January 1949: The Way it Was

By Mark Nye
Issue No. 379 - November 2004

The following article was originally published in the Jan 1, 1949 issue of National Glass Budget, a trade publication for the American glass industry. Optimism seemed to be the order of the day. A new catalog, the first since January, 1940 would be issued six months later and the first new colors since before the war started would soon follow. Even in the face of all this, the seeds of what was to follow had been planted, a few of which were the new furnace and the debt incurred to build it.
- Mark A. Nye

CAMBRIDGE GLASS CO. HAS OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK, 1949

The 750 employees of the Cambridge Glass Company, of Cambridge, Ohio, which have an annual payroll of $1,750,000 are virtually assured now of steady employment throughout 1949 because of the large backlog of orders that has been accumulated. Announcement was made on December 21st by Wilbur l. Orme, Sr., president, to the above effect and it was reported in the "Daily Jeffersonian" of Cambridge. The announcement brought not only yuletide happiness to the company and their families but to the entire community. Mr. Orme also announced that two of his sons, Arthur B. Orme and W. L. Orme, Jr., have been elected to the company's board of directors, and that Arthur B. Orme was named vice president of the company.

Mr. Orme further stated that, "We are going into the new year with a substantial backlog of orders and we are confident of satisfactory business throughout the year. This will mean that we will be able to provide our employees with steady employment in the new year. During the passing year we have operated at capacity and our products have met with wide popularity among the buying public. with the orders we now have on our books and the prospects we see for additional business, there is every reason to believe now we will be able to maintain our capacity operations through 1949. It brings us a great deal of pleasure to give our employees this hopeful outlook for next year at this season."

Members of the board are Wilbur L. Orme, Sr., G. Roy Boyd, William C. McCartney, Marjorie B. Orme, and Harold H. Burt. Organization of the board of directors resulted in the elevation of Arthur B. Orme to the vice-presidency. The officers are Wilbur L. Orme, Sr., president; G. Roy Boyd, vice president and treasurer; Arthur B. Orme, vice president and William C. McCartney, secretary and sales manager.

Another son of Mr. and Mrs. W. L Orme, Sr. is William C. Orme, who is a junior at Ohio State University, Columbus, where he is attending the engineering college and taking a technology course in glass. He is to be actively identified with the company upon graduation from college.

The Cambridge Glass Company has just completed erection of a new 14 pot furnace at a cost of $100,000, in addition to other improvements at the plant. Work was started on the furnace last June and it will be ready for operation at the beginning of the new year. It will give the plant four 14 pot furnaces and increase the melting capacity by 33-1/3 percent. While the new furnace may not increase employment, it will serve to provide steadier employment.

In the cutting, etching and decorating of glassware, the Cambridge Glass Company has become famous throughout the world for its high class products. New patterns have been and are steadily being created, increasing the demand for products. The company excels in its fine workmanship in the art of hand cut glassware.