Old establishments supplying cork stoppers

This photo was recently taken in northern Portugal of an establishment which provides locals with their stopper needs. The translation is "House of Cork Stoppers". It is interesting to note this establishment was founded in 1850 - right around when Jelinek Cork Group was founded. Portugal today continues to be by far the largest supplier of the 14 billion natural wine corks used in the world every year. Corticeira Jelinek Portugal SA, also located in northern Portugal not far from the establishment Casa Das Rolhas, contributes to this impressive number. The Jelinek Cork Group of companies continue to supply cork stoppers to both large and small wineries throughout the world.

Hand-crafted Salt & Pepper Shakers (with cork!) support cancer research

Hector from Hector's Hobbies in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada has been hard at work creating and selling unique salt & pepper shakers for cancer research. At eighty-seven years of age, Hector was ready to stop making the shakers but as he continues to receive orders, he's decided to keep on making them. Each salt and pepper shaker is hand-crafted and contains a small cork on the bottom to hold in the contents. So cool and such a great way to re-use materials and support cancer research.

Cork oak tree seedlings

Cork oak trees are a remarkable tree and require specific climates in order to flourish. Recently, Jelinek Cork USA acquired some cork oak saplings to plant in gardens around Savannah, Georgia. Cork oaks grow primarily in Portugal, Spain and other Mediterranean regions. Though these trees can also grow in other regions, their bark typically does not produce the same high quality of cork as found on the trees in the Mediterranean. Learn more about cork oak trees.

So we will follow the growth of these baby cork oak seedlings and see how they flourish.

Day 1: Many cork oak seedlings arrive. The little trunk is forming from the acorn.

Day 2: The seedlings are planted in pots inside and gardens outside. The plants outside need to be covered with wire to prevent deer, squirrels and rabbits from eating the acorns and the growth.

The seedlings are given plenty of water and the sunlight from the warm southern sun will help them grow.

Stay tuned for updates as the trees begin to grow ...

The Guam Kingfishers at the Albuquerque Biological Park (continued).

We were thrilled to learn this fabulous news today - the Albuquerque Biological Park has been successful in hatching Guam Kingfishers in their cork nest logs! This is great news for this highly endangered species. If you have been following this blog, you have seen our previous post. If not, take a look at it for details on the species and the importance of their nests including the material (cork) used to construct their nesting log: Harvested cork also helps preserve endangered species.

Thanks again to Peter Shannon, Curator of Birds at the Albuquerque Biological Park in New Mexico for sharing this news with us.

Jelinek Cork circa 1940.

It is always fun to find old pictures and what a cool picture this was to find. It is of the old Jelinek Cork factory (then known as Jelinek & Son) in the Czech Republic in the 1940s. If walls could talk, this building would have a lot to say...

 

See the gates in the front? That's how you get into the complex. This next picture shows Henry Jelinek III with his brothers-in-law and other colleagues standing in front of the gates.

The building survived World War II but in 1948 Jelinek Cork was nationalized and the Jelinek family escaped to Canada to find freedom and a new start. The new North American company was started and prospered throughout Canada and the USA and began expanding into other countries. In 1989, with the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the ousting of the communist regime, Jelinek Cork Group re-established a division of JCG in Eastern Europe and today also have facilities in both the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic (along with Portugal and the UK).

In the 1940s, a bus stop close to the Jelinek cork factory was named "Korek" (translates to "Cork" in English) and shows the importance of the company.

Here is a "Now" picture: Henry (Sonny) Jelinek V (who now operates Jelinek Cork USA in Savannah, Georgia) and Henry (Casey) Jelinek VI are visiting the old factory and the bus stop still remains.

Jelinek Cork is a privately owned, fifth generation family run business with locations throughout the world. It was founded in 1855 and is one of the oldest continually active cork companies in the world!

For more information on cork and the Jelinek Cork history, visit jelinek.com or take a look at House of Cork by Henry Jelinek IV.