What you see above is the very first of many hundreds of texts Doug Podgorny and I have exchanged in the past 9 months. I was standing on Baltimore Ave, about to embark for a very chilly ride to the plant. We had just exchanged phone numbers via email the day before and he alluded to having ‘something’ for me. I did not pick it up until weeks later on February 20th when I met Doug outside his home and we chatted for a while. I had included some info on the mug on my site visit post from that day but recently thought it was not appropriate to bury such an amazing gift in that way.
He told me that he had ‘cases’ of them which he gave away to family and friends long ago, and ended up not even keeping one for himself. A few years ago, his daughter came across hers (which she had never used) and asked if Doug wanted it back. Doug accepted and again, it continued to collect dust. That night I sipped a few ice cold beers (fittingly brewed in NW Indiana and purchased in Hegewisch, but that is just a coincidence since I do that every weekend!). Best of all it has artist renderings of the both the ovens (#1 battery, pusher side, looking south) and the furnace plant. I did once come across a similar mug on eBay but it only said ‘SAFETY AWARD’ and did not have these wonderful renderings on the back. This mug stays locked away in my liquor cabinet when it is not in service. What a beautiful gift – thank you Doug!
