[Joseph]

Stained Glass and Elwood Indiana.
It was nearly 30 years ago that I started making stained glass lamp shades. My first ones were all 14 to 16 Pieces of glass around the bottom. When I learned how to put the top crown around, I took about 3 or 4 to Bob and Maud St Clair’s show room. One of those had 16 narrow pieces of glass around the bottom but was quite tall for its width. I only made one of that style in all the many years that followed. However it came back to me for repair about 10 years ago. I checked and I found that I had made 1 extra piece of glass for that shade and all I had to do was to cut the proper length and it was repaired.
For several months and maybe years only Bob and Maude bought lamp shades from me until Joe St Clair called one day and wanted to start handling them. Bob was so angry that he wanted to quite using my lamp shades entirely. It wasn’t very long until Joe was selling more shades than Bob. I purchased 2 bases from Bob with the Greentown Glass in them. They were all round balls. Joe used a different pattern, a flatter base with a longer center part and a rounder more pear shaped top above that. I purchased a set of the shorter lamp bases like for a bed room.
There was a brief time that we moved to Tucson, Arizona for a period of 5 months. I made at least 1 trip back with lamp shades and then when we moved we brought enough glass and lead back so I could get a small order out. I called Joe and He took what I had made up and ordered more. We set up there at Joe’s shop for the Glass Festival several times. I sold my shades and also made small items while people watched.
I had not heard from Joe for about 2 weeks so I called to see what they might need. I was shocked to find out that Joe had passed away that Saturday before. We went for the Viewing that same day.
I do not recall how long it was before that Joe Rice started in the shop that Bob and Maud had been in prior to their passing away. We made lamp shades both in Greentown, La Fayette, and Remington, Indiana. Then when we moved to Gilmer, Texas about 19 years ago We continued to make one to 2 trips each year with as many as 90 some in one load.
I recall something that Joe St Clair told me one day. He said a lot of these fellows get off from work and go here there and party. I just can’t wait to get home to my lovely wife. I told him that I had heard that starting the next year he was going to quit the making of the bases. He said, I don’t want to die in harness like the rest of them have. He did not stop making the bases as I had told him that was our income as the Churches that I Pastured did not pay enough for us to live on. How ever God has been good to us, even when we moved to Tucson for the 5 months, we still sold lamp Shades.

Pastor Jesse L. Bemis
1108 Mitchell St
Gilmer, Texas. 75644 Phone 903 843 2997