The Ball brothers started the Wooden Jacket Can Company in Buffalo, N.Y. They made their first jar in 1884 and called it a Buffalo jar. They moved to Muncie after the discovery of natural gas in East Central Indiana in 1876. Cities offered companies free land and natural gas to come to the area to stimulate growth. Until that point, the region was almost exclusively agricultural. Muncie offered the Ball brothers seven acres, a natural gas well, free access to railroad facilities and $5,000. Ball Glass Works of Muncie opened in 1888. The company pioneered machinery used to make and shape glass. In 125 years, millions of jars have been made. With the green movement gaining momentum and more people interested in food preservation, the Ball jar continues to be at the forefront of the industry.
125th Anniversary Products
A one-gallon decorative jar commemorates the original Ball trademark jar of the early 20th century. It's designed for bulk storage and features an 1884-style lid with push-down sealing. Jars will be available for about $15.
The 125th anniversary lid will have a brushed silver design with an anniversary graphic. The lids will be available for a limited time during the 2009 preserving season. Various sized jars will be available for about $9 to $12.
A new Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving will have new recipes for beginners and experts. 2009 is the 100th anniversary for the Blue Book Guide. It will be available for about $6.
Can it!
Minnetrista has a Ball jar exhibit through Aug. 23. Can it! focuses on three aspects of Ball jar history - production, home use and community effect.
Minnetrista marketing manager Amanda Hicks said the exhibit has several interactive activities and displays. Can it! shows people the equipment used in factories for production throughout Ball jar history, some of the ways people have used the jars for creative canning and art and the effect of Ball Glass Works on the Muncie community.
Colors
Blue jars were made from sand taken from the Hoosier Slide sand dune in Michigan City in the early 20th century. The sand's natural impurities made the blue color. Blue jars were discontinued when the dune was mined to the ground in 1936.
Jars with swirls in them happened when impurities, usually iron or coal, mixed with the ingredients.
Sun-colored amethyst jars were made by exposing the decolorant, manganese dioxide, to sunlight. The more sunlight the glass was exposed to, the darker the shade.
Ball Today
Ball is now a subsidiary of Jarden Corporation, which was formed in April 1993 as Alltrista Corporation, a spinoff of the Ball Corporation, which no longer makes canning products. The Alltrista name comes from combining Ball and Minnetrista, the street on which the Ball brothers grew up in Muncie. The name was changed to Jarden in May 2002, combining the company's origins in jars with their use in homes, or dens. Jarden now has dozens of companies worldwide including Mr. Coffee, Rawlings and Coleman. It has more than 25,000 employees. Today Ball is committed to the green movement and cutting down on food waste and producing environmentally responsible products.
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