Stretch Glass featured at the National Depression Glass Museum in Wellington, KS

The following story is published on September 25, 2025 in the Wellington Daily News, who has granted The Stretch Glass Society permission to share it.

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Stretch Glass Exhibit Lights Up Fall Festival

by Laura Lombardi

As you stroll downtown enjoying the scarecrows and fall displays, be sure to stop by The National Depression Glass Museum. In the front window, you’ll find a display that’s both rare and beautiful — nearly 200 pieces of colorful, iridescent stretch glass from The Stretch Glass Society’s William Crowl Collection.

The collection is on temporary loan to the Wellington museum, giving visitors a chance to view glass that was produced between 1912 and 1935. That means most of the pieces are more than a century old. Known for its soft, pearly sheen and delicate web-like markings, stretch glass was pressed or blown-molded, then sprayed with a metallic salt mixture to achieve its shimmering finish.

The Stretch Glass Society, founded in 1974 in Denver, Pennsylvania, works to preserve and promote this uniquely American art form. Society president Cal Hackeman recently traveled to Wellington to lead a free seminar on the companies that manufactured stretch glass and the techniques used to create it.

At the museum, visitors will see a variety of shapes and colors — everything from plates, cups and saucers to compotes, candy dishes, and candlesticks. “It’s a relatively scarce collectible,” Hackeman explained. “We don’t really know why that is except that the stretch glass made in the 1920s was made to be used.”

He noted that many of the original pieces were designed for entertaining. “Ladies had friends over to play bridge and all of the pieces needed to serve a luncheon were available. These weren’t dinnerware sets with meat platters or vegetable dishes — they were for luncheons and for decorating the home.”

Because the glass was meant for everyday use, breakage was common. “There’s some pretty good evidence of that,” Hackeman said. “For example, there are more sugar bowls available than creamers. That’s because the creamer had to be washed every time, while the sugar bowl sat on the table.” Tea cups and saucers are also especially hard to find.

Hackeman himself has collected more than 4,000 pieces since filling a room in his home with floor-to-ceiling lighted cases. No two pieces are exactly alike thanks to hand-shaped designs and one-of-a-kind iridescent finishes.

The Stretch Glass Society even established a permanent presence in Wellington. They recently purchased a display case at the museum to house part of their collection here.