turn — Did you celebrate Thanksgiving with any traditions ? 

Guaranteed for Life

Today, most products are either disposable or come with a limited warranty, unless of course an extended warranty is bought at additional cost.

But, did you know that there's a U.S. made product that comes with the promise It works or we fix it free™ ?

Like ourselves, it might have surprised you to learn that the product is a metal lighter called Zippo® made in Bradford, PA, where a museum is dedicated to it. The guarantee has come with the lighter since its invention in the early 1930s.

Zippo Manufacturing Company has been in the same PA location since 1932. Several years ago, the company manufactured its 600,000,000 lighter. Bradford is home to the Zippo/Case Museum, the only place in the world to find a complete selection of Zippo and Case knife products. (W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company is an American manufacturer of hand-crafted knives based in Bradford since 1905. The company was acquired by Zippo Manufacturing Company in 1993.) 

The U.S. flag behind us is composed entirely of 3,393 Zippo lighters

Our visit to the Zippo Museum was unexpected as we were driving to Warren, PA, to meet-up with a fellow blogger. After seeing a highway billboard, we backtracked to locate the museum, which was still open.

In over 90 years, no one has ever spent money on the mechanical repair of a Zippo pocket lighter regardless of its age or condition. Even though there are fewer folks smoking today, this lighter has become part of the American culture. It's remained a global icon for durability and reliability over decades, especially in war time.. 

Loyal owners have credited a Zippo® lighter with saving them from danger or even saving their lives in the darkest situations. Lighters have been mangled, swallowed by fish, drowned for years and then found again. The fact that a Zippo lighter works for years or it's fixed free of charge has generated letters from owners sharing their experiences.

The Zippo Back Story

George Blaisdell, Zipo inventor

The start the lighter's history dates to 1932 when George G. Blaisdell watched a friend struggle to use an Austrian-made lighter one-handed. He saw that while the lighter worked well in the wind due to its unique chimney design, it was difficult to use and required two hands and the thin metal surface was easily dented. The friend said he dismissed the difficulties as the lighter worked well in windy conditions.

Blaisdell, an inventor, worked in the Blaisdell Machinery Company, a family business, in Bradford, PA. In late 1932, he decided out to reconstruct the Austrian lighter into an easier to use lighter. After ordering samples and obtaining U.S. distribution rights, Blaisdell redesigned the lighter case, refined the windproof chimney and attached a hinged lid easily used with one hand. The name came about because Blaisdell liked the sound of the word zipper. After forming variations of the word settled on Zippo, which he felt had a modern sound.

First Zippo factory in Bradford, PA

The company started business over a garage on Boylston Street with 3 people, including Blaisdell who managed sales. In January 1933, the first Zippo® pocket lighter was produced. The application for the original Zippo® patent was filed in May 1934 and was granted in March 1936. While manufacturing standards have changed since then, the lighters are manufactured to the same exacting standards.

Early Zippo lighter factory

Blaisdell was determined to create an affordable lighter that was windproof and guaranteed to always work. He did both and in 1933, the first pocket lighter was marketed and sold for $1.95, backed by the now famous and unconditional lifetime guarantee. The application for the original Zippo® patent was filed in May 1934 and  was granted in March 1936. 

In the mid-1930s, the company's first major sales boost came when an Iowa insurance company ordered 200 engraved lighters as contest prizes for its sales staff. Shortly after, Kendall Refining Company, another Bradford, PA company, placed an order for 500 lighters as gifts for employees and customers and emblazoned with the oil company logo. These lighters believed to be the first company-advertised lighters produced by Zippo® have become highly-prized collectibles.

The Zippo® lighter's national advertising began in 1937 with a Christmas season ad in Esquire magazine.

By the 1940s, the lighter was so popular that Blaisdell bought a larger building on Barbour St in Bradford, PA. The factory was in the back and the office in front. Throughout the 1940s, the company acquired several more buildings and was able to build the factory across the street and use the original building for office space.

