Kevin Mackey — Corrections & Notes on Three Rivers Glass History (email)

Source: email, received 2026-07-13 Ingested: 2026-07-24

[Personal correspondence redacted.]

I was reading through your history on the glass factory, and I have seen several things for which I might have some explanations or thoughts. … This is just a few.

From your page …

Tips Glass Sales Corporation — corporate structure. The 1936-08-07 Light names “Tips Glass Sales corporation, which sells all glass containers manufactured by the Three Rivers Glass factory” as a distinct entity with Tips as president. Whether Tips Glass Sales was a wholly-owned subsidiary of TRG, an exclusive-dealer entity owned separately by Tips and other principals, or an arm’s-length contractual sales agent isn’t pinned down. A Texas Secretary of State corporate-filings search for “Tips Glass Sales” 1933–1937 would resolve.

Tips, when he realized he was going to lose control of the glass factory, split off the sales branch, Tips Glass Sales Corporation, so he and his sales crew could still profit. They sold the glass to bottlers, but as owners of the contracts, they had bargaining power to decide where, and by whom the glass was made. In Dec. 1936 Ball got the plant, but it is said that Tips salesmen had sold a million dollars in contracts to be produced in 1937. To get the million dollars, Ball would have to produce the glass in Three Rivers, and pay the salesmen for the contracts, etc.. Tips had also formed another glass company, Tips Glass Company, formed Oct. 1936, with no plant to produce the glass. Tips was making feints to get a factory, to help give him more leverage with the glass contracts, also with the possibility to open a factory to employ the Three Rivers workers. A feint was made for a Caney Kansas plant in Sept. 1936.

The “Three Rivers Glass Sales,” Three Rivers, changed names and location to “Texas Industrial Investment Company,” Houston, under Texas state charter, July 10, 1937. It was a separate entity.

Closed from 1933/34 to 1936 doesn’t make sense. Sales Jan. 1 - Aug 1, 1936 double 1935 sales? That would be easy if there was no sales in 1935, and nothing about which to brag. Why would the Federal Govt. put their first Subsistence Housing program in Texas in Three Rivers for glass workers in 1934, when there were no workers. And one more, container/bottle factories did not keep large stocks of bottles to sell. The Three Rivers Glass Factory sold glass, payment on delivery. They were out the gas, sand, and labor, until they were delivered. They did keep small runs of generic soda bottles, for someone that could not afford to order in quantity to pay for their town or company name on the bottle. Most people wanted their name/location on the bottle to prevent theft. The bottles were a large investment. It was illegal to use someone else’s bottles. They would not keep on hand large number of branded bottles, for H&H, Trapeys, etc.

A Three Rivers Glass truck wrecked in 1934 Jun 18 Lafayette LA. If the factory wasn’t running, what were they picking up or delivering?

1934 Nov 21 El Paso Times Harry Mitchell Brewing Co use Three Rivers Glass beer bottles.

Note, glass factories had to regularly close, several times a year to clean out the furnaces. When less porous bricks began to be used, the shut downs were less frequent, but still part of making glass.

The purchase of the glass factory in Louisiana, to reopen it, was a ruse to get the equipment to expand the Three Rivers plant.