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WELLSBORO - Imagine Christmas trees without ornaments. During World War II, that is almost what happened. A small town in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, labeled Wellsboro, is a quintessential Christmas Village along Route 6 and nestled in the Allegheny Mountains came to the rescue. It is home to an extraordinary holiday story that is a part of history you may not know.
The Town That Save He eventually turned to Corning Glass and asked them to help him find a solution. Corning Glass stepped up to the plate. The Wellsboro Corning factory produced lightbulbs less than fifty miles from Corning headquarters. It was at the forefront of advancements in providing safe, indoor, electric lighting and was renowned for its productivity and innovations.
Let’s look at how it all began and why Wellsboro, “The Town That Saved Christmas,” should be on your Christmas travel list.
The Wellsboro Corning factory was instructed to change the light bulb production to glass ornaments. The factory already had a highspeed ribbon machine and, once retrofitted, could mass produce the ornaments labeled “Shiny Brite.”
The Penn Wells Hotel hosted our visit. All opinions are my own.
History
Prior to World War II, the majority of Christmas ornaments were made of blown glass and imported from Germany. When Adolph Hitler’s forces invaded Poland, and the war was underway, there was a British blockade of goods from Europe, and the United States would no longer receive the 250 million ornaments imported each year. No one in the States was creating ornaments. Retailers would lose money, and
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trees would have no ornaments. German immigrant Max Eckardt, who handled the distribution of ornaments to the F.W. Woolworth Company and other stores, knew he had to find a solution to the problem quickly. He wanted to find a producer of ornaments on U.S. soil.
Made In U.S.A.
The deal provided a United States manufacturing base for the ornaments, and Eckardt could also promote ornaments “Made in U.S.A.” He also designed the original Shiny Brite ornament boxes with Uncle Sam shaking the hand of Santa Claus. It was a win for all
