The Rest of the Story
(Further Virginia Tech/Kyanite Connections)

 

Ron Lester (CERE B.S. '53, M.S. '54) and his father, W.R. Lester
(photo courtesy The Bugle 1953)

A recent article in Exploring Materials at Virginia Tech* covers some of the history of Kyanite Mining Corporation, as well as a few of Virginia Tech's connections to this company. Virginia Tech graduate, Ron Lester (CERE '53 and '54), offers more Kyanite/Virginia Tech connections.

In Piney River, Virginia, Kyanite operated Dominion Materials, where Vic Kelsey hired Mr. W.R. Lester as Technical Director. The rock sold at Dominion Minerals was called "Aplite" and was a source of alumina for glass manufacturing. While working with Dominion, Mr. Lester lectured at Virginia Tech’s Ceramic Engineering Department (CERE). He also worked with Dean Whittemore and with Paul Dear, the head of CERE, on research and marketing of Virginia Kyanite to the glass industry. Based on these connections, Mr. Lester's son, Ron, decided to attend Virginia Tech, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in ceramic engineering in 1953 and 1954.

Ron worked in the area of electrical porcelain, as the Vice President of Lapp Insulator, and later as Operations Manager for Eljer Plumbingware’s three plants, R&D and International Distribution Center in Ford City, Pennsylvania. He also held positions with Locke Insulator and Ohio Brass. Ron finally retired as a Professor of Management, School of Business at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He has written many technical articles and contributed to books on ceramics technology, quality assurance, and management, and he is the author of "Quality Control for Profit Gaining the Competitive Edge, 3rd Edition."

Ron's father, W.R. Lester, was a fellow of the American Ceramic Society and published many papers and articles on glass technology. He wrote monthly articles about glass technology for Ceramic Industry Magazine. He titled these articles "C.A.R. Says." (C.A.R. refers to Ron's mother's maiden name, Catherine Albert Reid.) During his career, W.R. Lester participated in the first fall meeting of the glass division of Cove Point in 1930 and was the first to provide quantitative seed count of glasses and to recognize the source of surface cord material that plagues many glass-making operations. He served with distinction on the C-14 Committee on Glass and Glass Products. At the time of his death, W.R. Lester was technical director of Emhart Glass Technology Labs in Hartford, Connecticut, as well as a glass consultant for companies worldwide.

"Between the two of us," Ron writes, "we worked in the major fields of ceramics, refractories, electrical porcelain, whiteware (plumbing ware), and glass." And it all started with Kyanite Mining Corporation.

*see"Kyanite and Virginia Tech: Jesse J. Brown Carries on a Tradition," Exploring Materials at Virginia Tech, Spring 2003 (.pdf), page 10