An 82-year-old Ohio business will close at the end of summer. The Review of East Liverpool, Ohio, reports that Pearl China, located on Dresden Avenue, a bypass of the Lincoln Highway, is closing due to the owners’ retirement. The photo below shows its location along Dresden/old US 30, with 4-lane US 30 behind it — from the paper, by David M. Grimes.
After some 82 years of being part of the East Liverpool community … owners Patti and Terry Peterson of Calcutta will turn to the next chapter after their lives with the pottery and gift outlet store. Patti has been part of the store some 45 years when she began helping her mother in the early 60s while Terry will say goodbye some 35 years later when he first began his employment at the highway location. Pearl China Gifts is running a 15-percent off sale for the remaining selection of their inventory. The property is being advertised through Howard Hanna Real Estate Service and, according to their records, the nearly 10,000-foot building, with 2.8 acres of land is being sold for approximately $150,000.
A follow-up feature profiled Patti Peterson and her family’s involvement “with the ‘Pearl’ of the Lincoln Highway.”
Peterson’s bond with the store started with her father when he performed duties as a young boy in the early 1930s. Just several years after George and Dennis Singer opened up the pottery store, Peterson’s father, Shirl Vincent, would stop by the shop in the morning on his way to school, set up items, clean and sweep the rooms before continuing onto the schoolhouse.
In 1960, the last pottery production site of Pearl China was closed by Peterson’s father [Shirl] and the business switched to a retail outlet.
But in 1976, the Singer brothers retired and the young boy that once swept the floors became the official owner of the shop after he and his wife bought the store. They reached out to Peterson and her husband and once again the family was back together working under the roof of Pearl China….
In 1983, just seven years after purchasing the store, Peterson’s father unexpectantly passed away and her mother began to lose interest in the business. In 1986, Peterson and her husband bought the store and continued the establishment….
Tags: china dishware, East Liverpool OH, Lincoln Highway, Ohio, pottery, roadside business
Lincoln Highway News 
August 31, 2009 at 1:48 pm |
i would like to know what book has the prices and pictures of pieces you have. i have several from 1958, and would love to see a catalog of what they are worth. thank you
August 31, 2009 at 3:01 pm |
Sorry Patsy, this is a blog that wrote about the store, you’ll have to contact them directly.
January 25, 2012 at 12:24 pm |
I am sad to hear of the closing of Pearl China. I was a child back in the 60’s and fondly remember trups to East Liverpool with my grandparents. It wasn’t complete unless we stopped to shop at Pearl. My parents and grandparents bought many sets of china over the years, some we still own today. I learned to appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of the wares they sold. Many thanks to the Peterson family for all the years keeping the store alive. It will be sorely missed.