World War II Affected Production

In 1941, after the U.S. entered the war, Zippo Manufacturing Company dedicated all production to the military and ceased production of lighters for consumer markets from 1942 to 1945. When the government requisitioned all brass for wartime efforts, this led to production of the steel-case Zippo® lighter covered with black paint then baked to a crackle finish to prevent rusting. 

During WWII Zippo produced lighters exclusively for the U.S. military

Millions of U.S. military personnel carried the lighter, a significant factor that soon established the lighter as an icon worldwide. Supplying the military market resulted in full production for the PA plant which in turn, which made the company financially stable.

During the war, Blaisdell kept in contact with war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who wrote feature columns for Scripps-Howard Newspapers. Pyle lived the war next to soldiers in the trenches and sailors heading for sea battle and coined the phrase GI Joe. Blaisdell sent Pyle 50 to 100 lighters monthly to distribute among the GIs. The two men exchanged letters during the war years until Pyle was killed by a Japanese sniper in 1945.

War correspondent Ernie Pyle distributed Zippo lighters in WW II

In 1945, when the war ended, Zippo Manufacturing returned to producing and selling lighters for the consumer market. In its first 10 years, the company produced over 1 million lighters, by 1947, production had reached the 10 million mark. Today, service members buy the lighters as personal items, not as government-issued equipment, at military post exchange (PX) stores. 

The Zippo Advertising Story

One of Blaisdell's most popular advertising promotions was the Zippo Car. In 1947, he bought a Chrysler Saratoga and had it customized to promote sales The car had giant lighter doors with lids that opened and closed and a neon flame when the top was opened. The Zippo car led parades in all then 48 states. 

Original Zippo Lighter car in the 1950s

In the 1950s, the Zippo Car traveled cross-country advertising the lighter with the lifetime guarantee. Then in the early 1970s, the car disappeared from a Pittsburgh mechanic shop after the shop had closed. To this day, its disappearance remains an unsolved mystery. The company purchased a Chrysler New Yorker in 1996 and began modifications based on archival photos of the original. The replica which debuted in Bradford, PA, is often seen at festivals, trade shows and sporting events.

1950s point of purchase counter top display

Beginning in the mid-1950s, date codes were stamped on the bottom of every Zippo® lighter. Although the original purpose was for quality control, these codes have become an invaluable tool for collectors.

A Zippo lighter found in a fish stomach made national news

In 1961, a story provided a real-life advertisement for the brand after a fisherman caught an 18-pound Northern Pike in Three Mile Bay, NY. When cleaning the fish, a Zippo® lighter was found in its stomach. Not only was it in perfect condition, but it lit on the first attempt. Zippo® used this story in advertisements to highlight the lighter's durability and reliability. 

In 1950, Zippo® was issued a second patent. Today, the design of the lighter remains basically the same with minor improvements. Starting in the mid-1950’s, date codes were stamped on the bottom of every lighter. The original purpose was for quality control, but these codes have become an invaluable tool for collectors.

The lighters have become a symbol of American culture featured in Hollywood films, Broadway and the music industry as well as advertisements. Over the years, the lighter has been featured in over 2,000 movies, stage plays and TV shows and been featured in such diverse productions as I Love Lucy, The X-Men and Hairspray – the Musical. Also, the famous Zippo® “click” sound has been sampled on songs. The lighters have been featured on album covers, tattooed on rockers’ skin, and wielded in Rolling Stone photo shoots.

In the 1960’s concert-goers began raising the lighter's flame as a salute to favorite performers, this gesture became known as the Zippo® Moment. 

Actor Bruce Willis famously used a Zippo lighter in the film, Die Hard

In 1962, Zippo produced its first non-lighter product, a steel pocket tape measure, or that had a design resembling the famous lighter. Other items have been added and deleted from the Zippo® line since then. Many of these have been geared to the promotional products division and included key chains, golf greenskeepers, pen-and-pencil sets and the ZipLight pocket flashlight.

