By PAIGE ARCANO

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) – A group of some 35 people gathered at the Warrensburg Community Center Thursday to learn about highly collectible artistic glass.

The Lifelong Learning program at the University of Central Missouri presented “Handcrafted American Artistry: Collecting Fenton Glass.”

The guest speaker, Melvin Lampton, of Bates City, has 30 years of experience collecting Fenton glass and said he started after going to flea markets in search of glassware. And now he’s hooked.

“The name (Fenton) kind of stuck with us,” Lampton said. “Learn to appreciate other types of glass. You’ll get attracted to it, and that’s where you get in trouble, moneywise.”

The Fenton Art Glass Company started in 1905 by brothers Frank and John Fenton in West Virginia. Lampton said there were many glass manufacturers on the East Coast.

“Natural gas was cheap and plentiful in West Virginia,” Lampton said.

Mary Solomon, board member and public relations representative for the Lifelong Learning program, said she wasn’t aware of the different methods in making glass until this seminar.

“I didn’t know uranium and gold was used for coloration for the glass pieces,” Solomon said. “I also should have paid more attention to what was in my grandmother’s house!”

Lampton discussed Depression-era glass, noting that these pieces typically do not have vibrant colors because it was cheaply made during this era.

Many glass companies went out of business because of this, but Fenton did not use the cheap process, and they were able to stay in business much longer than other companies.

“Knowing how glass is made, you can appreciate these (pieces),” Lampton said. “At least I know I can.”

Beverly Jackson, of Warrensburg, said she has been collecting Fenton for 30 years. She said she has at least 10 pieces of Fenton.

“I was able to go to the Fenton factory and actually watch them make the glass,” Jackson said.

Along with the discussion of Fenton glass, there was also a drawing for Fenton pieces. Ginny McTighe, of Warrensburg, was one of the winners.

“I actually grew up on the East Coast, and my grandma worked in a glass factory,” McTighe said. “That helped spark my interest in Fenton glass.”