Places to go and things to see by Gypsy Bev

Posts tagged ‘Mosser Glass’

Dickens Victorian Village Bus Tours

Buses have coned places for parking in front of the Welcome Center.

Step back in time at Dickens Victorian Village in Cambridge, Ohio during the months of November and December. The friendly small-town atmosphere will have you feeling like you’ve arrived in jolly old London during the late 1800s. Bus groups get special treatment during their visits and we usually have nearly fifty groups a year during that season.

While this article is basically for the tour groups, you will find many things here that make it a great place for a family weekend adventure.

As soon as a tour group arrives in Cambridge,  you will get that Victorian feeling. A costumed guide will step on your bus at the edge of town and stay with you throughout the day as they tell how Dickens Victorian Village began sixteen years ago.

Our mayor welcomes you to Cambridge along with Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim.

Tour venues are very flexible as each group has particular interests. Most groups begin the day with a slow bus tour of six blocks of downtown Cambridge. During November and December, there is a Victorian scene under every lamppost in those six blocks. In 2021, there were 168 life-size mannequins in 96 different scenes.

A touch of snow adds to the holiday cheer on one of the Victorian scenes.

The scenes are based on Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” and also scenes from London during Dickens’ time. Each scene has a brass plaque attached, which explains its connection to that time in history.

Everyone enjoys a tasty treat from Kennedy’s Bakery.

Along the way, almost every bus group stops at Kennedy’s Bakery, a hometown favorite that has been in business since 1925. Three generations of the Kennedy family have created the same tasty pastries year after year. Bus groups stop back again and again.

Mosser Glass still produces glass at their factory with a beautiful Gift Shop included.

If you arrive in the morning, Mosser Glass provides an interesting stop as they are still making glass on site. Watch them create some beautiful glass pieces. Cher purchases turkey candy dishes here each year for her guests at Thanksgiving dinner. They have even provided beautiful glass Easter eggs to the White House. Their showroom is outstanding.

Volunteers at the Welcome Center are dressed in Victorian garb to welcome guests.

Down the street, the bus will have a coned off place to park near our Dickens Welcome Center. Here Father Christmas will greet the bus. Volunteers at the Welcome Center will talk about how the figures are made and encourage you to dress in Victorian clothes at Imagination Station. Have your picture taken for a fond memory with a beautiful Christmas tree or the figure of Charles Dickens himself.

Several unique shops help make this stop a pleasure for those who enjoy shopping.  Find a unique gift for yourself or a friend from several shops which include locally made articles.

Francis Family Restaurant has a large banquet room for buffets.
Mr. Lee’s Family Restaurant provides great meals and service
Theo’s Restaurant has delicious buffets and serve their homemade pies.

Of course, lunch is always an important stop of the day. Three local restaurants have delicious buffets that are only prepared for bus tours. Take your choice of Francis Family Restaurant, Lee’s, or Theo’s for a buffet that will leave you satisfied.

The Queen’s Tea takes place at the beautiful Cambridge Country Club.

Some wish to have an upscale lunch or dinner and choose to have dinner with Queen Victoria at the Cambridge Country Club where she tells about her life growing up in London from childhood to adult.

Victorian ladies greet you at the Cambridge Glass Museum.

Several museums give a great place to spend a couple of hours. Cambridge Glass Museum greets you with ladies dressed in Victorian costumes and tells you of Christmas at the Glasshouse. They will give you many hands-on activities to keep your group smiling.

Coal Miner Dave tells the story of those early coal mines in the area.

Another possibility is the Guernsey County Museum where you can meet Coal Miner Dave, who tells of those early years in the county.  At the same place, you will discover a one-room classroom and a teacher who will give you a lesson and perhaps even a test. Those are highlights of a museum packed with historic pieces.

Ladies enjoy wearing hats and shawls as they enjoy tea and sweets.

You might prefer having afternoon tea at one of our local churches. They will provide a short program of music and information before serving tea, scones, and cookies.

Finish off the evening with the Courthouse Holiday Light Show.

We always end the day with the Holiday Courthouse Light Show, which has over 65,000 lights synchronized to holiday music. An entire hour is different! The show starts every evening from Nov. 1 – Dec. 31 from 5:30 – 9:00. You can even watch it from the coach.

