The Republic from Columbus, Indiana • Page 7

ing Bug Bites A 7 On i- 2 oi Flat Rock Becomes Fruit Jar Center of Midwest ample, could specialize in midget jars or Mason jars. A large number of jars, when realistically priced, can be bought for less than $10. year, and the club publishes a newsletter. Anyone interested in joining should telephone Barnett at 587-5533. Because of the demand for old jars in recent years, Barnett recommends that a new collector start a specialized collection rather than a general collection.

A person for ex By PARKER SAMS News Editor FLAT ROCK Once a month usually the second Sunday if there are no antique bottle shows taking place somewhere else in the nation 20 to 30 families gather at Flat Rock for a meeting of the Midwest Antique Fruit Jar and Bottle club. Members come from throughout the Midwest to. show, trade, sell and discuss old bottles, glassware and, primarily, fruit jars. And as far as1 Norman Barn-ett, founder and president, knows, it is the only club in the nation devoted mostly to collecting fruit jars. Barnett was at a glass lectors' show in St.

Louis in the fall of 1972 when he and anoth-. er collector1 started talking about the need for a fruit jar club. "I said to him, -'Why don't you start a and he said to me, 'Why don't you start a and one thing led to an- other and before long I did," Barnett recalls with a smile. Most meetings are held at the volunteer fire station in this southeastern Shelby county community, some are held in homes of members. Barnett, who owns a farm machinery sales firm in Flat Rock and lives just north of the Jown began -Collecting fruit jars before the surge of popular interest in them in recent years back when most people still considered old fruit jars clutter to be rid of.

His collection began in 1967 with a jar his wife, Junne, had bought at a farm sale, an emerald green, turn-of-the-centu-ry jar to put on a kitchen window for the sun to filter through. They still have that jar, labeled "Out First Jar." The Bametts began going to more and more auctions, sales and shows, and soon they became avid collectors. "It snook up on me," he says. Now he and his wife give little thought to driving a thousand miles for a glass show. Collecting jars has become a relaxing "safety valve" from the pressures of the farm machinery business as well as an absorbing hobby Barnett says.

At one time he had about 800 jars. Today, he has about 250. Some date back to the 1840s and 1850s; others were recently moulded like the Ball Bicentennial jars. Some are one or two of a kind in existence, and there are even a few fakes. The sizes range from mite size which are really salt shakers to a giant size jar which held four gallons and a quart apparently for display purposes.

Barnett has donated several of his jars' to a museum the Ball corporation in Muncie ir developing. Ball is the nation's oldest and largest manufacturer of fruit jars, and Ball jars make up the largest portion of the Barnett collection, including a matched set 1 MA' an edition of 75 jars. Twenty-fiye of the opaque jars were accidently broken, leaving' only five. The photos on page are reproduced from A Collector's Guide to Ball Jars, with the permission of the writer, F. Brantley.

NEWEST BALL JARS The Ideal Bicen-tennial jar has been issued in 1975, includfng, from left, the "Edmund jar" with Edmund F. Ball's signature, the regular production jar, one in an edition of 30 ii "pottery," an opoque creamy milkajass, and a flint sample in MASON-BOYD-BALL? Earliest known "Perfect Mason" jars were made by Ball in a remade Boyd mold which was acquired with the purchase in 1909 of the Greenfield Fruit Jar and Bottle company, which was associated with the Illinois Glass Works of Alton, which made the Boyd jars. At least five different Boyd molds were adapted by Ball, considered one of the most important expansions in the history of the Muncie corporation, ff i 5 I fir- "5 4 A 1 -1 DEAL i 1 I ttRFOTIOH MASON BALL IDEAL The wire bail jar took 20 years to become the Ball Ideal. Over the next 47 years it became one of the best known glass containers in history. Although discontinued in 1962 it has remained in service with rubber rings used for its glass lids, especially in the northeastern states where its popularity was al- ways the greatest.

There is a wide range of sizes, from the half-gallon special order Southern Methodist Orphans home, at left, of Waco, Texas, 1922-1932, to quarts and pints, and not shown, half-pint and one-third pints. The pat-' ent date on the third jar is one of. the mysteries in the Ball jar story. RARE UNIVERSAL -This mysterious Ball jar does what no other jar has ever been made to do use a glass lid with a wire bail or a zinc screw cap, both, with rubber rings, or the more modern 2-piece Ball dome lid. It is thought this jar was designed by Walter R.

Sterrett, chief of mold making and design, in 1937 or 1938. It is estimated no more than 50 were made and even fewer fitjed with bails. The only one known is in the Ball museum in Muncie. IMPERFECTIONS -Some of the Ball Perfection jars carry" patent dates. The jar at right carries two the April 10, 1900, assigned to Boll, and April 26, 1907, still 0 mystery.

In the Perfect Mason jar at left some of the letters, the FE and ore filled in. Script of Ball on the two jars is similar. The Perfect Masons were produced in flint and Ball blue through the 1920s and 1930s until the blue was phosed out in 1937 along with all other blue glass. i quart, pint and half-pint of "Ball Perfect Masons" in ah unusual olive green used 'by Mrs. Barnett as kitchen can-nisters.

Fruit jars were rriade in a rainbow ol colors blue, green, aqua, pink and amber, which was thought to help keep food preserved longer. One of the fakes Barnett has is a deep amber jar that looks black and resembles a rare "black" jar but actually was made in recent years in Mexico from melted down Lone Star beer bottles. Placing the price value on old fruit jars isn't easy now that collecting them has become popular and most people and antique shops believe that just because the jar is old it should command a high price. While a few have sold for over $1,000 they are still not in the class of other collectors' glass such as historical flasks which have been known to sell for as much as $15,000. Some of the cheaper jars among knowledgeable collectors have old patent dates, Barnett says.

