Well Traveled Press Prints First Issues
Of NW Newspapers

Journalism began north of the Columbia River in 1852. In January of that year, a clumsy much-used printing press was shipped to Olympia from Portland.

The particular press first saw service in printing government pronunciamentos in Mexico. In 1834, it was hauled to Monterey, California, where it served the same purpose.

In 1846, it was used by the San Francisco Star and from California, the press was hauled north to Oregon and printed Portland’s first copies of The Oregonian.

Once the old press had been set up in Washington, it still took several months to get the new paper started. Finally, on October 11, 1852, a burst of cannon fire announced the first issue of The Columbian. The paper contained the complete text of an oration by D.R. Bigelow at Olympia’s 4th of July celebration; an article on Puget Sound; and an editorial proposing another convention to push the Washington Territory.

The publishers/editors, T.F. McElroy and J.W. Wiley, made do with only two fonts of type for setting their news and a few additional for display advertising. (A font is an assortment of type in just one style and size; a modern newspaper will use several hundred fonts in an issue.)

There was also enough larger type to spell The Columbian. By taking this apart, the publishers could also spell Notice, which they used as a common heading.

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Ball Jars Both Decorative & Useful

The original Ball Ideal fruit jar was made in 1915 by the Ball Brothers Company. This jar was machine made instead of being blown like other ones from this company. Through the years, the jar had only minor changes made to it before being discontinued in 1962.

In 1974, with the nation’s Bicentennial coming in two years, President John Fisher thought the time had come to revive the Ideal jar. It was decided to use the original design as a basis for a commemorative issue.

A sample of the Ideal in flint glass was done in October 1974. There were 75 of these made. On the front was Ball Ideal and on the back was a medallion. This design consisted of an embossed eagle with a 5- point star above its head inside an oval with a stippled background. Later, the jar was sampled in a Milk Glass color, with only 30 being made. All of these sample jars went to employees of the company who had been involved with the development of the jar.

The first production of the jar began in December 1974, in the characteristic Ball blue-green color, to be sold in 1975. The medallion now had the addition of the words Bicentennial Celebration 1776-1976 inside the oval. At the bottom it said, Made in USA. On the bottom of the jar was the number 75, for the year it was sold.

The jars were packed with the rubber rings like the original canning jars contained. Packed inside the jars was a paper brochure with a brief history of the company. On the front it said- The Ball Ideal A Bicentennial Salute. On the back it said- The Ball Ideal, An Historic Reproduction, Ball Corporation, Consumer Products Div., Muncie, Indiana.

There were 5000 special limited edition jars also made in 1974 as presentation gifts in the same blue-green color. The addition of the signature of Edmund Ball, a former company president, was put on the back across the eagle. These jars were not offered for sale and were awarded as gifts within the company. These jars are, of course, much harder to find today.

More of these jars continued to be made during the actual Bicentennial year of 1976. The jars were marked on the bottom with 76 to signify the year they were made.

After the Bicentennial was over, the Ball Corporation decided to keep making these jars as storage items. To distinguish them from the Bicentennial ones, the words Bicentennial Celebration 1776-1976 Made in USA were removed. The jars also no longer had the number on the bottom of them. In addition, the stippled background around the eagle was also removed and now just had a smooth surface.

All of these jars make wonderful additions to your fruit jar collection and also serve in your kitchen as storage items. The rubber ring on them, along with the glass lid and wire bail, provides a tight seal to keep your items fresh. Another advantage is that they are made of glass and free of toxins that plastic items can have in them. Being made of glass also allows you to instantly see what is being stored in the jar.

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Venetian Blinds May Have Chinese Origin

Although the origin of Venetian blinds is obscure, there is no doubt that their use goes back hundreds of centuries. They were possibly introduced to Italy by Marco Polo as an adaptation of an Oriental blind.

The term Venetian blind was probably acquired because of Italian builders and craftsmen who were present in England in large numbers in the 17th century.

The first blinds were made of strips of wood. In1769, some blinds made of iron were being sold, with the claim that they were cheaper and more convenient than wood. These metal ones worked on chains and the operator claimed they moved easily enough to be handled by a 6-year-old child.

The mechanism that controlled opening and shutting the blinds was in use by the mid-1700s. Diagrams that survive from that time indicate that the basic operation hasn’t changed since.

Use in early America of Venetian blinds was very common. The Declaration of Indepen dence was signed in a room with this window covering. In Williams burg, Venetian blinds were present in the Governor’s Palace, as well as in several private homes.

Thomas Jefferson noted in his diary that he had to pay a surcharge for blinds purchased in Europe and George Washington indicated in a letter to his nephew that he planned to buy some made in America.

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