[Southsider2k12]

For those who had been following the turn made in the Labor Dayz thread, you will know that we got on to the old legend about The Ball Brother of Ball Mason Jars and Ball State fame having the chance to put their university here, which instead became the site of the Indiana State Prison. (if not, follow this link to get caught up)

http://www.citybythelake.org/forums/index....ost&p=37265

After some conversations, and some research by own library's reference department, I posed this question to some other people who might have knowledge of the situation. I sent an inquiry to the Ball State University History Department and to the Ball Company.

BSU's history department has a professor who is familiar with history dealing with the Ball Brothers, and he had never heard anything to do with this legend. This professor referred me to the Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, which contains many of the known Ball Brothers own papers and materials. After conversations between the archivists, including one who has worked with the Ball family, and with their archival materials, and they have never heard of a Ball Brothers connection to Michigan City, outside of their purchase and removal of the Hoosier Slide to their famous "Ball Blue" jars.

I have not heard from the Ball Company, though I would be surprised if they had any information that wasn't contained in the archives.

Taking all of this information into account, along with the inconsistent time lines, I am going to have to say, Michigan City Myth, Busted. Please feel free to share with your friends.

This was my original request;

Good afternoon, my name is Michael Gresham, and I have run a message
board related to my hometown of Michigan City Indiana for about six
years now. I originally talked to Mandy Lowe in the Ball State
history department, and she recommended you to me.

I wanted to approach you to see if you could help me to either prove
or disprove an old legend that has existed locally for as long as I
can remember.

As you may, or may not, know, Michigan City is home to a very large
state prison, which was opened in 1860. The legend goes that the
family behind the Ball company (and Ball State University) was
interested in purchasing the land which eventually became the prison.

For some reason the owner of the land became upset and instead sold it
to the State of Indiana, which wanted to use it for the prison
location. I do know the Ball company had some later connections up
here, as they were the ones responsible for purchasing and removing
the sand in what was the largest sand dune (called the "Hoosier
Slide") in the chain of the Indiana Dunes for use in making glass for
their jars.

My question would be if there is any proof or knowledge that the Ball
family had an interest in opening an institution of higher learning in
Michigan City in the middle 19th century, or even later? It doesn't
seem very plausible with this legend given the Ball Company wasn't
founded until 1880, but maybe there is some mixing up of two different
legends. I did find that the prison had a second wave of expansion on
to rented land just after 1900, so it is possible that this could be
the time period referred to? It is almost much closer to the 1918
donation the family made to what became Ball State University.

I appreciate your time and any guidance or information you can provide.

Thanks

Here are their responses;

Thank you for your inquiry. This legend appears to be just that. My boss, Karen Vincent, and I have never seen anything remotely resembling this story and we have worked with the family and company archival materials for many years. We passed along your email to Dick Cole, our retired Curator of Business and Industry, and former Ball employee, and his response is below.

Also, here is some information from a document put together by Minnetrista staff concerning colors of Ball jars. This portion refers specifically to the Ball blue color created from the sand of the Hoosier Slide dune:

"Ball Blue

While they didn't have exclusive rights to this color, the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company is closely identified with this almost pure blue shade of aquamarine. The color is a result of using sand from the famous Hoosier Slide sand dune that once was located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan at Michigan City, Indiana. Starting about 1912, Ball began using this sand and the trademark color was a result. No additives were needed: the glass came out this color naturally.

Ball continued to use this source of sand until 1936, when the sand dune was completely consumed. The site is now an electrical power plant. Because no other source of this sand was available, Ball reverted to making just clear glass. They had always made clear glass in addition to the blue color.

Hemingray Glass Co. of Muncie also used the same source of sand and made insulators of the same color."

Sincerely,
Susan M. Smith
Archivist
Minnetrista

Karen, I have never heard this story before, but it is very interesting. I know of no connection between the Ball Brothers and Michigan City other than the Hoosier Slide. My first reaction is that if were indeed "our" Ball Brothers, they would have been a bit young to be looking at real estate in 1860, if that is in fact the right date of the construction of the prison.


Dick

[Ang]

BUSTED!!!!