CHRISTMAS DAY MORNING IN 30 YEARS. WELLSBORO IS A BOROUGH IN THE NORTHERN TIER OF PENNSYLVANIA, CLOSE TO THE GRAND CANYON OF PENNSYLVANIA, AND POPULAR HIKING AND BIKING TRAILS. THE SMALL TOWN ALSO HAS A HOLIDAY HISTORY AND COMES ALIVE AT CHRISTMAS. I VISITED ON A PICTURE PERFECT DAY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE STORY. WELLSBORO, PENNSYLVANIA LOOKS LIKE A CHRISTMAS MOVIE SET FROZEN IN TIME, BUT THIS SMALL TOWN WITH THRIVING MOM AND POP STORES IS REAL, WITH A GOOD REASON TO CELEBRATE THE SEASON. WE LIKE TO CALL OURSELVES THE TOWN THAT SAVED CHRISTMAS. AS WORLD WAR II RAGED IN EUROPE, THE BRITISH BLOCKADE OF IMPORTED GOODS INCLUDED HAND-BLOWN GERMAN ORNAMENTS, RETAILERS TURNED TO CORNING GLASS. THE COMPANY AGREED TO MODIFY ITS THEN STATE OF THE ART RIBBON MACHINE AT THE WELLSBORO PLANT, WHICH MADE LIGHT BULBS TO PRODUCE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS. SO IN 1939, 1 MILLION CHRISTMAS BALLS CAME OFF OUR LINE AND SHINY BRIGHTS WERE BORN. IT IS AN AMAZING STORY, AND IT WAS ONE THAT NOBODY REALLY THOUGHT OF. IT WAS JUST WHAT WE DID HERE. IT WAS JUST PART OF THE PLANT. PEOPLE WENT TO WORK IN THE MORNING OR IN THE EVENING, AND THEY MADE LIGHT BULBS AND CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS. THE PLANT WENT DARK IN 2016, JUST SHORT OF ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY, AND THEN THEY WOULD HAVE GONE INTO THE MOLDS. LIGHT BULBS ARE NOW MADE OF PLASTIC. THIS IS JUST PART OF IT. I HAVE CLOSE TO 1400 ORNAMENTS. JEFF YINGST, AKA MR. SHINY BRIGHT, IS A LONGTIME COLLECTOR. HE DECORATES NUMEROUS TREES AT HIS HOME IN YORK SPRINGS. I WORKED AT A GLASS FACTORY. I WORKED AT PGW IN CARLISLE FOR 46 YEARS. PLUS, I ALWAYS ENJOYED CHRISTMAS, SO I JUST STARTED COLLECTING AND IT’S ALMOST LIKE AN ADDICTION. THIS TREE IS DECORATED IN A VARIETY OF ORNAMENTS. THE WELLSBORO GLASS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION HAS A LARGE COLLECTION OF ORNAMENTS MADE AT THE PLANT OVER THE YEARS. THEY’RE HANGING ON THIS TREE AND IN GLASS CASES AT THE ASSOCIATION’S STOREFRONT MUSEUM. SO THE EASIEST WAY TO IDENTIFY QUICKLY IS WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOP ON THE CAP. THERE WILL SOMETIMES THEY WILL SAY SHINY, BRIGHT, IF THAT’S WHO THEY WERE MARKETED BY. BUT THEY WILL DEFINITELY SAY MADE IN THE USA. THE PLANT HELD ITS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BANQUET HERE AT THE PENN WELLS HOTEL IN 1946. IT WANTED TO WELCOME HOME VETERANS WITH SOMETHING SPECIAL, SO IT DESIGNED THIS AMERICAN FLAG MADE OF MORE THAN 1400 CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS. THERE WERE MANY, MANY WORKERS IN THE PLANT WHO HAD SERVED, SOME WHO DID NOT RETURN, AND MANY WHO DID AND WHOSE LIVES WERE ALTERED FOREVER. AND MANY FAMILIES WHO WERE AFFECTED, AND MANY WOMEN WHO JOINED THE WORKFORCE AS A RESULT OF TO KEEP, TO KEEP THE PLANT RUNNING. AND SO THE AMERICAN FLAG WITH THE CHRISTMAS BULBS WAS A FITTING TRIBUTE TO THEM. IT’S PART OF THE WAR STORY, THE TOWN THAT SAVED CHRISTMAS WANTS TO RING OUT TO THE WHOLE WORLD. WOW. NICE JOB SUSAN. SUCH A GREAT VISIT. IT WAS REALLY SPECTACULAR. AND WELLSBORO CELEBRATES EACH YEAR IN DECEMBER WITH BACK TO BACK EVENT WEEKENDS. DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS AND CHRISTMAS ON MAIN STREET, WITH ALL OF THOSE SHOPS TAKING PART. YEAH, TALK ABOUT CHRISTMAS ON MAIN STREET. I MEAN PICTURE PERFECT DAY, SNOW AND EVERYTHING. THAT AMERICAN FLAG WAS REALLY, REAL

