LEGACY OF THE BALL FAMILY. FROM BALL STATE UNIVERSITY TO
THE BALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, IT
REMAINS TIED TO THE HISTORY OF
THE BALL CORPORATION AND THEIR
FAMOUS JARS.
FAMOUS JARS. IT'S A STORY THAT BEGINS IN
1880.
1880. NOT IN INDIANA, BUT BUFFALO,
NEW YORK.
NEW YORK. WITH FIVE BROTHERS AND ONE BIG
DREAM.
DREAM. >> THE BALL BROTHERS LOOKED FOR
A BUSINESS THAT THEY COULD DO
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. THEIR MOTHER TOLD THEM ALWAYS TO
STICK TOGETHER AND THEY LISTENED
TO HER.
TO HER. AND THEY DID.
THEY TRIED EVERYTHING FROM
MAKING FISH TRAPS TO CREAMY
CARPET.
CARPET. NEITHER OF THOSE WORKED TOO
WELL.
WELL. BUT THEN THEY STARTED TO MAKE
WOOD-JACKETED KEROSINE CANS.
THAT TOOK OFF.
THE TIN AFTER AWHILE WOULD
CORRODE, AND THEY STARTED USING
GLASS FOR THE INTERIOR OF THESE
CANS.
CANS. >> BY 1884, THE BALL BROTHER'S
GLASS MANUFACTURING COMPANY WAS
IN FULL SWING.
TO MAXIMIZE FACTORY PRODUCTION,
THE BROTHERS EXPANDED INTO OTHER
GLASS PRODUCTS INCLUDING THEIR
FIRST GLASS FRUIT JARS.
THE PRODUCT THAT WOULD
EVENTUALLY MAKE BALL A HOUSEHOLD
NAME.
NAME. >> WITH GLASS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE
ALL OF THAT ENERGY TO MAKE THE
GLASS, TO MELT IT, AND THAT'S
WHEN THEY STARTED TRAVELING
THROUGHOUT INDIANA AND OHIO
LOOKING AT PLACES THAT HAD THE
NATURAL GAS.
NATURAL GAS. NATURAL GAS WAS DISCOVERED HERE
ABOUT 1876.
ABOUT 1876. DURING THE NATURAL GAS BOOM.
THERE WERE ABOUT 150 GLASS
COMPANIES IN THIS AREA.
THEY GOT A LETTER FROM JAMES
MUNCEY SAYING COME HERE.
HE WAS OFFERED MONEY, LAND, AND
FREE NATURAL GAS.
HE GOT A GREAT DEAL!
>> CONSTRUCTION ON THE NEW
MUNCEY FACTORY BEGAN IN 1887.
BY 1888, THE FIRST GLASS ROLLED
OFF OF THE LINE.
>> AND THE FAMILY WAS VERY GOOD
AT DEVELOPING THEIR OWN TALENTS,
AND USING THEIR OWN TALENTS
APPROPRIATELY IN ORDER TO REALLY
GET THE BALL NAME KNOWN.
FRANK BALL WAS THE COMPANY
PRESIDENT FOR 63 YEARS.
EDMOND WAS THE ONE WHO WORKED
WITH MACHINERY.
WITH MACHINERY. HE UNDERSTOOD THE MACHINERY AND
MECHANICS.
MECHANICS. GEORGE WAS VERY MUCH THE LEADER
OF THE COMPANY.
WILLIAM WAS AN EXCELLENT
SALESMAN.
SALESMAN. SO HE WAS OUT TRAVELING AROUND
SELLING THESE JARS.
THE BALLS WILL PULLED EVERYTHING
IN.
IN. THEY MADE THE JARS, THEY MADE
THE LIDS, THEY MADE THEIR OWN
PACKING CRATES.
PACKING CRATES. THEY ALSO HAD THE RECIPE, THE
BLUE BOOK, THE BIBLE OF CANNING
WAS ACTUALLY DEVELOPED IN THE
GEORGIAN FRANCIS BALL HOUSE.
THEY DID IT IN THEIR OWN
KITCHEN.
KITCHEN. EVEN THOUGH COMPANIES WERE STILL
DOING THIS, THEY PRETTY MUCH
DEVELOPED THEIR OWN.
>> THEIR DIVERSE BUSINESS MODEL
AS WELL AS NUMEROUS INVENTIONS
LIKE THE BALL MACHINE HELPED THE
COMPANY SURVIVE AS NATURAL GAS
DWINDLED.
DWINDLED. OVER THE NEXT DECADE THEY
ACQUIRED GLASS COMPANIES
THROUGHOUT EAST CENTRAL INDIANA
AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
BY 1900, THEY WERE THE LARGEST
MANUFACTURER OF FRUIT JARS IN
THE WORLD.
THE WORLD. BRINGING FINANCIAL WINDFALL NOT
JUST TO THE BALL FAMILY, BUT
MUNCEY AS WELL.
THE FIRST MAJOR GIFT TO THE CITY
CAME IN 1917 WHEN THE BALL
BROTHERS PURCHASED THE BANKRUPT
EASTERN INDIANA UNIVERSITY
DONATING IT BACK TO THE STATE
AND PROVIDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT
AS IT GREW INTO WHAT IT IS
TODAY, BALL STATE UNIVERSITY.
BY 1926, THE FAMILY FORMED THE
BALL BROTHERS FOUNDATION
DEDICATED TO ENHANCING THE
QUALITY OF LIFE IN THEIR INDIANA
COMMUNITY STARTING WITH THE BALL
MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.
MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. >> WELL, THE FAMILY HAS ALWAYS
STUCK TOGETHER.
STUCK TOGETHER. THEY ALL LIVED HERE SIDE BY
SIDE.
SIDE. AND SO I'M THE OLDEST NOW OF
ANYBODY BECAUSE NOBODY ELSE IS
LIVING OLDER THAN I AM AT THIS
POINT.
POINT. I AM THE DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM
BALL, JUNIOR.
BALL, JUNIOR. MY GRANDFATHER WAS WILLIAM H
BALL.
BALL. THEY WERE ALL VERY COMMUNITY
MINDED.
MINDED. THEY WANTED TO BUILD A
COMMUNITY.
COMMUNITY. THEY WANTED TO MAKE ECONOMICAL
GROWTH.
GROWTH. THEY WERE ALL VERY CONCERNED
ABOUT THE GROWTH OF EVERYTHING
THAT THEY COULD HELP, ALL THE
DONATIONS THAT GO OUT FOR
CHARITIES, THEY ALL WENT OUT OF
THE INVESTMENT FUNDS THAT WERE
IN THIS FOUNDATION.
>> BUT THE BALL FAMILY
FOUNDATION AND THE BALL
CORPORATION CONTINUED TO GROW
DESPITE THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE
DEVASTATION OF WORLD WAR II.
AS THE WAR DREW TO A CLOSE AND
THE NEXT GENERATION OF THE BALL
FAMILY CAME INTO POWER, THE
COMPANY AND ITS EFFORTS FACED AN
UNCERTAIN FUTURE.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE. >> ED WAS A VISIONARY.
AND HE MET THESE CHALLENGES
HEAD-ON.
HEAD-ON. THE FACTORY WAS ACTUALLY GETTING
WORN OUT.
WORN OUT. AND SO AT THE END OF THE WAR UP
THROUGH THE END OF THE '40s OR
SO, THEY HAD A LOT OF DECISIONS
TO MAKE, WOULD THEY RE-DO THIS
FACTORY?
FACTORY? WOULD THEY GO OUT OF BUSINESS?
THE DECISION WAS MADE WE DON'T
WANT TO SELL.
THIS NEEDS TO REMAIN BALL
BROTHERS COMPANY.
BROTHERS COMPANY. BUT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT
ELSE WE CAN DO.
THEY WERE LOOKING AHEAD.
THEY WERE WATCHING SPACE SHUTTLE
ANYTHING LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE IN
THE EARLY 50s AND THEY FOUNDED
A SMALL COMPANY IN DENVER,
COLORADO, AND THEY BOUGHT IT.
AND THAT'S HOW THEY GOT INTO THE
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY.
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY. BUT FROM THE TIME OF THE EARLY
'60s TO THE MOST RECENT
FLY-BY, EVERY SINGLE TIME THE
UNITED STATES HAS GONE INTO
SPACE, BALL HAS BEEN INVOLVED.
>> AS THE COMPANY'S INVOLVEMENT
IN AEROSPACE GREW, GLASS
PRODUCTION SLOWED.
PRODUCTION SLOWED. BY 1962, THE MUNCEY FACTORY HAD
CLOSED.
CLOSED. THE BALL CORPORATIONS
HEADQUARTERS REMAINED IN THE
CITY UNTIL IT MOVED TO COLORADO
IN 1998, CLOSING A CENTURY-LONG
CHAPTER OF MUNCEY MANUFACTURING,
BUT NOT OF COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT.