These first essays I'm sharing with you are from Essay 1. The assignment was to choose a topic that connects to local culture in some way and write an expository essay on that topic. Students were encouraged to show rather than tell their audiences about the topics. They were encouraged to explore their hometowns and surroundings in a way many of them had never done before.
Today's essay was written by Julia Rutkowsky. Her essay is so relevant to our region because it tells the story of Mt. Pleasant, a town that saw a growing industry raise the spirits of its residents, provide jobs and security, and eventually diminish, leaving it its wake citizens struggling to find another means of employment and essentially life. Although the town is named and the industry is glass, this story is similar to so many others in the river towns surrounding Pittsburgh who were once home to booming steel, glass, and aluminum industries.
It's a sad story, Julia. But thanks for sharing.
Mt. Pleasant and its Glorious Glass
By Julia Rutkowsky
Edited by Vishal Jariwala
Abstract
The reason that the Mt. Pleasant Borough was able to flourish in the 1900s is said to be partly credited to a man by the name of James Bryce. The glass industry as predicted by Bryce was a huge success within the community and with the individual families. But by the end of the 1900s the glass factories almost became extinct, leaving the borough and the families that depended on them devastated. Despite the demise, citizens still honor what the glass industry did for their small borough
The coming of the glass industry was said, by many, to be the bright new beginning that the small borough of Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania needed. People in the borough did not hesitate to embrace this new opportunity that created jobs for nearly half of its residents (Collier). As Mount Pleasant began honoring the great heritage that built its local economy, the industry began to decline. Like so many river towns in western Pennsylvania, the small borough experienced the rise and fall of its sole employer but through respect and appreciation continues to celebrate the glorious glass to this day anyway.
The birth of the glass industry within the borough began with a 10-year-old boy by the name of James Bryce. Bryce came to Mt. Pleasant borough from Scotland in 1827, and brought along with him the fascination of making glass and a dream of creating the glass industry, which would become the new way of life for the inhabitants of the small borough. James Bryce had the belief that glass was the future, and that he was the man who would help bring this new era (Mellon). When he was 77 years of age and on his death bed, Bryce was finally able to witness his lifelong dream becoming a reality, when his two grandsons built the first glass company called Bryce Brothers in Mt. Pleasant borough. Bryce Brothers still stands today but is better known as Lenox Crystal named after a man who bought into Bryce Brother’s company in the 1960s (Edgar).
The wonderful handcrafted, blown glass and the increase in revenue it generated was an eye opener to many. The Bryce Brother’s success encouraged a young man by the name of L.E Smith to devote his time to becoming the founder of the next glass company, L.E. Smith Glass, which was just as prestigious within the borough (Forbes). Smith wasn’t the only one to acknowledge the Bryce Brother’s triumphs. Within the next few decades, glass factories such as Jeannette Sheet Glass and Anchor Hocking were emerging in many of the surrounding communities (Mellon).
With Bryce Brother’s and the other companies taking off, the glass industry was the main reason for the survival and growth of these small communities. In 1896 when the first glass company was started the population for the borough was estimated to be between 800-1000 residents; within three decades that population almost tripled to around 2200-2400 residents (Bryant). The rise of the glass companies is also credited for a giant spike in the borough’s revenue. People were drawn from all over to purchase the unique, fine, exquisite glass art.
Not only did the glass industry benefit the community by expanding its revenue and population, but it also served many of families by giving them employment opportunities that spanned several generations. Throughout the 1900s the glass companies were responsible for employing almost 40% of the boroughs residents (Collier). With that in mind, it would be quite accurate to say that the socioeconomic status of individual families depended on the glass factories. Until the 1980s the majority of Mt. Pleasant Borough’s families only had one working family member. Still, the family member was able to provide for a family of 6-7 with ease on the wages provided by the glass companies (Mellon). A former Lenox employee recalls his financial situation, “I started working at Smith Glass when I was about 20, when my first son was born. I was able to provide for my 6 kids and wife on my wages alone” (Shubek).