A 1962 pocket measure carried the same repair guarantee as the lighter

During the 1970s, the company began expanding to overseas markets. In 2002, Zippo® obtained trademark registration for the shape of the lighter, a major milestone that helped to protect the brand from counterfeiters. 

Display of advertisements featuring the Zippo lighter

The 15,000-square-foot Zippo Museum opened in July 1997 and since then has hosted over 100,000 visitors annually. Collectors and tourists travel from throughout the U.S. and worldwide to tour the extensive exhibits which include:

• Zippo Rocks!, a collection of Zippo's role in music throughout the years.
• An Ally for the Allies, an exploration of Zippo's WW II contributions.
• The Greatest Supporting Actor of all Times, an illustration of each time a Zippo lighter has been in the Hollywood spotlight.
• It Works or We Fix It Free, a look inside Zippo's famous repair center.

Repair shop at Zippo Museum

Display of damaged lighters was outside museum repair shop

Company founder, George Blaisdell, who passed away in October 1978 at age 83, is remembered today for inventing the Zippo lighter, and also for his generosity. In the 1980s, the company was owned by six Blaisdell family members, including two daughters and their children. Today, grandson George B. Duke is the sole owner and Chairman of the Board of Zippo Manufacturing Company. 

Patrick is seated on a chair with a back made entirely of Zippo lighters

There's no charge to tour the museum, our 1 hour+ tour was self-guided. Stopping at this museum was an unexpected detour, but the displays were interesting and informative. They showed how a single product had integrated itself in lives through the years and still includes a lifetime guarantee. 

Museum of Glass

Most folks have heard of the Emerald City made famous in The Wizard of Oz.

While that was city was fictional, there's a very real city in south-central New York nicknamed the Crystal City because of its connection with the glass industry. Perhaps. you already know its name — Corning, NY — or know and have used many of the company's inventions and products. 

This city is where we visited the Corning Museum of Glass, a world-class museum completely dedicated to glass. This visit was the first part of our recent PA road trip which included a visit with long-time blog friend, Linda and husband, Bob. (Details on our meet-up will be in a future post.)

Internet photo as it would not have been possible for me to show its size 

The museum is located in Corning, just north of the Pennsylvania border and is open daily from 9-5. The standard adult admission is $25 with a discounted rate of $22 for senior, military and college students and $12.50 for local residents, free for members and children under 17. General admission is valid for two consecutive days.

Corning Glass Works established the Corning Museum of Glass in 1951 as an educational institution to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original company which was renamed Corning Inc. in 1989. This is the world’s largest glass museum dedicated completely to glass. Multiple modern buildings that comprise the grounds are all, not unexpectedly, made of glass. Visitors come here worldwide and an estimated 300,000 annually view collections of over 50,000 glass objects, some over 3,500 years old. The museum is also one of the premier glass working schools in the world.  

Once entering the museum, we were struck by the size of the piece in the center of the lobby, Fern Green Tower by American artist Dale Chihulymade. The glass and steel sculpture was constructed in 1999 and redone in 2013 increasing its height from 11 to 15-1/2 feet. The sculpture was disassembled, cleaned and a steel structure was added. The sculpture was then reassembled with 200 additional blown glass pieces for a total of 712 handmade elements attached to the steel structure. 

In case anyone was curious, the Corning Museum of Glass has never been a showcase for the Corning company or its products. This non-profit institution is dedicated only to preserve and expand the knowledge of a glass through its history, culture, science and design.

Armory Houghton

The history of the city's connection with glass dates to the 1800s. Elias Hungerford, a Corning businessman had a patent for glass window blinds, but there were no glassmaking facilities in the region. Hungerford formed a business partnership withArmory Houghton, owner of the Brooklyn Flint Glass Company. 

