Little pieces of local holiday magic • Night of Lights tips • Shop small Saturday events!
Hey Locals,
We have a slightly different newsletter this week for the Thanksgiving holiday.
In lieu of our usual Above the Fold and Briefs, I’m sharing a story from my family about a little Fort Wayne holiday history. I also have some events for your To Do List, including tips to attend the annual HolidayFest Night of Lights Downtown tomorrow.
Enjoy the long holiday weekend, and I hope that when you see the lights this season – on the streets or in the comfort of your home – you take some time to reflect on the many people and stories that have made your life and community a little bit brighter.
Don’t forget: In November, we're partnering with Pikoso Burrito Co. at Union Street Market to bring all paid subscribers to The Local 20% off their dinner orders.
Now, let’s get started!
NOTE: Links to Journal Gazette articles are marked(*) and may be behind a paywall.
Little pieces of local holiday magic
A Fort Wayne Christmas story with Kara.
As Fort Wayne prepares for its annual Night of Lights tradition, I wanted to share a lesser-known story about holiday lights that has a personal connection to me.
A few years ago, I learned that I am the great-great-great-grand niece of a glassblower named A.C. Mannweiler (my grandmother’s grandfather’s brother – I know, it’s complicated). Mannweiler was a Fort Wayne native who started making incandescent lamps in 1888, when he was 15 years old, working for the “Fort Wayne Jenny Electric” company, a forerunner to GE.
Mannweiler’s daughter and only child, Pauline Mannweiler Brandyberry, said her dad was sent to Chicago to blow glass for Thomas Edison around the time of the World’s Columbia Exhibition of 1893 (Chicago World’s Fair). This was the year Edison and Nikola Tesla famously competed to light the fairgrounds, and family says Mannweiler may have contributed to the fair and/or created some of Edison’s bulbs.
After living and working several places as a glass blower, Mannweiler and his small family “lost everything” in Chicago in the 1910s, causing them to return to Allen County around 1911-1912. They lived briefly with my grandmother’s family at a farm off Highway 14 (before my grandmother was born). Then in 1912, when Mannweiler was in his early 40s, he bought a house at 2719 Broadway (across the street from what is now Rune) where he and his wife (also Pauline) began making miniature incandescent lamps “with almost no capital and with very little machinery,” according to a December 1920 Journal Gazette article. Their output was 25-50 lamps daily that first year.
By 1920, the business had expanded into the lot/building next door, where it employed dozens of people making lamps, radio tubes and other illumination devices. Their most popular items were holiday lights in many colors and styles, including Mannweiler’s patented Christmas candle lamps.
In a 1920 JG article, Mannweiler estimated his company produced 150,000 lamps that season, meaning about 10,000 homes nationwide enjoyed trees decorated by the Fort Wayne business. As a Fort Wayne News and Sentinel headline proudly reported in August 1919: the Summit City had “one of the biggest factories in the country for the manufacture of small incandescent lamps.”
I learned much of this from my Uncle Walter “Cork” Hackett, who was featured in a magazine for vintage and antique Christmas collectors about 100 years later in August 2020 called The GLOW. Writer and collector Craig McManus had stumbled upon some of Mannweiler’s popular candlestick Christmas tree lights from the 1920s at a vintage sale and was curious to know more about the maker.
McManus contacted some of Mannweiler’s few living descendents, including my uncle, and pieced together the untold history of his life and legacy – how it helped to shape not only national holiday celebrations, but also Fort Wayne’s own inventive, can-do spirit.
In 1921, Mannweiler dissolved his company (A.C. Mannweiler Lamp Co.) and reopened it as Anthony Wayne Lamp Co. for unknown reasons – though WW1 anti-German sentiments may have played a role. He died of a blood clot from appendix surgery in 1927, age 56, “at the height of his business,” McManus reports. His daughter Pauline eventually took over the company with her husband, turning it into an electrical supply house before it closed in the 1970s in its final storefront at 2732 Broadway (still standing).
Pauline died in 1984 at age 83, and since she had no children and was close with my grandmother, my family inherited much of her beautiful wooden furniture, including a few pieces I am lucky enough to have in my home today. Seeing these and the Anthony Wayne Candle Co. lamps on my grandmother’s tree always reminds me of the rich history of locals who have come before us.
As McManus puts it:
“Each time I light my tree filled with Anthony Wayne Candles, I think about the husband and wife team, toiling away for hours in front of hot gas flames, one-hundred years ago, creating little pieces of illuminated Christmas magic.”
Attend: HolidayFest Night of Lights Downtown on Nov. 26, 5:45-8 p.m., featuring the iconic lighting of Santa and His Reindeer, the Merry Christmas Wreath and more.
Cozy up: to "Birdie's - Night of Lights" on Nov. 26, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Birdie's Rooftop Bar with live music, holiday cocktails and festive, shareable plates and sky views of the Santa Claus lights ($10 cover). If you miss the event, you can still experience the magic (with fewer crowds) through Dec. 31 with outdoor heaters and glow towers on the Birdie’s patio, as well as vintage Vera Bradley blankets.
Bid: on items from the Freeland Estate (Pizza Hut Mansion), featuring more than 600 items available for bids now through Dec. 15.
Party: at Dae Gee Late Night’s 18+ Blackout Wednesday Rave, featuring DJ CEO spinning a pre-Thanksgiving celebration Nov. 26, 10 p.m.-1 a.m., with food and drinks available. ($5 presale; $8 at the door)
Dance: at Drinksgiving Downtown at the Fairfield, featuring drinks, DJs, Pinhouse Social, Urban Golf and more, Nov. 26, 9 p.m.-midnight. (no cover)
Stroll: the Embassy Theatre’s Festival of Trees fundraiser, including visits with Santa, stage entertainment and lots of holiday trees, beginning Nov. 26-Dec. 3, including a new sensory-friendly day Nov. 30.
Experience: $1-Night Light Displays At the Botanical Conservatory on select dates, Nov. 26, 5-8 p.m., and Thursdays/Fridays Nov. 28-Dec. 19. Treat yourself at Café Flora and experience the indoor gardens with festive greenery and illuminated photo ops.
Browse: Artlink’s 6th Annual Cup Exhibition & Sale, featuring handmade drinking vessels by professional ceramic artists, Nov. 29 - Dec. 14.
Shop local: on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 29:
- Holly Shopping Downtown, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., including Broadway, Main Street, and Wells Street Corridors offers more than 50 places to eat, drink and explore with the convenience of a shuttle trolley. From 2-4 p.m., Anna and Elsa will be available for photo opportunities.
- Inside the Botanical Conservatory, there’s an “Artisan Village”curated market of local artisans, crafters, and small business vendors.
- Electric Works is hosting a Shop Small Santa Stop right here at Union Street Market noon - 4 p.m. (free)
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Have a great week, Locals!
-Your Editor, Kara Hackett