Castleton Gloria
Babs Jackson
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This month, we feature Gloria by Castleton China, cream colored, scalloped pattern that was inherited by our own Barbara Jackson from her grandmother. Barbara, or “Babs” as she is known around Replacements, Ltd., is as a member of our phone sales team. On June 9th, she celebrated her 10th anniversary with the company.

Babs’ grandmother passed away in 1959 when Babs was only 11 years old. Because she was the only female member of the family at that time, Babs inherited her grandmother’s china pattern. When she first saw the thin blue lines, pearl edge, and large roses of the Gloria pattern, she wasn’t very impressed. When Babs married, she and her husband moved to Seoul, South Korea. With them, they took all 12 place settings of Gloria that Babs had received from her grandmother. Despite not liking the pattern very much, Babs used it for every holiday. Whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a formal dinner party, Babs would use all 12 place settings of her grandmother’s china.

Over the next 22 years, Babs began to like the pattern more and more. Because of her work as a missionary, Babs has moved 34 times, and not once did she ever break a piece of her grandmother’s china! Each time she moved, she would carefully wrap and package all the cups, saucers, plates, and serving pieces, while thinking fondly of her grandmother. When Babs returned to the United States, she moved to Graham, North Carolina, a small town that is very close to Replacements, Ltd. During this final move, Babs broke a dinner plate. One day, she visited Replacements, Ltd. She had seen Replacements, Ltd. many times while driving by on the highway. She was delighted by what she saw in the showroom and couldn’t wait to replace her broken dinner plate.

Babs took a tour of Replacements, Ltd. and knew immediately that she wanted to work here. She asked for an application, filled it out, and was later hired. Babs now loves the Gloria pattern and sees it as a link to her past as well as a part of  her future. She looks forward to the day when she can pass it on to her granddaughter, Anna. So that her granddaughter will have fond memories of the china when she inherits it, Babs regularly throws tea parties for her and Anna. She always uses her Gloria china. Babs said that when she first started throwing these parties, her granddaughter would whisper to her, “Grandma, I don’t like hot tea.” Since then, Babs has poured a soft drink in Anna’s cup!  During the past 10 years, Babs has added many pieces to her pattern and looks forward to passing it on Anna, who will probably use it for serving soft drinks!