Celebration of Life: Life after injuries, made easier with glassblowing

by Kobie Adams
edited by Brian Carey

The $9.50 an hour that he makes at the hut is not what keeps him warm as he walks across campus. An early morning walk to the glassblowing hut, tucked in the bunker opposite the business department.

(Photo: Kobie Adams)

A walk burdened with exhaustion and at times freezing temperatures. There he must ignite the furnaces and glory holes, and prepare for incoming classes. 

Mornings that used to involve traveling with teammates to play an action-packed, eighty minutes on the rugby field are now spent sweating in front of the 1450°C glory hole where he heats and manipulates the hot masses of glass clinging to his pole.  

Jarred Perley is the only one in his circle of friends who is currently not playing rugby “It is hard hearing [them] all getting ready for practice, knowing that I have to spend hours working in the hut,” he said

He yearns to make a return to the rugby field but the lingering pain from two facial fractures suffered in a rugby game and hitting his head off the ice on Pearly Pond and having a seizure the following year and the tedious hours spent in doctors’ offices and emergency rooms stops him.  

Glassblowing was not a part of Jarred’s life upon entering Franklin Pierce as a freshman, and since his facial fractures and his fall on the ice, he never imagined how much of an impact the countless hours would have on his life. 

(Photo: Kobie Adams)

There is no guarantee that working in glassblowing will turn in to a fruitful career or even a lasting hobby, but for now that is not the drive behind Jarred’s love for glass. His love for glass comes from the stability it provides in one of his darkest times.