Week of July 26th – West Virginia

The Mountain State – finally a state nickname that makes sense as West Virginia is located entirely within the Appalachian Mountain range. After that the state’s identity gets pretty muddy. Some refer to it as the northernmost southeastern state, while others think of it as the southernmost northeastern state. Add to that, the confusion as to what side of the Civil War to fight on and you have a group of very confused citizens.

In the early 1900’s West Virginia, rich in coal and natural gas, attracted more than its share of glass and pottery companies, many that are successful to this day.

Fenton Art Glass Co., Williamstown, WV, once know for its Carnival and milk glass is still creating glass pieces for collectors around the world.

Blenko Glass Co., Milton, WV, started as a sheet glass company which provided glass for the stained glass windows of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and developed into a company known for it’s stem and tableware, some of which finds itself in the White house.

My favorite, however, is the Homer Laughlin China Co., Newell, WV, which is best known for producing the Fiesta line of dinnerware. Many years ago I worked for a company that distributed Fiestaware and over the years collected (legitimately, of course) quite of bit of this tableware in a multitude of colors. Like the original line, current day Fiesta features an evolving pallet of colors. Since there are colors currently available that didn’t exist back then and I hadn’t added anything new to the collection in years, I saw the beginning of a celebration brewing.

Another company that moved to WV for its natural resources was Fostoria Glass Company in 1891. I never cared much for this line so I was more than happy to omit it from this narrative but guilt got the better of me and there you go, I mentioned Fostoria.

In my cyber travels I wasn’t seeing a lot about the cuisine of this Appalachian state so a shopping celebration worked for me.

Fiestaware is available in most major department stores so it was easy to add “gusto” bowls in turquoise, peacock, tangerine and lemongrass to my collection. But why stop there?

Fenton and Blenko glass have a strong presence on eBay and since I was going for the spirit of the glassware not the authenticity I took a chance on a couple of pieces that seemed to represent the personalities of these 2 glass manufacturers. I purchased a Fenton milk glass vase with a goldenrod interior and a crimped edge. I have no idea the era of the piece but it was cute so who cares. The Blenko piece I purchased was a watermelon vase supposedly representative of the Blenko designs of the 50’s and 60’s. If when it arrives it’s stamped “Made in China” on the bottom I’ll let you know.

Color in West Virginia with the original Fiesta pitcher design and head southwest to the “Magnolia” state – Mississippi. 38 down – 14 to go.