In 1950, during Dirksen's campaign for the United States Senate, he chose a special elephant to be produced as a ring holder. Number 608 in the line of miniature animals, it was a baby elephant in a diaper. The head was tilted back with the trunk extending upward in a trumpeting position to accomodate the rings. The last name "Dirksen" is stamped across its back in brown ink.
When Dirksen made a bid for the Presidential nomination in 1956, he chose the earlier GOP miniature elephant with his name on the side. Most of the earlier campaign elephants had been glazed in Delft blue. To make his distinct from others in previous years, Dirksen's elephants were grey. During September and October the pottery shipped one hundred twenty one cartons of elephants to Dirksen, who did not get the nomination, but his elephants continue to surface in the collectible market.
One of the few political items made for a Democrat over the pottery's long period of production was a miniature donkey made for John F. Kennedy. The donkey has "Kennedy" on one side, the other side is blank. This miniature was made for Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1960. The reason for its creation was very personal. Gilbert Rapp, the oldest son of Samuel W. Rapp, served in the United States Naval Air Service during World War II. During training, Gilbert and Kennedy's brother, Joe Jr., trained together. They regularly flew as co-pilots and were inseparable while stationed in England. They flew regular bombing missions over Germany. Gilbert was killed on March 31, 1944, while on one of those missions. Later, Kennedy was also killed while returning from a bombing mission. In memory of his brother and the men who served with him, John Kennedy wrote a collection of tributes that he called As We Remember Joe. Gilbert Rapp's family was presented an autographed copy of the limited edition book. When Kennedy got the nomination for President, there was no problem getting orders filled for his campaign mementos by Morton Pottery Company.
The period of production during the 1950's was devoted to expanded lines of novelty items. Flower containers, vases, lamps, holiday items, doll house accessories, planters and bisque figures that held water and grew grass for hair and other ornamentation were sold across the entire United States, Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Many of the novelty items were sold by the large mail order companies, by florists, and by five-and-dime or dollar store retailers. Variety stores and gift shops were also good customers. To furture saturate the market, salesmen went door to door in smaller communities. The salesmen also contracted to place the novelties in grocery stores and pharmacies in thos small localities. Because of that extensive sales program, the more common examples of Morton Pottery Company products can readily be found at flea markets, antique malls and shops, consignment shops, and yard sales in nearly every part of the United States.
In the summer of 1955, Walt Disney's Davy Crockett was one of the top TV miniseries. The title song topped the "Hit Parade" for eight straight weeks. While that program had America in its grips, the pottery moved to take advantage of the frenzy. Two lamps and a planter were designed for production. One lamp was the adult frontiersman standing near a tree trunk with a bear sitting cross-legged on the other side. The second lamp has the same tree trunk and bear, but the adult Davy has been replaced by a child depicting Crockett at age three, when he supposedly hunted down and shot a bear. That design was altered to create the planter. Instead of the tree trunk a hollow log was designed for the planters.
At the peak of production, three hundred molds for the adult figural lamp were made, and one hundred fifty for each othe junior items. Those molds were filled with slip clay several times each day. It only took a few hours for the clay to set up so the item could be removed from the molds and trimmed. The adult lamp bases were spray painted with two underglaze colors, brown and green. Davy's eyes, gun and shoes were hand painted black underglaze. After the lamps were decorated, they were dipped in transparent glaze and sent off to be fired in the kiln. The firing process took twenty-four hours at 2,030 degrees F. For the younger Davy, the brown and green glaze was used for the tree and the bear, but the boy's buckskins and coonskin cap were spray painted with a medium gray glaze. The pottery turned out about 5,000 of these novelties each week. The lamp bases were packed a dozen per carton and were shipped to Chicago and New Yoerk City where fixtures were installed and shades added. The adult form was the main item in the line. Production records from that period of time have been destroyed, but newspaper accounts indicate that during June, 15,000 of the adult lamps were made and that 5,000 of the child were done. All Davy Crockett items are scarce today.
In 1956, a wing was added to the pottery to house a new ceramic tile division. Created to produce colorful tile and bathroom fixtures, that operation was developed by third generation brothers and cousins of the Rapp clan. Known as the Morton Ceramic Tile Company, a subsidiary of Morton Pottery Company, the business was selling to dealers in twelve midwestern states at the end of its first year of production. The four and one-fourth inch tile squares were sold under the name "Mor-Tile." They were available in twelve colors originally. As demand grew, new colors were added to the line. In addition to the tile, several types of trim sections for finishing corners and edges were produced. Accessories such as soap dishes, towel posts, paper dispensers, toothbrush holders and clothes hooks could be ordered in the same colors as the tile.