Two examples are a Mason type jar with a patent date of Nov. 30, 1858 and a wire-bale type with a July 14, 1908 patent date. The patent date is not necessarily the production date. The reason these jars are not unusually valuable is because they were made for decades after the patent date by the millions. The rarer jars tend to be those having unusual colors or marks, those pro- duced in very limited quantities and those made by unusual glass manufacturers.

It was a fairly common -practice for the glass factories of the Indiana gas belt, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to make a few fruit jars whenever there was molten glass leit over, from a production fun of a more profitable Item in whatever color that happened to be in the In late 19th century and early 20th century there was considerable experimentation with different types of lids and tops and many of these are-rare today simply 'because they didn't work and preserve food well and were quickly discontinued. One of these in Barnett's collection is a 1873 "Reservoir" jar which has a glass screw in top or stopple. Jar collecting isn't just a nostalgic pastime for those old enough 4o -remember someof the old jars, Barnett says, but is appealing to younger per-' sons as well. The Midwest Antique Fruit Jar and Bottle club has members in all age levels and new members are welcomed. Dues are five dollars a I Doctor's Column 1 I i -I IHJVED Coronary Disease Unpredictable "feet Mason behind it.

The Improved is embossed on a plate cut into the Perfection mold. The advent of the Owens machine allowed the of this jar. PROGRESSION These three 'Ball jars were made from apparently identical molds. The Perfect Mason, at left, was made in followed by Perfection in 1914 and Improved "in 1915. The Perfection has a "ghost" of Per-" IK DR.

LAWRENCE E.LAMB Newspaper Enterprise Association DEAR DR. LAMB Could you tell me a little about coronary insufficiency and myocardial, ischemia? Should I have my personal property fixed so my family will be taken care of? I've had some severe pain in the chest, lasting only five to six 'minutes, but severe while it DEAR EADER Coronary insufficiency means insufficient blood flow through the coronary arteries to your heart 'muscle. The heart muscle (myocardium) is unable to get enough oxygen or eliminate the build up of carbon dioxide, and this is called ischemia, hence myocardial ischemia! You are describing angina pectoris type pain. This usually lasts "less than half a quarter of an hour" as the classic description of the disease states. Coronary artery disease is unpredictable.You may even cease to have these painful episodes or you may have a more severe episode in the near future.

You certainly need to be under a doctor's care. You will do better, if you get rid of all and I mean all, of your excess fat under your skin, and if you have high blood pressure get treated for that; You should get your affairs in order. That is good advice for every adult with a family regardless of health status, It is too late after a fatal1 accident or an unexpected fatal heart attack. In your case you have had a warning so you would be wise to heed it. Then don't expect the worst but enjoy the peace of mind of knowing you have your affairs in order; If you want a more detailed discussion of angina pectoris and related hearf diseases, write to me in care of The Republic, Box 1551, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10019.

Send 50 cents, a long, stamped, self-addressed envelopeand ask for The Health Letter, number 2-10, Heart Attack: Myocardial Infarction, Angina Pectoris. DEAR DR. LAMB I need some information on the subject of eating before running. I'm a 16-year-old boy who runs approximately twojo three miles every morriing.I find it hard to make it' running on an empty Stomach. When I have an early breakfast and wait a few hours and then run I find it much easier.

Could you please tell me of some foods that I would be able to eat that, would pep me up and won't upset my stomach? I have no time to wait a few hours after eating to fun. DEAR READER Your experience is in line with'ex-perimental studies. An old experiment is to run a dog on a treadmill without feeding, then give the dog some sugar and repeat the test. The sugar increases the dog's capacity to exercise, Your source of energy in the body comes from food. The food it is carbohydrate, Eat or protein, is a hydrocarbon and has solar energy locked in it.

That is the source of all energy on planet earth. When the food is broken down by metabolism the energy is released so your body functions and you can run You literally run on solar energy. Almost any food.that you find that doesn't bother you will provide the needed energy. You might try an 8-ounce glass of orange juice. That won't overload the stomach and will give you readily available energy.

Another fruit juice of your choice would do the same thing. Fruit juices will also give you potassium. -t mm wvmmmm If Creative VA 11 Pict re Study Club Tours Historical Museum" A tour of the Bartholomew County Historical museum, guided by Helen Newsom Marr, was the highlight of the Thursday meeting of the Aza-lia Home Study club. June Rhoades was in charge of the meeting. Roll call was responded to by a description of each member's favorite antiques.

Decorations in the dining room were in a patriotic theme and "autumn" refreshments were served. jZPORflTJ 1 1 Vi-et-. it I Framing are now taking appointments for 1 y--JiS Christmas Portraits i Zonta Entertains Colfjen Age Club 1 1 1 Art Reproductions from New York Graphic Society Now in Stock J1J1V. kVA-lVljr Now in Stock 1 1 mm Ay I PORTRAITJ rA House- 1038 Peorl Stv Columbus, IncV-. gj Phone 372-4292" XM 1.

Sixty-six members and guests of the Golden Age club, sponsored by the Zonta club of Columbus, met Sunday at Senior Centerior the first monthly party of the season. Bingo was played and prizes awarded. Refreshments were served from a table centered with a potted yellow chrysanthemum. Zonta 'committee-members were Evelyn Moore, Elizabeth Boyles, Mary Kay Nichols, Marie Haitsen, Hazel Crouch, Jean Prather and Mabel Suverkrup. ii n.i A- Telephone 8U- em 1 1 II IN HOLIDAY L-tNltK 96, 9 Sot.

9-5.