Milton Story Archives - Page 3 of 3 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

H.T. Hackney to Open W.Va. Warehouse, Create 70 Jobs

State officials say wholesale grocery distributor H.T. Hackney Co. is opening its first warehouse in West Virginia and creating an estimated 70 jobs. Milton

The state Department of Commerce says in a news release that the company will locate a 246,000-square-foot warehouse in Milton.

The company is accepting job applications at Milton City Hall starting Thursday for drivers and mechanics, office and warehouse workers, maintenance personnel and sales staff.

Knoxville, Tennessee-based H.T. Hackney stocks more than 30,000 different products and serves retailers in 22 states.

Glassmaker William Blenko Born in England: December 8, 1854

Glassmaker William Blenko was born in England on December 8, 1854. In his late thirties, he immigrated to the United States and tried to produce stained glass for a living. Unfortunately, business after business failed—until he wound up in the Cabell County town of Milton in 1921.

In this late sixties, Blenko finally became an overnight success. His factory began shipping stained glass across the United States and to Europe. The business rolled along until the Great Depression nearly wiped him out. Blenko realized that diversification was the key to survival, so in 1930, he added a line of decorative glassware that would make Blenko famous.

When William Blenko died in 1933, the company transitioned seamlessly in the hands of his son, William H. Blenko, Sr. Over the years, Blenko glassware would be featured in Time, National Geographic, and House and Garden magazines.

Today, the Blenko factory still operates in Milton. Blenko stained glass can be found in Washington’s National Cathedral and the U.S. Air Force Academy chapel in Colorado, among other places. Blenko Glass also manufactures trophies for the annual Country Music Awards.

Mountain Stage and Blenko Glass Collaborate on 33rd Anniversary Record

Milton, WV based Blenko Glass Company has teamed with West Virginia Public Broadcasting to commemorate 33 years of Mountain Stage with a limited edition, hand blown glass record. This one-of-a-kind piece will be available for an introductory price of $60 per piece, at Mountain Stage’s SOLD OUT event on Sunday, December 4 in the Culture Center Lobby, and when Mountain Stage opens its “Pop Up Shop” at WVPB, 600 Capitol St. Charleston, WV on Wednesday December 14 and Thursday December 15, from 11a.m. to 6p.m.

"Blenko has many opportunities to work with creative people and to translate their ideas into glass," said Dean Six, VP of Marketing and Sales at Blenko, "One of the most exciting, challenging and unique projects we have recently participated in is the record we made for Mountain Stage. The resulting glass phonograph record, for those of us who remember such a thing, is a really fun piece of art glass. Blenko loves to accept challenges and make really fun objects like this."

To capture the retro vibe of classic LP labels, Mountain Stage enlisted the help of creative strategists Charles Ryan Associates.

“We wanted to give the design a classic look that would truly represent and celebrate the rich Mountain Stage tradition,” CRA Creative Director Robb Major said. “We studied popular LP label designs from vinyl's heyday and put together something that's fun, unique and a little bit funky. We're commemorating 33 years of live performance radio with a blue glass record for a reason. Not only is it the signature "Blenko Blue," and the somewhat obvious correlation between the 33 RPMs of an old LP and 33 years of Mountain Stage, but it should also be noted that 27 albums of live performances from Mountain Stage have been released on Blue Plate Records. So the color of this piece has significant meaning, as well. It was an honor to collaborate and create something special for such an important piece of music history.”

Continuing their collaboration with local Charleston-based letter press company Base Camp Printing, Mountain Stage will also commemorate the 33^rd Anniversary show with limited edition poster, available exclusively at the Mountain Stage merchandise table and at the Base Camp store (613 Tennessee Ave, Charleston, WV 25302) the week following each performance.

While Sunday’s show is sold out, with guests Iron & Wine, Tift Merritt, Todd Burge, Andy Shauf and Paper Bird, audiences can tune in from anywhere in the world at 7p.m. EST via MountainStage.org and VuHaus.com to watch live. Follow along on Twitter and Instagram and let us know you’re watching with the hash tag #MountainStage33 and #GoToWV.

Mountain Stage recorded its first regularly scheduled program in December 1983 and today is heard on 180 NPR stations nationwide and also at NPR Music. Select video performances are at VuHaus.com and the podcast is available on iTunes and wherever you find your podcasts.

The December 4 episode is scheduled for broadcast starting March 5, 2017.

I-64 Reopened After Tanker Accident

Traffic is moving again on Interstate 64 in Cabell County 12 hours after a tanker-truck accident.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation says in a statement that both eastbound and westbound sections reopened on Friday afternoon.

Media outlets report the tanker rolled over at about 3:15 a.m. between the Milton and Barboursville exits, forcing traffic to be diverted off the interstate.

Milton Volunteer Fire Chief Brent Taylor says the tanker was carrying propane, which didn’t leak and was transferred to another vehicle.

Taylor says the driver of the tanker was taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries.