A long two hour drive from Bloomington up to Kokomo and I got to see the place for the first time. It's a dump. Exposed ceiling joists and writing and carving on the walls and broken glass on the floor and scrap pieces in beat-up metal cans. And long corridors with hundreds of 8 foot tall upright bins filled with over 300,000 feet of beautiful glass.
When I walked in the door I lucked into an unscheduled tour. I really didn't think I would be that interested. I'm more focused on the end product than the process. But it was spectacular walking down all those halls of glass. Back by the glass furnace you could look at scenes that almost could have been pulled right out of 1888. Gazing into the openings was hynotic. You would see a pure orange color with no shadow, no shading, and no hint of movement. Just pure bright orange. Got to see them scoop it up and pour it out and flip and fold it and then start it running through a roller that flattened it and took it on the long cooling ride. It doesn't look like their technology has changed much over the last hundred years.
I bought some glass and talked to the tour guide and headed home. Great trip.
Michael