Marshall & Carol Ketchum bring our attention to the Hillsborough (California)
antique show on Nov. 2-5, 2006. 550 dealers and usually a good showing of
Carder Steuben. This is the major west coast antique show. The Ketchum’s plan
on attending the show.
http://www.hillsboroughantiqueshow.com/
Yesterday we copied an item from the Corning newspaper on the re-location of a
Carder Memorial Window. Tom Dimitroff has offered the following background
for our information.

1918 was a horrible year for Frederick Carder. That year the War took from him both his beloved company as it became a part of the Corning Glass Works or “The smokestack University,” as Carder referred to it. The War also cruelly took Carder’s only surviving son, Cyril, who was killed in France that year. Cyril died a hero with many medals. The Memorial Window (Shape Number A2084) was created by Carder as a memorial to Cyril and all 30 Corning boys who gave their lives in the War. The Window was installed above the entrance door of Corning’s War Memorial Library in 1930.
Over the years the window remained a vital part of Corning’s memorial to the veterans of World War I. This changed, however, in 1975, when Corning’s library was moved to a new building and the old Pine Street landmark ceased to be a war memorial library. The building eventually was used for offices by Steuben County and has since been sold to a private developer. The safety and integrity of the window as a war memorial became bigger and bigger concerns as time elapsed. So did the fact that very few people ever got to see and appreciate this major Frederick Carder creation and important city war memorial. (Since this time, the building has been vacant and is deteriorating)
In 1987 Mayor Daniel L. Killigrew appointed a committee charged with investigating the possibility of moving the Carder Memorial Window from the old Library Building to the Rockwell Museum. This committee included Mayor Killigrew, Robert Manchester from the Rockwell Museum, Thomas Dimitroff, a local historian and Honorary Curator of Carder Glass at the Rockwell Museum, alderman Avery Acly, alderman John J. Philip, alderman John Marmuscak, and Jack Collins who represented a special committee of various veterans organizations.
This city committee with support of the veterans groups’ committee submitted to the City Council a resolution in favor of moving the window. The resolution read in part, “Upon advice of the committee composed of members of various veterans organizations in the City of Corning concerned with the preservation of the memorial to war veterans located in the former World War Memorial Library building consisting of the Carder window and various associated plaques that the same be loaned and moved to the Rockwell Museum, subject to reservation of right to have the window and plaques returned if the World War Memorial Library building becomes a city museum, its continued preservation as a war memorial and continued advisory jurisdiction of the said veterans committee with respect thereto…” The resolution gave the mayor power to negotiate “…with the Rockwell Museum concerning the loan of and movement to the Rockwell Museum of the war memorial located in the war Memorial Library building…”
The Council voted in favor of the resolution in June. So, in 1987, the window, with the expert assistance of staff from the Corning Museum of Glass, was carefully removed from its site and installed – along with other war memorial materials – as an exhibit and memorial site at a location in the Rockwell Museum, housed in the old City Hall Building on the corner of Cedar Street and Denison Parkway, available to all without admission charge. The dedication of the new installation of the window and plaques was held at noon on November 11, 1987, at the Rockwell Museum. Participants included, Robert F. Rockwell, Jr., founder of the Rockwell Museum; Dwight P. Lanmon, acting director of the Rockwell Museum; the Reverend Paul A. Appel of the First Baptist Church of Corning; Daniel L. Killigrew, Jr., Mayor of Corning; Jack Collins, Chairman, Veterans’ War Memorial Committee;
Brian Hill, Commander American Legion Post 746; Edward Bassett, Commander Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 524; the Reverend Thomas F. Brennan of St. Mary’s Church; and, Alice Keeler who posed for Carder as he sculpted the central figure for the Window.
In 2000 plans were made to renovate the Rockwell Museum and to transform it into a museum of western art and the museum encouraged a search to find it a new home. The director of the Museum at that time removed the window and the bronze plaques and put them in storage. This, of course, violated the promise the Museum made to the veterans groups and the city.
Because I was vitally involved in this from the beginning, I felt a responsibility to try to correct the error that had been made by the Museum. I asked the then mayor of Corning to form a committee to find a location for the window and the bronze plaques so that the city and the veterans groups would once again have a World War I memorial. I gave the Mayor a list of possible committee members. As the city actually owns the window, Mayor Lewis formed the committee with me being the chairman. The committee worked hard and eventually agreed that the window and the plaques should be installed in the City Hall where all could see and enjoy the memorial. Several different locations within City Hall were considered and one was chosen. Then, a new mayor was elected. He decided to change the make-up of city committees. I was able to convince Mayor Coccho to continue our committee as is with the appointment of one new member. I then became ill and the work of the committee was suspended until I would recover.
I read in the papers recently an article that stated that Mayor Coccho had called a meeting of the committee and it selected a new chairman. This was a surprise to me, but what matters is that the committee and its new chairperson will continue and hopefully will be successful in getting their recommendations accepted by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. Then, the committee will have to raise the funds to construct the new Memorial. I have no doubt this all will happen soon and once again Corning and its visitors will be able to enjoy and appreciate Carder’s Memorial Window and all that it stands for now and in the future.
Tom Dimitroff.