I grew up in Muncie, Indiana. Home of the Ball canning jar. You might be asking yourself, is she really going to blog about the Ball jar? Yes, I am. Keep reading, I have a method to my madness. I grew up in a town where everything was Ball. Ball Brothers, Ball Memorial Hospital, Ball State University, Ball Corp (maker of Ball jars). The Ball Family had their stake on my hometown.
Yet, there is a pride I feel when I see a Ball jar. These days with canning making a resurgence, and organic being the way of the world it feels like all I ever see are Ball and Kerr mason jars. I have quite a few in my house. We use them as glasses, I measure my water intake from the wide mouth version. I take it to my work meetings ensuring I will drink my daily allotment of water throughout the day. I use the smaller ones for concoctions for my hair (most recently cornstarch as my dry shampoo for my “no poo” adventures).
Wherever I go I encounter Ball or Kerr jars. If I ever have a choice, I go with Ball. Call me nostalgic, but there is something about supporting a family that kept your little town afloat for so many years. These days just take some time to explore Pinterest and you will see weddings, family affairs, dinner parties, all with use of the Ball jars in the way of food, flowers, candles, and party favor containers. It brings vintage to 2014. I love it.
Funny how something that used to live right in your backyard (now manufacturing happens in Broomfield, CO) to being a common, everyday item in households for more than just canning. Wikipedia states:
“Company headquarters moved from Muncie to Broomfield, Colorado in 1998. Ball no longer produces the glass fruit jar; the license to produce the jar now is owned by Jarden Home Brands. Jarden produces all lids for all brands of fruit jars at its Muncie plant. Jars are made by a variety of glass producers.”
Heck we have a mini version holding our toothbrushes in the bathroom. Vintage really has spanned all avenues. What was commonplace is now “in.”
Ball jars: the new wine glass.
random olio 
funny you should observe this!
i only buy Ball jars for my kitchen to be used both for my fermentations and to use when drinking certain cocktails (maybe the cursive “Ball” makes it taste better)! Walter, my uncle, found that we have a couple “Ball’s” in our genealogy before the Revolution so there is a possibility that we are cousins of General Washington (coupled with the fact that one of our ancestors served with Col. Washington in the French/Indian War at the battle of Fort Duquesne)
I will, on occasion, save mason jars that are included with our preferred pasta sauce for storage applications but they are always regulated for the “service” part of my house. can never get that marinara smell out of the top!
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Wow. Interesting to know about the genealogy!
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