Warsaw Cut Glass Celebrates 100 Years

As first days go, Randy and Linda Kirkendall’s as owners of the Warsaw Cut Glass Company was inauspicious to say the least.

“We made $11.73 our first day,”?said Randy?Kirkendall, who also serves as the shop’s lone glass cutter. “We looked at each other like ‘What have we done?’”

The Kirkendalls purchased the building at 505 S. Detroit St. in Warsaw from Jackson Dobbins in October 1980.

Dobbins and Randy worked together as Dobbins attempted to teach the young cutter the trade.

“I?got to spend 10 months with him,”?said Randy. “He was not in the best health.?But he gave me a crash course. I think he realized he didn’t have long.”

For much of their time together, Dobbins attempted to cram as much information as he could into each day.

When Dobbins started at the shop in 1914, as a 14-year-old, those wanting to cut glass would start by sweeping floors.

Then eventually they’d get to become an apprentice. An apprenticeship would last five years.

Kirkendall got 10 months.

But along with lessons on how to ply his unique trade, Dobbins also gave Kirkendall the history of the place.

After about six months, Kirkendall began to feel more comfortable cutting. He said he felt like he made it when a former teacher bought his first piece that got on the showroom floor.

It took a while before Dobbins would let anything Randy created get that far.

For about six months, Dobbins was there all day, every day. Then for the last four months, as his health declined further, he would show up to answer any questions Kirkendall might have.

The questions didn’t stop after Dobbins passed away.

“(After that first day) I looked up and asked ‘Jackson, where are you?’” said Randy.

But things eventually got better, even if the Kirkendalls’ accountants laughed at them when they started out.

“Things started to pick up it seemed day by day,”?said Linda, who has run the business alongside her husband for going on 31 years.

After they both graduated from Indiana State University with degrees in art, the couple decided to take a chance with the unique shop.

Through the good times and lean times, Linda said that Warsaw Cut Glass has stayed open because of the community’s support.

“We’re really lucky to be in a community like Warsaw, Kosciusko County, that has shown us so much support over the years,”?said Linda, while finishing up an order for Clunette Elevators, a company celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Warsaw Cut Glass has also seen its orders go to athletes and celebrities that include David Letterman. Even former President Ronald Reagan was the recipient of a piece from Warsaw Cut Glass.

It was also featured in the Chicago Tribune in late 2010. That, said the Kirkendalls, has been a boom to the business.

It’s not uncommon for groups of people to stop by the shop for a tour of the building and to watch Randy work.

“The men are more interested in the actual cutting,”?said Linda. “The women tend to be more interested in the artistic aspect of it.”

But everyone seems to be drawn to the building.

“The building has its own personality,”?said Randy. “During the day, the shop has the rhythm of a train. At night, it’s eerily quiet.”

Randy said he can feel the presence of those who sat where he sits every day.

Warsaw Cut Glass Company came to the area in 1911. 

A group of businessmen had formed a group called the 1000 Club. Its goal was to try and bring in business to the Warsaw area.

The group predated the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is also celebrating its centennial this year.

The 1000 Club met with Johnson-Carlson Cut Glass Company, based out of Chicago.

The company was looking to expand its operations.

It wanted a location that was centrally located and had easy access to trains.

So after a deal was struck, work began on the building.

Unused paving bricks from the Warsaw Street Department were used to construct the two-story building.

Oscar Hugo was the first master cutter when the business opened its doors in July 1912.

Hugo purchased the shop in 1933 after the shop had to close for nearly a year during the Great Depression.

The store’s showroom was added during World War II and underwent an update several years ago.

In 1957, Hugo then sold the business to Dobbins.

The Kirkendalls aren’t concerned with who will take over the business.

Randy said he has no plans to retire.

“That’s for people who don’t like what they do,”?said Randy. “I still love what I do.”

Plus with 2011 being a record year for the business, there are no plans to slow down.

Randy also credits his passion for the business to his business partner.

“It’s everything to have her with me,” said Randy of Linda. “She makes it possible for me to be me. She sells the stuff. She has the ability to help people make up their minds. She doesn’t force them into anything.?She can just talk to someone and immediately have a vision of what they’re looking for.”

Linda said they are still looking at ways to commemorate the 100th anniversary.

“We’re still looking at ways to mark the anniversary and to show people how much we appreciate their support,”?said Linda.

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