Wellsboro is a borough in the northern tier of Pennsylvania, close to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania and popular hiking and biking trails. The small town also has a holiday history and comes alive at Christmas. WGAL’s Susan Shapiro visited on a picture-perfect day to find out more about the town that saved Christmas.World War II”We like to call ourselves the town that saved Christmas,” said Clare Ritter from the Wellsboro Glass Historical Association. As the war raged in Europe, a blockade on imports included handblown German ornaments, prompting retailers to turn to Corning Glass, located in Wellsboro. The company agreed to modify its ribbon machine at the Wellsboro plant, which made light bulbs, to produce Christmas ornaments. “So in 1939, 1 million Christmas balls came off our line,” Ritter said, marking the birth of Shiny Brites. “It’s an amazing story, and it was one that nobody really thought of. It was just what we did here. It was just part of the plant. People went to work in the morning or in the evening, and they made light bulbs and Christmas ornaments.” Although the plant went dark in 2016, just short of its 100th anniversary, its legacy lives on.Jeff Yeingst, a collector from York Springs, also known as Mr. Shiny Brite, has amassed nearly 1,400 ornaments. “I worked at a glass factory. I worked at PPG in Carlisle for 46 years. Plus I always enjoyed Christmas, so I just started collecting. It’s, it’s almost like an addiction,” he said.The Wellsboro Glass Historical Association showcases a collection of ornaments made at the plant over the years, displayed on a tree and in glass cases at its storefront museum. “So, the easiest way to identify quickly is when you look at the top on the cap there will sometimes they will say Shiny Brite if that’s who they were marketed by. But they will definitely say, ‘Made in the USA,'” Ritter noted.Corning held its Christmas party at the Penn Wells Hotel in 1946, featuring an American flag made of more than 1,400 Christmas ornaments. “There were many, many workers in the plant who had served, some who did not return, and many who did and whose lives were altered forever. And many families who were affected, and many women who joined the workforce, as a result of, to keep, to keep the plant running. And so the American flag with the Christmas bulbs was a fitting, tribute to them,” Ellen Bryant from the Penn Wells Hotel said.Wellsboro continues to celebrate its rich history with annual December events, including Dickens of a Christmas and Christmas on Main Street.

Wellsboro is a borough in the northern tier of Pennsylvania, close to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania and popular hiking and biking trails. The small town also has a holiday history and comes alive at Christmas. WGAL’s Susan Shapiro visited on a picture-perfect day to find out more about the town that saved Christmas.

World War II

“We like to call ourselves the town that saved Christmas,” said Clare Ritter from the Wellsboro Glass Historical Association.

As the war raged in Europe, a blockade on imports included handblown German ornaments, prompting retailers to turn to Corning Glass, located in Wellsboro. The company agreed to modify its ribbon machine at the Wellsboro plant, which made light bulbs, to produce Christmas ornaments.

“So in 1939, 1 million Christmas balls came off our line,” Ritter said, marking the birth of Shiny Brites. “It’s an amazing story, and it was one that nobody really thought of. It was just what we did here. It was just part of the plant. People went to work in the morning or in the evening, and they made light bulbs and Christmas ornaments.”

Although the plant went dark in 2016, just short of its 100th anniversary, its legacy lives on.

Jeff Yeingst, a collector from York Springs, also known as Mr. Shiny Brite, has amassed nearly 1,400 ornaments.

“I worked at a glass factory. I worked at PPG in Carlisle for 46 years. Plus I always enjoyed Christmas, so I just started collecting. It’s, it’s almost like an addiction,” he said.

The Wellsboro Glass Historical Association showcases a collection of ornaments made at the plant over the years, displayed on a tree and in glass cases at its storefront museum.

“So, the easiest way to identify quickly is when you look at the top on the cap there will sometimes they will say Shiny Brite if that’s who they were marketed by. But they will definitely say, ‘Made in the USA,'” Ritter noted.

Corning held its Christmas party at the Penn Wells Hotel in 1946, featuring an American flag made of more than 1,400 Christmas ornaments.

“There were many, many workers in the plant who had served, some who did not return, and many who did and whose lives were altered forever. And many families who were affected, and many women who joined the workforce, as a result of, to keep, to keep the plant running. And so the American flag with the Christmas bulbs was a fitting, tribute to them,” Ellen Bryant from the Penn Wells Hotel said.

Wellsboro continues to celebrate its rich history with annual December events, including Dickens of a Christmas and Christmas on Main Street.