Cambridge Glass Company Marbles: A Second Look

He never worked where?

Our recent post about Cambridge Glass and Christensen marbles generated some very interesting responses online.  We were most surprised by the reaction to the information on A. Fiedler.  After complaining about misinformation in the post, one writer noted:

most of the misinformation is about Arnold Fiedler . Mainly Arnold Fiedler did not work at Cambridge glass. He worked at Akro, then moved to Peltier in 1924, then CAC in around 1927-8. Also the only Cullet that would have been used from Cambridge would be white or a few transparent colors.. Remelting cullet often results in a different shade or color than what is put in the furnace. And back in the day marble companies strove for consistent colors and made their own glass. It is assumed Cambridge glass was used because there are similar colors. And stories of glass being wheel barreled from Cambridge to CAC. It even states Fiedler made Sulphides at Cambridge glass, another old tale. Unproven. Maybe some more information will come to the forfront [sic] but for now most of the Fiedler and Cambridge information is just talk from old men and major assumptions….”

Digging Further into the quote . . .

There are a number of interesting details in this comment.  For example, marble companies made their own glass.  Really? What about Vitrolite flat architectural glass found on a marble site; milk glass from Hazel-Atlas; or the broken red 1935 Ford taillight which we found in the glass bin at a certain old marble site on a river?  And what about the glass Cairo Novelty got used that had chicken wire inside which gummed up the machine so that it had to be dismantled?  We found pieces of this glass at the Cairo annex. site several years ago.

Because I say so, that’s why!

But what really stopped us in our tracks is the fact that Fiedler never worked at Cambridge.  We checked and re-checked our sources.  We were told by staff at Cambridge National Museum of Glass that they cannot find evidence (records that you can hold in your hand) that he did.  On the other hand, what comprehensive evidence do we have that Fiedler was employed elsewhere from about 1917 – 1933?  Is every single year accounted for in the evidence?  No.

Where did we get the outrageous idea that he ever worked at Cambridge?  Online for one:  

Fiedler used his innovative techniques and skills learned in Germany and later refined at Cambridge Glass to lend to the marbles their unique coloration.”

Citation: Search the topic “Arnold Fiedler and Cyclones Vs. Millers” at All About Marbles

Dean Six says so, too

We also know Dean Six and we are honored to call him a friend.  We got to watch him sort marbles in Cairo, WV, and his love of people, glass, and the broader community is obvious..  He has some fifty years in the glass heritage and is author or co-author of American Machine-Made Marbles (AMMM), Popular American Marbles, West Virginia Glass Towns, and so much more.

Dean and his family also own and manage Berdine’s which is “America’s Oldest Five and Dime store”.  He co-founded the Museum of American Glass in Weston, West Virginia.  By the way, if you visit Berdine’s slow down in Harrisville.  Deer may be crossing Main Street.

Dean writes that

Mr. Fiedler who had worked at Cambridge Glass….” 

We spoke with him recently about Fiedler and Fiedler’s work history.  We have long understood that the history of marbles and marble glass houses in America has no statistical timeline of undisputed facts and figures.  Thank goodness.

As we detail in our book The Secret Life of Marbles, the heart of marble history is passed down from one generation to the next.  Over the last 125 years of so, most of this marble culture transmission has been oral.  And just like in the larger culture, marble norms, values, and, especially a body of knowledge has been created which is organic, vibrant, and dynamic.   

And then there are Web Forums

In 2019 a writer on the web forum All about Marbles contributed this:

If you dig around the internet deep enough on this subject [in this case Fiedler and Cyclones Vs. Millers] … you will see quite a bit of heated controversy (including some very heavy collectors) on the validity of claims about actual role(s) of Fiedler. This includes many varying opinions on the actual proven employment and timelines for Cambridge Glass, CAC, Akro and Peltier.   

Citation: Search the topic “Arnold Fiedler and Cyclones Vs. Millers” at All About Marbles

We’re not quite sure what’s fact or fiction – does anyone? Muddy water for me so far. The history of the American Marble Industry is a fascinating subject – but history in itself is documented facts. I would love to be enlightened by just cold hard facts if they are available.

Another contemporary web resource is Marble Alan which places Fiedler at Cambridge and Christensen glass houses.

Cold hard what?

Cold hard facts—payroll records; bank loans; invoices—are certainly one part of history.  But, as the individual who responded to our original post noted:  “most of the Fiedler and Cambridge information is just talk from old men and major assumptions….”  For us, that is an excellent way to put it.  But when we lose those voices of old men and women;  when we no longer care to listen to those who made the marbles; to all those anecdotal stories; and stories about the hard times and the good, then we will have lost something that the American culture can never replace.

We should treasure the oral history of marble ma

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Comment:

I love…that you dispute with facts be them oral history or documented history.  Josh Martin by email.