Much of the tile operation was automated, a technique that was relatively new at the pottery. The clay preparation was known as the "stiff mud" process. The clay was mixed and rolled before being placed in a pug mill where it was kneaded and rolled again to remove entrapped air. From the pug mill dry rolls or chunks of stiff clay were conveyed to the tile press. There large steel dies came together to form the tile. Then the tiles were released from the press. They were pushed onto another conveyor system that carried each tile through a trimming and brushing station. The tiles were then ready to be glazed. The glaze was applied by means of automatic spray guns that coated the surface of the tiles as they passed through the spray booth on a conveyor chain. Once glazed, the tiles continued on the chain to a production line where they were hand placed in setters and were put on kiln cars that were pushed through the kiln by means of a hydraulic pusher. The tile spent fifteen hours in a continuous circular kiln that was fired at an average temperature of 1,900 degrees F. Eighty-five percent of the tile emerged from the kiln as first grade quality. Ten percent was packed and sold as seconds. The remaining five percent were destroyed.
By the summer of 1966 the highly automated ceramic tile facet of the pottery's output began to feel the keen competition of Japanese tile manufacturers. Joining other American tile makers, the pottery accused the Japanese of attempting to take over the American market by illegal means. It was pointed out that Japan was involved in switch trading, a practice of purchasing ceraminc tile products in Canada with American currency, then selling them in Japan at heavily inflated prices. The ceramic company struggled through the mid 1960's but was never able to match Japanese prices. The company showed significant losses in each of its annual reports.
During that same time period, the beer stein, novelty and artware lines of Morton Pottery Company enjoyed expanded production, but Japanese competition began to impact on its profits. A new sales manager was hired with the hope that he could turen the pottery around. Edward S. Nielsen, hired for that position, had previously worked for Haeger Potteries as a sales and merchandising manager. Nielsen was also experienced in advertising. He came to Morton from an advertising agency in Chicago. The pottery did produce new lines under Nielsen's guidance, but they were not spectacular. Consisting mostly of ashtrays, lighters and metal-handled serving dishes, the new line was not popular and did little to turn the pottery around.
In addition to the traumas of foreign competition, dwindling sales, and profit losses, the pottery was faced with a series of other problems. The United Brick and Clay Workers of America tried to unionize the pottery in 1961. That action brought on some caustic moments between the management of the pottery and the laborers. Eventually the conflict was resolved when the pottery workers voted on the issue. Seventy-two workers voted against the union, fifty-seven voted favorably. The pottery was never unionized but friction continued thereafter.
Shortly after the union problems were resolved another fire broke out. The motor of a second floor exhaust fan shorted out in a paint spraying room causing the fire. Heat from the blaze triggered the automatic sprinkler system to activate, thus averting a major fire. The flames went through the exhaust vent and ignited a portion of the roof and was contained to that area. The fire was quickly brought under control by the firemen and the damage was minimal. Some merchandise stored on the first floor under the paint room was damaged, but final estimates placed the loss at only a few hundred dollars. That fire seemed to be the prelude to other problems that would eventually cause the Rapps to sell the pottery they had started forty years before.
One last hope for survival came in 1967 when the pottery entered into an agreement with Sears, Roebuck and Company to produce a line of reproductions of pottery designs selected by Vincent Price, who was an art consultant for Sears at that time. In addition to the pottery, Price chose furniture, fabrics, wall coverings, draperies, baskets, tinware and glass to be reproduced from early American designs. The promotional campaign was launched as "The Sears Roebuck Vincent Price National Treasures Collection." Those items had a special logo placed on the back. The collection first appeared in the Sears and Roebuck spring and summer catalog in 1967. It was carried again in the 1968 catalogs, but was not continued beyond 1968.
At the time Sears began its promotion of early American reproductions, Danish Modern hit the consumer market. It took a commanding lead in the public's demand for sleek, cold, uncluttered, smooth lined features that were more compatible with the chaotic sixties than was Sears' offerings from past American history. The Vincent Price National Treasures Collection was about twenty years ahead of its time. By the late 1980's the early American country look came on strong, but in the sixties Danish Modern forced the unsuccessful collection off the market. The sales that the pottery had hoped would turn it around came to a halt. For a short time, the reproductions continued to be manufactured and sold at the pottery after they were discontinued by Sears, Roebuck and Company, but Sears took legal action to stop the production. The items had been contracted as exclusive reproductions for the Sears National Treasures collection. Once again, the pottery had struck out.
Family misfortunes addes to the pressures of the last few years of declining sales. Nathan Rapp, vice-president, designer and mold-maker, died in late January 1969. Within a month his sister Naomi passed away. She had been a decorator for twenty-eight years. She did much of the special order decorating during those years. The Rapps saw no promising future for the pottery, so they decided to sell while there was a marketable interest in the business.
