Josh and Megan Coil, who both play an active role in East Liverpool community, recently had the opportunity to travel to Springfield and share some East Liverpool history with members of the Hall China Collectors during their annual convention.

The couple joined the Hall China Collectors in 2023, which is when they attended their first convention.

Megan said she and Josh was asked to be presenters at this year’s convention.

Josh, who is a firefighter with the East Liverpool Fire Department along with serving as board member of the Community Improvement Corp and the East Liverpool Youth Academy, spoke on the history of the East Liverpool Fire Department and Hall China’s involvement with the International Association of Professional Fire Fighters to create plates and commemorative dishes for the organization and the dinners they had.

Megan Coil, director, Museum of Ceramics and member of Hall China Collectors Group gives a presentation on the history of the Museum of Ceramics and upcoming museum events at the Hall China Collectors Group’s convention in Springfield Missouri. (Submitted photo)

Josh said he spoke on the fireman decanters created by Hall China and that he thought it was pretty cool that they were made in his town and he tied it that into the union/fire department. He said it was exciting to be able to share the history of East Liverpool and the connections that Hall China had with the firemen items somewhere hundreds of miles away.

He also said that it was amazing to teach this history because he works for the fire department and most of his family worked at Hall China and his grandmother retired from the company. He noted that he finds it exciting that it is possible his grandmother might have made some of the commemorative fire fighter items.

During his presentation, Josh displayed his collection of commemorative firefighting pieces created by Hall China, including the three only known fire helmets decanters. The fire helmets decanters were never put into production, according to Josh.

He happened to find the fire helmets when he attended the Strausser Auction in Indiana where Hall China was being auctioned off after the company closed. In addition to the helmets, he also has the only design drawings for helmets.

He also had on display during his presentation some of the other firefighter items created by Hall China such as the ceramic fire alarm boxes, fire hydrants which were produced in red, silver, gold and white. Josh said he has the only yellow fire hydrant known to exist. Hall China also produced ceramic bugles and fire extinguishers.

Josh Coil, firefighter, East Liverpool Fire Department and member of Hall China Collectors Group gives a present a history of East Liverpool Fire Department’s connection with Hall China at the Hall China Collectors Group’s convention in Springfield Missouri. (Submitted photo)

Megan added that Josh also spoke on the history of the East Liverpool Fire Department and how it was started in the city because so many potteries were catching fire and city officials realized they quickly needed to get some kind of organized system in place to be able to help protect these companies from the fires and losing everything.

This is not Josh’s first time presenting at the conference. He did a presentation on KT&T (Knowles, Taylor and Knowles) two years ago.

Josh said The Hall China Collectors group has members from all over the country who come to these conventions and that he thinks it’s cool to make these connections with other people that enjoy pottery, some of which his family or friends made, and that this is a group with a vast knowledge with many members knowing more about Hall China then people from East Liverpool do. Some of them have written books on Hall China and they all enjoy collecting and sharing stories and getting together like family.

“I enjoy meeting the people and teaching the history of East Liverpool,” Josh said. “I’m passionate about East Liverpool, so anytime I can share any history and get the word out what this town is about I’m going to do it.”

Megan, director, Museum of Ceramics, said her presentation was on the happenings of the Museum of Ceramics and an overview of the museum’s history; how it started off as a post office, then was purchased by the state and then became the museum.

Josh and Megan Coil tour a Hall China collector’s house with their sons Sawyer and Oliver while attending the Hall China Collector Group’s convention in Springfield, Missouri. (Submitted photo)

She also talked about the upcoming programs at the museum which range from lectures to ceramic workshops, an art show and participation in East Liverpool’s America 250th celebration all of which additional details will be provided for as the information becomes available.

Megan said it was fun and rewarding to present information on East Liverpool outside of East Liverpool.

During their trip to Springfield, they visited a Civil War battlefield, and Megan was excited when she flipped over a dish and found it had the Wellsville China Company mark.

“It was neat that were using it to stage a Civil War home,” Megan said. “Now the pottery that was used, it wasn’t technically around during the Civil War, but it was the same design that might have been seen at that time.”

She also said that it was rewarding to stand up there and share with people from all over the country, information about the Museum of Ceramics and East Liverpool’s history.

“The fact that they were so excited to hear about it, because so many times you don’t get excitement about East Liverpool anymore and they really enjoyed it and seemed to enjoy hearing about our history and it’s nice keeping that alive, that excitement for our town,” Megan said. “It was nice that people were interested in hearing about our town and the museum itself and we can keep getting fresh people in just making those connections. It’s always nice to have that.”