Errol F. Shand, glass engineer and author, grew up in eastern Canada. He was ever devoted to explaining the nature of glass in terms which engineers of other fields could readily understand and apply.

After graduating from Acadia and McGill Universities, Shand first applied his electrical engineering knowledge with Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While in Pittsburgh, Shand’s sister, Gwendolyn, came to live with him during the completion of her Masters in Social Work at Carnegie Technical Institute. When Shand made the decision to come to Corning in 1936, Gwendolyn returned to Nova Scotia where she played an integral role in reorganizing the welfare agencies of Halifax.

When Owens Fiberglass Corporation was organized and production was moved to Ohio, Errol Shand elected to stay with Corning Glass Works and was subsequently made Product Engineering Manager. During World War II, Shand moved from his Pine Street apartment to a house specially built for Shand, located on Corning’s Northside. This Reynolds Avenue house was designed to be spacious enough to provide adequate room for extended visits by Shand’s sister, his mother, and eventually his cousin, Beryl Mosher, following her retirement from a music career in New York City. Shand’s sister, Gwendolyn became known in Corning through her many volunteer capacities with the Family Service Society. It is this work with the Family Service Society that brought Errol Shand and United Way together.

Following Shand’s death while shoveling snow in 1969 at the age of 76, Shand’s will was found to contain a bequest to the United Way. By action of the United Way Board of Directors during the administration of Joe Maloney, a decision was made to invest this money using the income to recognize the Shand name in the community and to encourage volunteer service. The annual Steuben crystal award resulted.

In Windsor, the Shand family had been furniture manufacturers. In their impressive Victorian house overlooking the river, Errol Shand was known to spend many youthful days with electrical experiments in the spacious attic. At the time of his retirement from Corning’s Research Staff, he had completed the voluminous Glass Engineering Handbook published by McGraw-Hill, as well as many articles in technical trade journals. A personal glass testing laboratory in his home basement enabled him to make accurate studies of breakage phenomenon, and his judgment was much sought after in damage suits involving glass. His laboratory and library were bequeathed to Alfred University in New York State. Gwendolyn died in Windsor in August, 1982, at the age of 90, and the Shand home was given to Nova Scotia Museum for the local Historical Society in which she was very active.