Speaker to discuss glass history at Mount Pleasant museum

Since its founding in 1937, the Island Mould and Manufacturing Company of Wheeling, West Virginia, has had a long and fascinating history.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, John Weishar, a third generation co-owner of Island Glass, will discuss the company’s prominent role in the region’s glass production as the featured speaker at the Mt. Pleasant Glass Museum, 402 E. Main Street in Mt. Pleasant. Admission is $3.
During his presentation, Weishar, a resident of Wheeling, will elaborate on the company’s history, especially its long relationship with the glass industry in Mount Pleasant.
“In addition to making glass moulds for most of the glass houses in the tri-state area, including Imperial, Steuben, Fenton, Anchor Hocking and Libbeys, Island Mould also made them for Mount Pleasant’s three major glass companies – Bryce, Lenox, and L.E. Smith,” said Cassandra Vivian, museum curator.
The Weishar family’s involvement in the glass industry actually goes back much further than 1937. In the early 1920s, Joseph Dewey (J. D.) Weishar began working at the Central Glass Works in Wheeling where his father, Joseph John, worked the “hot end.”
By the late 1920s, J. D. was named the company’s mould shop foreman and mould designer.
Eventually, Central closed down the mould shop and concentrated only on glass production.
Seeing the need for moulds in the surrounding region, J. D. rented space in the Central factory to supply the glass industry’s need for this vital manufacturing component.
When Central closed its doors in 1939, J. D. moved his enterprise to his Aunt Margaret’s three-car garage on Wheeling Island, which lent the fledgling company its name.
The year 1947 proved an important one for the company, when it not only incorporated but also moved to its present location at 84 Joan Street, just off Route 40 in Wheeling’s Glenwood neighborhood.
“At the moment, the company is surviving,” said Weishar.
“But we’re also having a problem with imports into the country from mould makers in China and Turkey. At our peak, we had about 17 employees in the late 1980s and 90s when we supplied moulds to glass makers in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, but also as far away as British Columbia and South Africa. Currently we have six employees, some of which have been with the company for years.”
Management consists of Tom Weishar, who functions as the company engineer and shop foreman, and John Weishar, who’s responsible for the administrative duties and also occasionally helps out in the shop. The Island Mould website claims that over the past 60 years, the company has expanded its facility to include more than 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space and is at the forefront of technology, offering everything needed to produce moulds for the glass industry. (Pattern making, mouldmaking, and talented craftsman).
The current generation of Weishars has brought newer and more sophisticated ways of producing mould equipment – from 30-inch light shades to votive cups, from pharmaceuticals to solar energy panels.
“The most famous design of Island Moulds is the Moon and Star pattern which was the most popular patterns of the L. E. Smith factory,” Vivian said. “L. E. Smith produced a number of products in the line including glassware, candy dishes, canisters, and even a punch bowl. However, it was not the only factory to buy the Moon and Star moulds from Island Moulds, so the various pieces were produced by a number of factories.”
In June, the Society of Moon and Star Pattern Glass held its annual meeting in Wheeling. At that time, close to 50 of the members toured Island Mould with both John and Tom Weishar leading half the group each through the factory.
Over the years, John Weishar said he’s given talks about his third generation family business at Moon and Star conventions and glass collectors clubs. After Vivian contacted him to inquire if the company had any items it might want to donate to the glass museum, further discussion lit on the idea of having him give a talk as part of the museum’s monthly lecture series.
After cleaning out the warehouse, Weishar found some Old Master moulds, used to duplicate moulds for glass maker clients, as well as patterns for the L. E. Smith Company. Weishar said he will try to take the items to the museum and add them to its collections during his talk. Since its founding, glass makers have sent Island Mould samples of its glass production. In the beginning, Weishar said his grandfather just gave them away to people who said they liked them. Eventually, Island Glass began saving the samples, which are now a part of the company’s glass museum.
Currently, the museum has a collection of between 5,000 and 10,000 glass pieces. Tours are available by appointment only by phoning 304-233-3970. There is no charge for the tours.
When asked about the future of Island Mould, Weishar said he just doesn’t know the answer.
“The people now buying glass are usually older folks,” he said. “The younger generation is more into iPods and computer games than buying glass. We’re still making moulds for things like airplane lenses and industrial lighting as well as moulds for collectors who’d like to add their logo, a new date or a commemorative message to their new glass pieces. But as to the future of the company — that’s a good question.”