These are just a few ideas you might include in your trip to Dickens Victorian Village. If you would like to learn more please contact me at DickensGroupTours@gmail.com for additional places to visit.

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Cambridge, Christmas, Family Fun, Festivals, Museums, Ohio, Uncategorized

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Mosser Glass Celebrates 50 Years

Everyone enjoys a visit to their beautiful Mosser Glass showroom filled with glass made in the factory close by.

The art of glassmaking has been in the Mosser family for generations. It all began back at the Cambridge Glass Co. where Orie Mosser was the plant manager. His son, Tom, began working at the glass company as a teenager. You can see why this family knows how to produce fine glass.

When Cambridge Glass Co. closed in 1954, Tom Mosser wanted to find a way to continue making glass as it was the only thing he knew well. It wasn’t until 1959 that Tom Mosser joined forces with two other long-time employees of Cambridge Glass, Rudy Wencek and Mary Martha Mitchell, and started making glass under the name of Variety Glass. Glass held a passion for all three.

Tom and Georgia enjoyed vacations with their family at the beach.

For several years, they made glass pharmaceutical equipment, much of which was from molds of the Cambridge Glass Co. Several former employees of the glass company assisted. But Tom wanted to make decorative items and tableware that would add beauty to everyone’s home, so in 1971 he started a second business, Mosser Glass, which remains to this day.

Tim Mosser now serves as president and manager of production.

That tradition of fine glassware continues with Tom’s son, Tim, taking the reins of the company as president and manager of the production end. Tom’s daughters, Sally Johnson and Mindy Hartley, are partners in running the gift shop. They are one of the last glass companies around where you can actually stop by and watch them make hand-pressed glass. Tours are free!

Glass is poured into a mold to take the desired shape.

In the factory portion, you can see a product being made from its beginning to end. Watch as they gather the melted glass from a furnace with temperatures of 2900° F. Then it is placed into a custom glass mold, shaped, finished, and gradually cooled.

Glass is placed into the furnace to be reheated or fired.
It takes a skilled craftsman to finish a cake plate.

It takes a team of experienced, talented craftsmen to produce this quality glass. Tour groups find this an exciting stop during their day both for the factory and the gift shop.

The Mosser daughters, Mindy and Sally, take charge of the gift shop.

And what an elegant gift shop it is! The place just sparkles with beautiful colors that bring people back again and again. In the early days, Mosser made many collectibles such as cats, clowns, Christmas trees, and hen dishes. But today they have changed their focus to more plain and simple tableware that younger people seem to like.

Their newest addition is a marble batter bowl.

That family tradition continues as they bring new ideas to the company that people will cherish. Their newest addition is a batter bowl, which is sure to be popular.

This Mosser Bathing Beauty Soap Dish adds elegance to your bathroom.

Other items enjoyed by many include their Cambridge Spirit Collection, decorated cake domes, and the bathing beauty soap dish. Everything can be purchased in a wonderful variety of colors which vary from soft to bright and will add charm to your home.

Georgia was honored with this peaceful blue color being named with her in mind.

One of their most recent color additions is a peaceful Georgia Blue. This honors Tom’s wife, Georgianna, who exerted a calm influence over the family during her life. She was instrumental in designing many new pieces.

Ohio State glass creations are very popular.

You might be surprised at all the things that Mosser Glass makes. While you can see their beautiful productions for your home in the gift shop, they also make headlight and tail light lenses, industrial and residential lighting fixtures, dental light lenses, cuspidors, and the list goes on.

Their Christmas trees appear in many colors and are highly collectible.

Mosser Glass is located at 9279 Cadiz Road, Cambridge. They are known the world over for their elegant, hand-pressed glassware in a variety of colors. Stop by to see the beauty of the glass created here for fifty years and take something special home with you.

This jadeite trinket box makes a great gift.

Small family-run businesses like Mosser Glass succeed due to their love of making glass in the traditional way that has been in their family for over a hundred years. Tim, Sally, and Mindy have a passion for the glass business. That’s what makes Mosser Glass so special.

Mosser Glass is located at 9279 Cadiz Road, Cambridge, Ohio. They are located about a mile from I-77 west at Exit 47.

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Art, Ohio, Uncategorized

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