The Old Man stained glass window
The Old Man
Dean's Stained Glass
Over the years more people have asked me where I got the pattern for this window than any other design. I wish I could claim the design.... but the real story is more interesting!
About 10:00 PM one night, in January of 1982, I stopped for a burger at a Burger King on 1st Avenue South in the East Lake section of Birmingham, Alabama. I wasn't out looking for stained glass patterns. I was just hungry and there were few restaurants open. Having just remodeled the restaurant, they had just installed a number of sandblasted clear glass divider panels between the booths. I spotted the "old man in the moon" and immediately recognized a design I wanted to build.
Dean's Stained Glass
Being a "do it now" kind of person, I talked to the manager and went home to get tracing paper and pencils. Returning in minutes (luckily the restaurant was empty), I taped up the tracing paper and copied the design. Naturally, the manager and employees thought I was a little "nutty" ........ (not the first time I've been called that) .....but I got a really great pattern. To this day, I firmly believe this was not a chance discovery.
The "Old Man" stained glass window was built within weeks. It measures 32" x 37" and contains only 36 pieces of glass.
For a number of years, "The Old Man" hung in my daughter's bedroom window in Birmingham. .....note the rainbow ....every liitle girl should have a rainbow growing up
After moving to Gulf Shores, "The Old Man" occupied my Son's bedroom window for another 25 years. He married, had 3 children and guess who has "The Old Man" hanging in her bedroom window? ..... his daughter/ my grand daughter.
For 42 years "The Old Man" has watched over my children and now my grand children. I hope this legacy carries on, long after I'm gone.
In 2013, my daughter brought into this world my first grandson. To get him started right, I built an upgraded "The Old Man" and added an LED lightbox behind it so it would be a night light for his room. Click on the photo for more information.
