Read more: Local, State, Business, Community, LOF, Libbey Owens Ford, Rossford Public Library, Pilkington, Lof Pilkington
ROSSFORD, OHIO -- The Rossford Library is asking for your help in writing their history books.
The library has new grant money allowing them to digitize old photos from the Libbey Owens Ford Glass Company, but librarians don't have a lot of information on the pictures. That's where they are hoping you'll come in. “There's been a desire in the community to do digitization for a long time,” said Jeannine Wilbarger, Director of the Rossford Public Library.
Librarians have begun the task of turning the photographs into nostalgia that will never deteriorate by scanning the pictures into a computer.
Community volunteers like Carole Dietz will, for the near future, come in and help identify the men and machines seen in photos. “I used to work at the Rossford Savings Bank so I knew a lot of these men that come in because I cashed their checks,” said Dietz
John Muir is also a volunteer. He worked in a variety of capacities at Libbey Owens Ford from 1953 until his retirement in 1991. "There weren't many people who went through there who would know what these photos are,” said Muir. His additions to this digitization and information gathering process come in identifying the glass making machinery at the Rossford plant.
LOF operated in Rossford until it was sold to a British glass making company called the Pilkington Group in the late 1980's. While that company still operates in Rossford today, albeit at a fraction of the size, the people and those who knew the people that were around in the LOF glory days are adding what and who they know to the Rossford record books.
The digitization project will be going on for at least the next two years.
For more information and to view some of the photos that are already in digital form you can visit the Rossford Public Library’s website at http://www.rossfordlibrary.org/ and click on the “digital collection” link.
