Obituary

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", October 2001, page 15

Don McLaughlin, son of William and Edith McLaughlin, passed away August 2nd in Long Beach, California. 

Don was a superb offhand glassblower who learned the nuances of the trade from his father, who in turn had acquired his skill and knowledge from the great Denver glass man, Robert Good.

Donald William McLaughlin 
February 10, 1918 - August 2, 2001

Don was a vital force within the McLaughlin Glass Company starting early in life as his father had done to master the techniques. In addition to making glass, Don became an expert machinist who could fabricate anything that was required at the glass factory. He could build furnaces, annealing lehrs, and whatever special equipment might be required. 

Among his many accomplishments, perhaps the greatest was the building of the five-gallon and thirteen-gallon fully automated bottle machine that utilized the two-step second blank patent of his father. This machine was the ultimate in large bottle manufacturing and remained so until large glass containers for water were replaced by plastic injection molded ones.

Don could do anything and make anything. He was an accomplished artist who loved to paint. He could work with wood and metal with skills equal to his glassmaking ability and has left a large volume of creative work that is as diverse as it is amazing. His family and friends recount many stories of how Don would help them build or fix something. A member of his lawn bowling team showed me a photo of a beautiful weather vane Don had recently made for him. Instead of the usual figures used, Don's weather vane featured dolphins leaping above the surface of the ocean. Don delivered the weather vane to his friend and insisted upon climbing the roof and installing it. This was classic Don, always ready to help in any situation.

Having worked with his father at the Vernon factory at Fifty-Second and Alameda, the backyard factory on West Fifty-Eighth Street, the Creamery factory at Sixty-Second Street and Gramercy Place, and the final production facility between Manhattan Place and South Western Avenue in Gardena, no one could be more qualified to verify the history and activities of the McLaughlin Glass Company than Don. Without his considerable input and assistance I could not have written Dreams of Glass. Don's anecdotes, drawings, technical expertise and ability to document what was and what was not manufactured during the forty years period of operation of the McLaughlin Glass Company greatly enhanced the telling of the story.

After his father William sold the glass company to the Arrowhead and Puritas Water Company in February 1956, Don continued to make glass at Arrowhead Glass Products Division for a number of years and also operated his own business making sheet stained glass, fruit bowls, aquariums, and terrariums. 

Don's last venture with his father was the making of the McLaughlin commemorative insulators celebrating a span of seventy-five years of glassmaking beginning with William's first insulators made at Robert Good's plant in Colorado in 1897 and ending with the colorfully swirled and highly prized commemorative pieces in 1972. If you are fortunate enough to own one of these unique insulators you possess a piece of American glassmaking history literally from the hands of one of the greatest father and son glassmaking teams ever to step up to a "glory hole".

Throughout the past eight years I could send Don photographs of new finds in our search to learn as much as we could about the pieces made at McLaughlin Glass, and ask him questions about how things were done. It never took more than a few days to receive a reply. Don would begin with something like, "Well, it was a long time ago, but I think it went like this!" A beautifully arranged dissertation, presented in terms a layman could comprehend, would follow, most likely accompanied by a drawing detailing equipment used and processes followed. The man was brilliant! 

A wonderful sense of humor was one of Don's many great character traits. I asked Don sometime ago during a serious conversation what it was like to work at the McLaughlin Glass Company. His response was, "Have you ever seen a Keystone Cops movie?" During another conversation I asked Don if they had an R & D (research and development) department. Don's reply was, "No, but we did have a T & E (trial and error) department." 

Don McLaughlin was a tremendous friend, beloved by his children, his brothers and sisters, and all of the McLaughlin family. Donald William McLaughlin through his kindness, generosity, work ethic, creative ability and intelligence has not only validated the McLaughlin Glass Company as one of the great glassmaking enterprises in America, but has also determined that his place in the history of glassmaking is assured. 

It is with great sadness that I say farewell to our friend, a grand glassmaker who plied his trade in a grand time during the industrialization of California. Although he will be sorely missed, he will never be forgotten.

--- Fred Padgett