History of the Mason Jar ~ Celebrating 125th Anniversary!

When I get my Country Living Magazine in the mail I so anticipate the time I can sit down & leaf through page by page! I always walk away with at least 1 good idea if not many, many more! So...last week when I received my May issue I waited until that perfect opportunity for ME TIME...I was not disappointed! I wanted to share, if you haven't already seen it, the History of Mason Jars. I found it to be very interesting, I guess because I use them for so many different things in most every room of the house!

Here's what was printed: Used for canning pickles and sipping iced tea, these wide-mouthed jars have been kitchen mainstays ever since the Ball Corporation began producing them in 1884. Even now, the company continues to make 585,000 Mason jars each day.

1858: John Mason invents the first canning jar with a screw top: his patent expires in 1879, opening the market to competition.

1884: Brothers Frank, Edmund, George, Lucius & William form Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing in New York State and start making Mason jars. The company moves to Indiana three years later.

1909: The first Ball Blue Book, a primer on home canning, is published. (An updated version can be purchased at freshpreserving.com)

1918: The Ball brothers bequeath a small college in Muncie to the state of Indiana; the school is later renamed Ball State University.

1933: The Ball Company does not lay off a single employee during the Great Depression. (Would that be great if that were the case in today's economy!)

1972: After 88 years as a family-owned business, Ball goes public.

2009: The Ball Mason jar clebrates its 125th Anniversary. An exhibit, Can It! 125 Years of the Ball jar, can be viewed through August 23 at the Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana. Visit minnetrista.net for details.

One idea I walked away with was the use of a back yard branch perched in a jar to use as a clever jewelry holder for necklaces & earrings! Just so happened I had a bundle at the shop! Guess where it's headed tonight!

I was thrilled this week when I found a skeleton key necklace while out shopping & picked it up! Usually something I would never spend the money on...What a cool accent I thought to where to the Jailhouse on work days! Well...according to Country Living the "skeleton key" look in necklaces is IN for Spring! I was shocked...I was actually a step ahead of dressing in style & didn't even realize it...this never happens! I'm usually covered in paint, sanding dust or DIRT!!! LOL I'm always into something! My kids are embarrassed to be seen with me half the time!!!

Loved the sterling silver mirrors arranged on the bathroom wall above the sink! Guess what I'll be collecting now? Can't wait to get out & start searching!

Did you see the clever uses for an old hand rake? They showed one suspending stemware near a stocked bar, a tie rack & a letter carrier! Really neat ideas!

This magazine makes me want to tear my house UP! Have a BIG RE-DO PARTY! Yard & all!!!! Good thing the weather is finally nice...I NEED OUTSIDE! Want to do some transplanting & hopefully get my back porch painted & redecorated this year! Picket fence needs a new coat of paint too!!! LOL There's never an end...but that's OK...I LONG FOR WARM WEATHER to be able to do just that! No to mention the garden!

Have a great day!