Reviving NESCO's legacy
Great-grandson of company and city founder brings his collection to Granite City
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| Scott Cousins photo - A 1917 NESCO catalog, including all the company's products made at locations including Granite City, New York, New Orleans and Baltimore. |
 
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NESCO, founded by William and Frederick Niedringhaus, gave Granite City its name and helped the city to become a major manufacturing center in the early 1900s.
Graniteware pots and pans were the staple of most homes from the turn of the century through World War II. The items were made using steel stampings, which were then dipped into a coating of granite enamel.Although graniteware products lost favor in the 1950s, and the NESCO stamping mill was destroyed in a spectacular fire in late October 2003, the company continues to leave its mark on the city.
At a private reception Thursday, Lee Niedringhaus, the great-grandson of company and city co-founder William Niedringhaus, presented a series of photographs and other artwork as well as rare, unused samples of NESCO products and other material to the library.
The artwork - 12 pieces - will eventually be put on permanent display at the Main Library on Delmar. The graniteware and other materials will be on display for some time, but not permanently at this point.
Lee Niedringhaus, who lives in New York but considers St. Louis his home, said he started collecting the items about 1½ years ago.
"I got them from various sources to create an exhibit in Granite City," he said.
One of the reasons for the collection was the 2003 fire that destroyed the stamping mill. It was then that Niedringhaus realized there was not a great deal of information available about the company and its influence on the town.
"No one knew much about NESCO as a corporation, and the interrelation between the steel works, which still exists, and the stamping works, which doesn't exist," he said.
In addition to the materials he donated to the library, Niedringhaus, a "serious" historian, has also written a small book on the history of the company.
He said putting together the materials was difficult, but he "enjoyed the challenge."
One of the challenges was obtaining museum-quality pieces of graniteware.
"I'm very particular. A lot of people will say 'my grandmother has a couple of pieces,'" he said. "These pieces are 100 years old, with manufacturers paper still on."
Included in the collection is an original 1917 NESCO catalog, as well as a computerized version of the company's 1906 catalog created by the Harvard University Library.
"NESCO was a very important company," he said. "NESCO was a company that solicited the average American. The idea was you had your pots and pans and they would be sitting on your shelf. It was everyday cookware."
Niedringhaus said today graniteware is a hot collectors item, and is still being produced as a high-cost specialty item.
"On the other hand, Martha Stewart just came out with a low-cost mock graniteware set, which I just saw at a Kmart at a reasonable price," he said.
During the reception, attendees spent much of their time looking at the artwork or catalogs, talking about how much they didn't know about the company.
"I love the renderings, I didn't realize how extensive that plant was," said Jane Isenburg, a library trustee. "I think this is a wonderful exhibit."
Irene Boyer, who was representing the Illinois State Museum, said the artwork and artifacts were an important part of Illinois history.
She spent much of her time looking at the online catalog.
"It's very interesting," she said. "I can see shapes and types of handles and stuff, and I think maybe I've seen those somewhere."
She also found a "miner's bucket" similar to one given to the museum.
"I'm pretty sure it may be a NESCO product, now I'll be able to check that," she added.
Mary Jo Akeman, president of the library board, said the board felt it was important enough to hold the reception.
"It was the history of the city," she said.
Library officials also used the event as a kick-off for a fund-raising program to raise money for library improvements.
"In the near future the library district plans to make some much-needed improvements to the main library building," she said. "These improvements include restoration or replacement of all the large windows in the Adult Department, and restoration of the front of the building - including the deteriorating steps - to its original appearance."
About 60 people attended the reception, including several other Niedringhaus ancestors who live in St. Louis.
E-mail: scousins@yourjournal.com