The sale was quickly accomplished. Local and area newspapers reported the sale on May 15, 1969. The pottery was purchased by Ronald D. Cowan and William R. York, The new owners continued to call their business the Morton Pottery Company. Neither of the buyers had any previous pottery experience. Cowan had been a buyer for Sears and Roebuck in Downers Grove, Illinois, when the sale was finalized. York had his own management consultant business in St. Louis, Missouri. Plans were to continue the operation along the lines that had been developed by the Rapps. Cowan became presdient of the pottery. York was in charge of sales and marketing. Henry Rapp Jr., a third generation Rapp, was in charge of plant operations.
Extensive marketing research was conducted to guide immediate and long range planning. There was an air of excitement as the new business moved forward, but it met the same problems that had befallen the Rapps. Few new items were added to the line of products. Tile sales continue to decline and artware production was fundamentally limited to ashtrays that were in an overabundance. Competition intensified. The pottery struggled to expand its profits.
In January 1971 after only nineteen and one half months of operation, it was apparent that Morton Pottery Company was not going to pull out of its slump. On January 21, voluntary bankruptcy papers were filed. Liability and asset schedules were filed on February 8th, showing total assets of $291,851. Liabilities were listed at $476,348. In addition, there were $164,928 worth of secured claims against the business. The pottery was allowed to continue operation on a limited basis while the court appointed a receiver, whose task was to obtain a buyer for the pottery. During February, prospective buyers from New York, Illinois and Wisconsin toured the plant several times, but the pottery was not sold. On the first of March the federal bankruptcy referee, Judge Stephen J. Covey, ruled that unless a buyer was found within seven days, the pottery would be liquidated at auction. No buyer was found. Liquidation proceedings began on March 8. The bankruptcy auction was scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. on March 24, 1971, at the pottery site.
Under the receivership, the pottery was appraised at $254,705. The figure included real estate, machinery, office equipment and inventories. At the auction, conducted by the U.S. District Court, the pottery sold for $155,000. Included in the purchase was all of the real estate, personal property and other equipment necessary to operate the business. The inventory was excluded from the purchase and was auctioned off later in the day.
The buyers of the pottery were A.K. Ferrara and R.J. Meyers from Addison, Illinois. Ferrara was president of UltraMATIC Equipment Company, a subsidiary of AKF Industries. Meyers was UltraMATIC's national sales manager. After the sale, the pair stated that they intended to continue the operation of the pottery as another subsidiary of AKF Industries. It would continue to produce pottery along much the same lines as in the past but with the introduction of two new products, cookie jars and inserts for Rival crock pots. Ferrara and Meyers continued to use the name Morton Pottery Company for their subsidiary.
Rival Manufacturing Corporation, of Kansas City, Missouri, soon became the pottery's largest customer. Contracting for seventy percent of the production at Morton, Rival had found an ideal source for producing inserts for their crock pot cookers. With so great an emphasis on Rival's needs, few cookie jars were ever put into production. In fact, the art pottery and novelty production was phased out as the company concentrated on the manufacture of the Rival components.
In October 1972 a deal was made between AKF Industries and Rival. The pottery was sold again. The deed, filed with the county recorder, indicated that the sale price was $210,000. The plant became the Morton Pottery Division of Rival Manufacturing Company when the sale was finalized on November 3. The pottery continued to make crock pot inserts. In addition, the plant began to manufacture inserts for Rival's fast cooker, the crock plate. During the next four years there was a pronounced increase in the amount of inserts produced by Rival. Large surpluses accumulated.
The final phase of pottery operation at Morton was directed by Lincoln Stoneware Company of Wellsville, Ohio. In January 1976, Rival leased the plant to Lincoln Stoneware for the sole purpose of producing ceramic components for Rival cookware. A problem began when Rival changed from non-removable components to removable ones. Another pottery, Cardinal Stoneware, in Wellsville was also producing components. Cardinal Stoneware and Lincoln Stoneware shared the same board of directors, so when orders to Lincoln Stoneware began to wane, it was decided that one plant could fill the orders and that it would be Cardinal Stoneware.
The morning of September 8, 1976, Lincoln Stoneware employees at Morton were gathered for a meeting at 10:30 a.m. They were told that the pottery was closing permanently at 3:30 that afternoon. The reason given was that there was no longer a demand for the various components by Rival. The pottery was overstocked, so there was no need for the business to remain open. That notice was short and final. The pottery did close that afternoon, never to reopen again. Ninety-nine years of pottery prduction in Morton, Illinois, had come to an end.
The building sat idle from that September afternoon until it was purchased by the Morton Public Library board of trustees in January 1979. During its idleness, the building fell into disrepair. Soon after the purchase, the building was torn down in the interest of safety. Today, a new, modern library has been built on the land that was once home to the Morton Pottery Company. There is no visage of the pottery that was one of Morton's early commercial success stories. The library has a collection of early photographs depicting Morton's past that includes views of all of the potteries. There is also a collection of pottery on display in the adult reading area. That collection includes examples from all of the potteries that operated in Morton from 1877 until 1976 - ninety-nine years!
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