If you're wondering why the owner of a Brooklyn-based company would relocate to a small town, the answer is cost. Labor costs were cheaper in Corning than in NY, plus there were natural resources of coal, sand and limestone, all used in glassmaking. A canal and railroad network provided better access to other supplies and sales markets. The company was renamed the Corning Flint Glass Works and later incorporated as Corning Glass Works. 

While the company was being established, lead glass was becoming popular in the American market and Corning, NY, soon became the leading center for this glass style. Multiple cutting firms started as professional glassmakers worldwide spurred the city's growth and reputation. and region. Corning became the center of glass research and became nicknamed the Crystal City.

In 1877, Charles Houghton (son of Armory Houghton) designed and patented a new signal lamp for the railroad that resisted dirt, snow and ice buildup making it a big improvement. In the 1880s. Corning also has a long history producing glass for lighthouses through its work with the Fresnel lens system used in them.

Corning manufactured the glass used in lighthouses

Around the turn of the 20th century, Corning became the country’s leading producer of light bulbs. In 1879, a 32-year old inventor, Thomas Edison, sought the help of Corning Glass Works with his idea for the light bulb. Edison needed the perfect glass to enclose delicate filaments of his incandescent lamps. By 1880, Edison designated Corning as his sole supplier of the glss bulbs.

Full size glass blower sculptures in Coming Museum of Glass

Corning manufactured glass tubes used in primitive versions of the radio and then applied this knowledge to mass produce cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in the early 1940s at the dawn of the TV age. By the 1950s, Corning was the top supplier of CRTs; by the 1960s, the company was producing 100 percent of the world’s TV glass, which included TV bulbs and replacement bulbs.

These events provided financial stability and led the way for glass being used in science and technology.

Tower of 600 glass bowls, Corning Museum of Glass

Corning Glass Works soon was a worldwide leader in glass technology and invented many well known products. Pyrex glassware used in households for baking and in labs. Corning Ware was one that many families, including our own, used daily. Another invention was fiber optics, the vehicle through which light travels and speeds across the internet, connecting people. Corning also developed Gorilla Glass years before it was used for cell phone screens. The company has been involved with everything glass-connected including thermometers, space shuttle windows, telescope and lighthouse lenses. 

Aerial views of 1972 flooding from Hurricane Agnes (Corning Museum of Glass)

On June 23, 1972, Hurricane Agnes severely damaged the museum when the Chemung River overflowed into the streets of Corning, NY. Floodwater rose to 5-1/2 feet on the main floor flooding rare books in the museum's collection. A case of 600 collapsed and the books were covered by mud and shards of glass panes. Half of the entire collection was damaged in the flood; over 500 of the museum's 13,000 objects sustained damage.

Damage to the Corning Museum of Glass library was extensive (Internet source)

Thomas S. Buechner, former museum director labelled this: the greatest single catastrophe borne by an American museum. The damage to exhibits and the library took years to recover; however, the Glass Museum pledged to reopen which it did on August 1, just 39 days after the flooding. The museum also provided financial assistance to help the town and its residents in recovery efforts. (I watched several videos of the widespread flood devastation in Corning, NY. All above photos are from the Corning Museum of Glass.)

Sticker on glass of museum lobby shows flood water height

The museum expanded in 1980 and again in the mid 1990s-2001, when it added a glass blowing studio, the current Contemporary Glass Gallery and Innovation Center. It went through another expansion in 2015 opening the Contemporary Art+Design Wing, currently the largest space in the world dedicated to art and design in glass.

Steuben glassware in Carder Gallery, Corning Museum of Glass

Corning also has a long-standing association with Steuben crystal. The brand was re-acquired by Corning Inc. after being sold and temporarily shut down and was then licensed to The Corning Museum of Glass in 2013. The museum's Carder Gallery is dedicated to Frederick Carder, the English designer who managed Steuben Glass Works from its 1903 founding in 1903 to 1932. The gallery showcases Steuben vases, goblets and other ornamental pieces.

