I love hunting for the Entrepreneurial Spirit of Manufacturing in the United States, it is still alive. It always amazes me how the human spirit is so full of imagination and how that imagination becomes manufactured ideas that span generations; like marbles.
Remember playing marbles? Well, maybe I’m dating myself but everyone used to play marbles. They were the gold and silver standard of the American Playground, heck you could score great food, girls and maybe even get someone else to do your homework for the right marble.
It’s that same American Manufacturing entrepreneurial spirit (that was a mouth full) that drove Berry Pink and Sellers Peltier to found Marble King in 1949. Peltier was the glass manufacturer who produced the marbles for Marble King which was owned by Pink. Eventually, Peltier couldn’t keep up with the demand from Marble King so a good ol’ fashion Partnership was formed.
Today Marble King is still owned by an original name, Howdyshell, who moved from Facility Manager to owner in 1983. Howdyshell is known for contributing the “Cat’s Eye” marble and veneering process. More than 63 years later Marble King remains one of the last marble manufacturers in the world and literally the last American Marble Manufacturer.
Our hats are off to the Marble King for keeping the American Dream alive in manufacturing!
