Name: Glass House
Rating: 3.7 (24 reviews)
Author: Brian Alexander

What’s in it for me? Get behind the scenes of a Trump-supporting town.

Many people point to the people of Midwestern towns and swing states when trying to make sense of how Donald Trump was elected president, blaming, in particular the white, working-class culture for the political turn. But by looking at the development of the all-American town of Lancaster, Ohio, you’ll see why this is an overly simplistic explanation.

These blinks reveal how a town could go from bustling with growth and community bonhomie to a brutal demise. When the wellspring of the town’s success, the Anchor Hocking Glass Company, landed in greedy, corporate hands, things quickly took an ugly turn. As it turns out, believing in the American Dream is not enough for a town to persevere. Indeed, a toxic combination of bad management and private-equity financiers can wreak havoc on a whole city.

You’ll also learn

that in Lancaster, having a drink at the bar could get you a job;
how Trump’s key economic adviser initiated the small Midwestern town’s downfall; and
why the people who ripped the heart out of the town are still celebrated by the townspeople.

Lancaster, Ohio was a quintessentially American town in the decades following World War II.

For a while, Lancaster, Ohio, was the perfect American town. A place that B.C. Forbes, the editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, once held up as a perfect example of what could be accomplished without the meddling of “left-wingers.”

At its height, Lancaster was a thriving, industrious town, and at its center was the Anchor Hocking glass factory, which employed over 5,000 of Lancaster’s residents.

Lancaster also looked the part, with a picture-perfect town center where neighbors would greet each other in passing.

Herb George was a typical Lancaster resident. Like many others, he got a job at Anchor Hocking in the years following World War II and worked his way up the ranks. His wife, Nancy, was active in the community, volunteering at hospital fundraisers and campaigning to get new schools built.

Lancaster was typified by such families throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s: the husband worked at the glass factory while the wife was busy with community causes, whether it was city-council meetings, vaccination drives or making sure the sidewalks got repaired.

Lancaster was the kind of town where kids were free to run around on their own and friendships crossed class lines. The vice president of Anchor Hocking would drink at Old Bill Bailey’s tavern, shoulder to shoulder with the factory workers, and it wasn’t uncommon for an Anchor executive to hire a new employee from among the bar’s patrons.

It was also common for a teenage boy to graduate from high school and start work at Anchor Hocking the very next week, well aware that he’d spend the next 40 years there and then retire with a comfortable pension.

Lancaster wasn’t the seat of luxury, but people lived worry-free lives and held their heads high with the pride that comes with making an honest living.

Like any other small town, Lancaster had its share of minor scandals, alcoholism and instances of poverty, but it was as close to Hollywood’s version of idyllic small-town America as you’d find outside of a movie. In fact, the town was used to film the 1948 movie, Green Grass of Wyoming.

Today, the town is a ghost of its former self, and its history is essential to understanding why.

Like those of other once-prosperous factory towns, Lancaster’s halcyon days are sadly in the past. What was once a rural idyll is now home to rampant drug addiction, crippling unemployment and bankruptcy.

Houses and buildings are falling apart due to neglect and lack of funding. So many of the town’s parents have ended up in jail that it’s not uncommon for children to be living with their grandparents.

Despite blame being cast on the residents, the real cause of Lancaster’s demise lies with politicians and executives.

The blame for Lancaster’s downfall should be apparent to anyone who investigates the subject, yet nonetheless, some people point the finger in the wrong direction.

For example, Kevin D. Williamson, a reporter for the National Review, has characterized the white working-class people of Lancaster as selfish and crude – people who forget their sorrows with heroin. In his opinion, the local residents are entirely to blame for their town’s suffering.

Key ideas in Glass House

What is Glass House about?

Glass House (2017) tells the cautionary tale of Lancaster, Ohio, a town that went from boom to bust over the course of the past fifty years. At the heart of this downfall is the Anchor Hocking glass factory, a major source of employment that turned into a bitter disappointment. This story is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the current state of affairs in American society and politics.