By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
Get out your Geiger Counter and a black light, Blacklight Antiques has come to town.
Named for the way Uranium Glassware glows when exposed to black light, Blacklight Antiques presents a variety of antiques with local historical significance. Parsons local David E. Stemple, Jr. opened his doors the week of February 1st. “It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Stemple said. “I was talking about doing an antique shop and this became available for lease around the same time.”
Stemple said he has a lifelong love of antiques and collectibles. “I’ve been collecting stuff since I was a kid,” Stemple said. “Coins, stamps, everything like that.”
Stemple also professed a love of local history. According to Stemple, he has explored a lot of areas unknown to most locals as well as saved many antiques from abandoned buildings that were slated for destruction. Among the items available in his shop are original prints of the 1918 Roll Call in front of the Tucker County Courthouse and Miners Safety Class from Davis and West Virginia produced glassware and marbles.
Among the many items for sale by Stemple, perhaps his most intriguing are the collection of vintage glassware that includes Cadmium Glass as well as his selection of Uranium Glass. Uranium Glass was popular in the early to mid 20th Century and can appear green or yellow, but is distinguishable by an iridescent green glow when exposed to ultraviolet light, also known as a black light. “What really got me into wanting to do the store was this,” Stemple said. “This is all radioactive Uranium Glass from the 1930s. A lot of it’s actually made in West Virginia.”
According to Stemple, there were several glass manufacturers in West Virginia that produced Uranium Glassware, as well as several marble making factories in the State. “There was actually a time at the peak of the Coal Industry that West Virginia Glass employed more people than the Coal Industry in the State.”
While the subject of radioactivity in Uranium Glass still rages online, however the EPA website addresses the issue. The EPA writes, “Antiques that contain radioactive materials are usually not a health risk if they are in good condition.” The EPA also lists clocks, watches, jewelry and ceramics among other common antique items that contain small amounts of radioactive materials and said, “For hundreds of years glassmakers used small amounts of uranium to create yellow or green glass…this glass led to the nicknames ‘Vaseline glass’ and ‘canary glass.’”
Blacklight Antiques is located at 339 First Street in Parsons. The shop also has an Ebay shop and can also be reached on social media under BacklightAntiques on Facebook, Instagram,YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest or at blacklightantiques.com.