Dundee factory had been producing some lamps but saw a bright future ahead and wanted to expand. Those vintage lamps made in the early days are highly collectible, depending on the piece’s condition, rarity, and glaze, typically ranging in price from $150-$3,800 on resale markets.
The Royal Haeger Lamp Company in Macomb was located at 1300 West Piper Street. Part of its huge success was its affi liation with its big accounts such as S & H Green Stamps, Montgomery Wards, and the hotel industry.
In 1961, Haeger purchased a former ceramics plant on west Piper and that was the location for the lamp factory. Haeger still owns that property today.
The west Piper plant was not the first pottery to use that business location. In 1906, five Illinois potteries, one Missouri pottery and one Iowa pottery were purchased and became Western Stoneware. Western Stoneware had seven plants, one of which was Macomb Pottery Company and Macomb Stoneware.
The clay for the potteries mostly came from Colchester. Another business, Ceramics, Inc., eventually bought the Macomb Western Stoneware plant and specialized in making red clay flower pots. Ceramics, Inc. also annexed the plant into the City of Macomb.
Haeger Potteries, Inc., overall was a dynamic, bustling business. While the Dundee facility was signing huge new contracts with such major chains as Ben Franklin, J.C. Penny and Hobby Lobby, the Macomb lamp factory also was thriving. Haeger had gutted and updated the Ceramics, Inc. plant, another investment in Macomb and the surrounding area. Quonset Huts from Camp Ellis had been brought to Macomb to be converted into showrooms. Offices were added, and catalogs were made to showcase both the company’s lamps and pottery.
When the Haeger potteries closed in 2016, the Estes family chose to stay in Macomb, a place Nick had called home for 47 years. Nick’s wife, whom he met at Simpson College, also liked Macomb.
The main reason for the closure of both Haeger Pottery and Royal Haeger Lamps was the downturn in sales caused by overseas competition. The hustling, bustling pottery mainstays, that once drew charter buses full of tourists, fell silent.
The Estes family stayed in Macomb mainly because they liked it and it had become home. Their three children had gone to school here, Nick stayed active in Rotary, a club he still belongs to after 52 years. He has served as treasurer and president on multiple occasions. Nick enjoyed piloting his Cherokee 180 in and out of Macomb Municipal Airport.
During our interview, I felt the need to get this modest, humble man - the former president of a company known worldwide - to lavish a little praise upon himself. I finally decided to just put it out there.
I said to him “ Haeger Pottery/Royal Lamp was a big deal, wasn’t it?”
A slow smile came to his face, and his reply came softly and slowly.
He replied “Yes. It was a big deal”.
