By DARLA MCCAMMON
and DARLENE ROMANO
Guest Columnists

The Warsaw Cut Glass Company opened in 1911 and is still going strong, thanks to Randy Kirkendall and his wife, Linda, who purchased it in 1980. Kirkendall is a master glass cutter. The Warsaw Cut Glass Company has a beautiful showroom open to the public. Photo provided by Darla McCammon.

WARSAW — For all our glass lovers and collectors, this week we are going to introduce a fascinating glass museum and a cut glass factory in northern Indiana.

Greentown Glass started out as The Indiana Tumbler & Goblet Company in 1894. They first pressed crystal glass, but grew rapidly and by 1897 they were producing numerous transparent colors.

In 1901 glass chemist Jacob Rosenthal came to Greentown and perfected opaque brown glass, which was a market sensation. Unfortunately, the factory was destroyed in a fire in 1903 and within days, most of the glass workers left town looking for work and the factory was never reopened.

The glass produced by Greentown Glass was created and sold to vendors who usually offered the glass pieces as an add-on incentive with one of their products. The glass items created by the Greentown Glass company are highly valued by collectors. Greentown Glass pieces did not include a maker’s mark, so it is a challenge to identify pieces.

A group called the National Greentown Glass Association was created to promote Greentown Glass preservation and collecting. The Greentown Glass Museum was dedicated June 13, 1970, which was the 65th anniversary of the fire that destroyed the Greentown Glass factory.

There are over 2,000 pieces of glass and historical items on display. The museum is located inside the Greentown City Hall at 112 N. Meridian St.

The museum is open from the first Saturday in April through Nov. 15. Within these dates, the museum is open 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call (765) 628-6206.

Another interesting place to visit to view beautifully etched glass and glass art is Warsaw Cut Glass. The company was opened in 1911 by Chicago’s Johnson-Carlson Cut Glass Company.

The main shaft and leather belts that drive two floors of cutting and 55 workers, which was installed in 1912, is still being used today. The company is now owned by master glass cutter Randy Kirkendall and his wife, Linda, who purchased it in 1980.

A beautiful showroom at Warsaw Cut Glass is open to the public. The showroom is located at 505 S. Detroit St., Warsaw. The hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (574) 267-6581.

Events

• Lakeland Art Center & Gallery: The gallery reopened March 1 with exhibiting artists Samara Dulik and Kim Marcadis. Dulik has created her own brand of painting that highlights color through the introduction of graffitism, using acrylics, spray paints, inks, Posca pens and at times, finger painting.

Marcadis creates functional pottery with lots of color and texture using many different processes, techniques and materials. The interesting and beautiful work of both artists will be on display through March 26 at the gallery located at 302 E. Winona Ave. in Warsaw. The gallery hours are 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For more information call (574) 267-5568 or (574) 457-6085 or email [email protected].

• Warsaw City Hall Art Gallery: Local artist Deana Harvey will be displaying her artwork through the end of March. If you have already been to her exhibit, make sure to stop by again, as she has switched out her artwork to provide a fresh showing.

To exhibit at Warsaw City Hall Art Gallery, contact Darla McCammon, curator, at (574) 527-4044 (leave a message) or [email protected].

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