Business’ work etched into history

MONTROSE  — Though located in Montrose, one local business will have a presence at the historic inaugural luncheon for President-elect Barack Obama at the Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.

Evergreen Crystal, located at 435 Kristen Court in Montrose, has shipped 300 glass vases to Washington D.C. where they’ll be given as gifts for those in attendance at the luncheon on Jan. 20.

The luncheon takes place after the president takes the oath of office and delivers his inaugural address. It usually features cuisine reflecting the home states of the new president and vice president, as well as the theme of Inauguration Day, according to the Senate’s Web site. It also includes speeches, toasts and gift presentations from the host, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Lorraine Coyle, co-owner of Evergreen Crystal, and her employees were chosen by the committee to sandblast the theme onto 11-inch vases. On one side of the vases is portrayed the White House with the Senate building on the opposite side.

Along with being gifts for guests, one of the vases will be kept on display as a hallmark of the monumental event, the first African American to be sworn in as president of the U.S.

However, this isn’t the first work of Evergreen Crystal that has made its way to Capitol Hill.

“Little by little, we’ve done some cool stuff,” Coyle said.

The 30-year-old company has had its work sold in the Senate gift shop, displaying glass crafted with the president’s seal and work by Constantino Brumidi, dubbed “the artist of the Capitol.”

The company sketched the design for President George Bush’s American Success Awards in 1989.

Its work of American seals is also sold in the Pentagon’s Fort America gift shop. It has also done goblets for the Rose Bowl Parade and awards for the Exxon Corporation.

In 1993, 1994 and 1996, Evergreen Crystal sketched the designs on the vases for the National Press Foundation awards.

Its history with Capitol Hill provided the opportunity to bid for the work for the luncheon, Coyle said. Six months ago, the company got the bid and the order. The three hundred vases were sent out last week, right before Christmas. Coyle said the vases will be packaged in black velvet boxes before being given as gifts.

This year’s Inaugural Day theme is “A new birth of freedom,” according to a committee news release. It commemorates the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The words come from the Gettysburg Address, expressing Lincoln’s hope that the sacrifices of those who died to preserve the nation shall lead to “ a new birth of freedom” for our nation.

Evergreen Crystal’s work can be seen on display and purchased at their new building located northeast, behind the Daily Press.