Just finished reading this.
31 August 2020
24 August 2020
The Life and Death of an Arizona Pottery
The La Solana company was operated by owner George Bergstrom and vice president Dean Gehlbach. Over the past two years, I have been in correspondence with Kurt and Richard Gehlbach. Dean Gehlbach is the grandfather of Kurt and Richard. Kurt and Richard's father, also named Richard, eventually took over the company after serving as foreman. The sons were slated to take over La Solana next, but the company ended up going out of business. Richard (the son) has recently shared with me a little background on how the company worked and how it went out of business. Here, with a little editing for brevity, is what he had to say:
La Solana Potteries [was located] in California and moved to [Scottsdale] Arizona sometime between May 1952 and March of 1954. My father was the foreman. He was married in California but his first daughter was born in Phoenix (Az). The reason [for the move] was probably economics. California is and has always been an expensive place to live and build a business. La Solana Potteries did a good business at times but they were basically month to month and year to year. Their primary market was the mid-west of the United States. Their products were very popular because grocery stores were buying Solana Ware and giving [it] away as rewards to attract shoppers. Solana Ware was good quality, stood up to heat, and had pleasant colors. [Its] one major downfall was [that it was] breakable if dropped [and] chipped if not careful.
Scottsdale is now a ritzy, expensive town but in the early 1950's it was a town looking for an identity and begging businesses to locate there. La Solana potteries was lured there with some promises I am sure. They took over an old Coca Cola bottling plant; I believe it was about Main and 2nd Street. Upon moving to Scottsdale the whole town was happy they were part of the community. If the pottery needed a loan they simply walked down the street to the Arizona Bank, told them how much they needed, and with a hand shake the deal was done. Scottsdale promoted itself as "The West's Most Western Town" with rodeos, staged shootouts, parades, a great climate, and lots of land for sale. Growth exploded.
[Three things began to work against the company:] the development of Corning Ware, a heat resistant [material] that was lighter and non-breakable; the oil embargo and the sky rocketing natural gas prices of the early '70s; and the city's transition from a western themed town to the glitzy, artsy, wealthy place to move. The company they lured and loved in the '50s was no longer needed and since they were doing business in a plain cement manufacturing building, they were now an eyesore. Scottsdale demanded that they renovate the outside of their building to better represent an artsy city.
By this time Mr. Bergstrom had retired as did Dean Gehlbach. Richard Gehlbach became president of the business and he was the one facing [the three threats]. These were the start of the plant's downfall.
I literally came home from high school to see my father lying on his bed with a chest pain shooting down his left arm. We all know that is a sign of a heart attack but he refused to go to the doctor as we had no money. Half the time he did not bring home a pay check because he had to pay the bills and his employees.
I worked at the plant for a few months in 1973 but he had to lay people off. He tried to find a buyer for the business and that was successful. They were the ones who wanted the business moved to Mesa near Falcon Airfield. The move did take place, after the sale, I believe it did not stay in business long [and they] eventually just liquidated assets.
La Solana Potteries never had the capital to compete with other businesses but most importantly they did not have the capital to change so they could keep competitive. They did dabble in a couple of ideas, one that you mentioned white pieces of ware with aqua utensil designs, which are somewhat rare. Even more rare was a line of items with Native American designs from a local artist. They also created a dated set of plates, also with Native American Designs.
-- Richard Gehlbach, August 2020
Read more about "La Solana" pottery here.
La Solana Potteries [was located] in California and moved to [Scottsdale] Arizona sometime between May 1952 and March of 1954. My father was the foreman. He was married in California but his first daughter was born in Phoenix (Az). The reason [for the move] was probably economics. California is and has always been an expensive place to live and build a business. La Solana Potteries did a good business at times but they were basically month to month and year to year. Their primary market was the mid-west of the United States. Their products were very popular because grocery stores were buying Solana Ware and giving [it] away as rewards to attract shoppers. Solana Ware was good quality, stood up to heat, and had pleasant colors. [Its] one major downfall was [that it was] breakable if dropped [and] chipped if not careful.
Scottsdale is now a ritzy, expensive town but in the early 1950's it was a town looking for an identity and begging businesses to locate there. La Solana potteries was lured there with some promises I am sure. They took over an old Coca Cola bottling plant; I believe it was about Main and 2nd Street. Upon moving to Scottsdale the whole town was happy they were part of the community. If the pottery needed a loan they simply walked down the street to the Arizona Bank, told them how much they needed, and with a hand shake the deal was done. Scottsdale promoted itself as "The West's Most Western Town" with rodeos, staged shootouts, parades, a great climate, and lots of land for sale. Growth exploded.
[Three things began to work against the company:] the development of Corning Ware, a heat resistant [material] that was lighter and non-breakable; the oil embargo and the sky rocketing natural gas prices of the early '70s; and the city's transition from a western themed town to the glitzy, artsy, wealthy place to move. The company they lured and loved in the '50s was no longer needed and since they were doing business in a plain cement manufacturing building, they were now an eyesore. Scottsdale demanded that they renovate the outside of their building to better represent an artsy city.
By this time Mr. Bergstrom had retired as did Dean Gehlbach. Richard Gehlbach became president of the business and he was the one facing [the three threats]. These were the start of the plant's downfall.
I literally came home from high school to see my father lying on his bed with a chest pain shooting down his left arm. We all know that is a sign of a heart attack but he refused to go to the doctor as we had no money. Half the time he did not bring home a pay check because he had to pay the bills and his employees.
I worked at the plant for a few months in 1973 but he had to lay people off. He tried to find a buyer for the business and that was successful. They were the ones who wanted the business moved to Mesa near Falcon Airfield. The move did take place, after the sale, I believe it did not stay in business long [and they] eventually just liquidated assets.
La Solana Potteries never had the capital to compete with other businesses but most importantly they did not have the capital to change so they could keep competitive. They did dabble in a couple of ideas, one that you mentioned white pieces of ware with aqua utensil designs, which are somewhat rare. Even more rare was a line of items with Native American designs from a local artist. They also created a dated set of plates, also with Native American Designs.
-- Richard Gehlbach, August 2020
08 August 2020
01 August 2020
Summer Reading
I've gone through some of the books I've written and put together a little sampling that you might enjoy to get your mind off all the (shall we say) interesting events going on in the world. These are perfect for the beaches (most of which are closed), reading with friends (groups of which are discouraged) or snuggled in a chair with your favorite cat or dog on your lap.
Click on an image to find the Amazon listing.
I've written other books. You can see them all listed on the right-hand-side navigation pane.
Click on an image to find the Amazon listing.
I've written other books. You can see them all listed on the right-hand-side navigation pane.
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