Amphitheater Hot Shop at Corning Museum of Glass (Internet source)

The Steuben factory, once adjacent to the glass museum, was renovated to become the 500-seat Amphitheater Hot Shop, which preserves the footprint of the original factory. The Hot Shop is one of the world’s largest facilities for live glass blowing demos and glass design sessions. We learned how melted sand can be transformed into works of art. Most of the narrated demos are 30 minutes and repeated several times daily. (I was so caught up in the process and "forgot" to take photos.)

The gift store of the Corning Museum of Glass is on the entire lower floor

Many pieces created in Hot Shop demos are sold in the museum's extensive gift store. We toured it, but didn't bring anything home despite seeing a wonderful glass blown penguin at a mere $100, sadly without a frog companion.

We saw a demo on flameworking described as glass working with a 4,000°F torch.

These delicate pieces were created by the process of flameworking

Our recent rainy day visit was a perfect way to enjoy several hours in this museum which is divided into distinct galleries, many of which are permanent. 

Contemporary Art+Design Wing, Corning Museum of Glass

Most of our visit was spent in the Contemporary Art+Design Wing mentioned earlier. The contemporary galleries there feature stark white walls and floors and soaring ceilings with skylights. The main gallery includes 70+ international works from the museum's permanent collection, many are large and visually impressive.

Forest Glass by Lino Tagliapietra, Corning Museum of Glass

Endeavor. a work by Italian glassblower Lino Tagliapietra, that has been viewed as a flock of birds, a school of fish or a fleet of boats. Tagliapietra was inspired by the floating gondolas in Venice  gathering for the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin. 

The 80-year old Tagliapietra is a leader of the 20th century Italian glassblowing revival and is considered a master of traditional techniques. His work is known for its elegance, complexity and visual poetry. 

Forest Glass by Katherine Gray, Corning Museum of Glass

Forest Glass by Canadian glass artist Katherine Gray was created from 2,000 found drinking glasses in shades of green and brown. Gray created the piece by collecting glass from thrift shops and stores, then assembling the recycled glass into the shape of trees. Even looking at this piece from several angles, I failed to see the forest.

Here's photos of other exhibits seen in galleries the Contemporary Art+Design Wing. Unfortunately, I didn't get information on the names of these pieces or the skilled artists who created them.

The Mad Hatter, perhaps?

There was no car or more tires, only a single glass tire

A unique offering for visitors to the Corning Museum of Glass is the chance to try glassmaking at The Make Your Own Glass studio. The studio is in a separate walkable facility from the museum. Visitors working under the guidance of experienced glass blowers could select a glass design and try glass blowing, fusing and sandblasting. 

Each project was completed by a single person, safety equipment was provided and required. At the time of our visit, participants could elect to create a pendant, ornament or small glass pumpkin for which cost ranged from $30 to $40. From what we saw, experienced personnel did most of the work and participants did more watching than actual hands-on. Those ovens were really hot! We only watched.

This has been dubbed the world's largest glass pumpkin weighing in at 70 pounds with a circumference of 97 inches. It was said to have taken 50 hours and several failed attempts until its 2009 successful creation. It was made by the museum's Hot Glass team which also presents daily glass blowing demos.

After Thoughts — This week, I starting thinking of word combinations with glass in them and here's just a few: glass slipper, magnifying glass, glass house, glass jaw, sea glass, spy glass, safety glass, broken glass, looking glass, stained glass, shot glass, cut glass, optical glass, shattered glass, glass ceiling, glassy eyed, under glass.

Also, thought of phrases that include the word glass, like: glass half full (or empty), through the looking glass, through a glass darkly, looking through rose-colored glasses, raise your glass, smooth as glass, live in a glass house, a glass in every half pound (Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate ad), bottle and glass (Cockney rhyming slang for arse) — there's others and most likely you know some as well.

Glass has become part of our everyday lives not only in form and function, but language too.