The community and the employees of the glass companies were not arrogant to the fact that the glass industry was one of the most influential factors that allowed their small borough to flourish. Seeing the effect of the glass industry, in 1984 the borough decided to give recognition to the industry, by holding a weeklong festival in its honor referred to as the Mt. Pleasant Glass and Ethnic Festival (Collier). The festival was first started to celebrate the tremendous impact the glass industry had on the borough and to admire the fine art of such an industry. At the festival you are free to roam up and down the Main Street of Mt. Pleasant and get lost in the numerous delicate glass treasures produced by not only the local companies, but also by private producers and companies from different areas (Thomas). The festival showcases an exhibit of fine glass artifacts, and a history of the glass industry throughout the years. “It was just a way of remembering what made Mt. Pleasant what it was” (Thomas).
This celebration was started in the early 1980s, but ironically by the end of that decade, the glass industry was on the verge of extinction. The glass companies of Mt. Pleasant Borough were once so commemorated for their high employment rates were then being scrutinized for their high unemployment. With advances in technology glass products were able to be made all over and for less cost. The decrease demand led to poor sales, which did not generate enough revenue. Lenox, the former Bryce Brother Company, was forced to lay off over half of their employees (Edgar). These unemployed workers waited nervously hoping to be called back to work. In the next few years to follow very few were called back only be to be laid off at a later time. Unable to thrive in the current time Lenox was shut down leaving roughly 4,500 people without jobs (Bryant). The unemployment rate for the borough reached an all time high when Lenox shut its doors, just the opposite of what it did when it first opened in 1896 (Mellon).
In the 1990s, Smith, a neighboring glass company, seemed to be adjusting to the changing time, and it seemed that they would come out on top. Many previous employees of Lenox were now employed through Smith. “It was all I ever did; it seemed like the most logical decision to work there” (Thomas). Although Smith outlasted Lenox, it was only by a few years. Smith in the years to follow began to feel the changing times and found that it was unable to keep up. Smith eventually began to lay off people and it too closed its doors leaving many people jobless and scared. Workers who had spent 5, 10, even 50 years doing this type of work were forced out, made to start all over. Incomes were decreased and families struggled living pay day to pay day. “There were times I would write a check knowing that by the time they would cash it my unemployment check should be there.” Some people, who were let go, were unable to find another job because of their age, or lack of experience.
The glass industry without a doubt helped to mold Mt. Pleasant borough into what it is today. It was responsible for supporting not only the individual family, but also the entire community as well. Throughout the 1900s the glass companies of Mt. Pleasant served the people of the town with not only its fine glass but with its fine opportunities. So when the end of the 1900s came, the devastation faced by so many was inevitable when the factories shut their doors. Although the glass industry no longer dominates the borough, the borough does not forget the time when the industry thrived. Residents continue to celebrate glass and the history of it by holding the annual glass festival. “I still go to celebrate, even though I was one who lost my job. I look at it as a way to honor what gave so many of us such wonderful opportunities” (Thomas).
Works Cited
Bryant, Joseph R. “A History on the Glass.” December 2007. Web. 24 February 2010.
Collier, Drew. “Celebrating Glass.” July 2009. Web. 24 February 2010.
Edgar, Ryan. “Bryce Brothers Company Carries on Old Tradition.” Mount Journal 1 May 1984: A01. Print.
Forbes, Marilyn. “Mount Pleasant Festival 23 Years and Growing.” Tribune Review 20 September 2009: B2. Print.
Mellon, Steve. “Born in W. Pa., Glass Gobblers Hold Tradition.” Pittsburgh Post Gazette Pittsburghpostgazette.com 8 November 2007: D12. Print.
Shubek, Martin. Personal Interview. 1 March 2010.
Thomas, Frank. Personal Interview. 4 March 2010.
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