"With Labor Day approaching, as we think of work, consider the culturally significant jobs in the world that may not be around in the future. Here is a look at seven that are hallmarks of particular regions.
First up. Traditional Glass Blower. In one of the furnace rooms at Cam Fornace in Murano, Italy, a short water bus hop from Venice, is a black and white photo from the 1920s (or thereabouts). In the photo, young men are blowing glass the way that glass blowers in Murano have blown glass for hundreds of years.
One of the men in the photo is the father of the master glass blower in this shot that I snapped two weeks ago when he was demonstrating how to make a vase. This master glass blower has been working at Cam Fornace ever since he was 14-years-old when he started there as an apprentice. Now he is 62.
According to our tour guide at our factory visit, traditional glass blowers are becoming a dying breed. In the past, the art was passed on through generations as sons learned from their fathers. These days, Italian sons are not particularly interested in their fathers' glass blowing life. Our guide suspects that in twenty years, it will be hard to find a traditional Italian glass blower.
This doesn't mean there won't be glass blowers, but there won't be many--if any-- people who will be doing the art the way it's been done for centuries. Cam Fornace will not be the same.
Traditional glass blowers aren't the only jobs that are becoming a rarity. I've thought of others based on what I've seen in my travels. Each are jobs that are impacted by economics and cultural shifts. Here are six more jobs you may want to see people do before it's too late."
The other 6 include: Cyclo driver, Bybee Pottery maker, Horse carriage driver, Traditional lantern maker, Coconut Shell Rope Maker, and...Elephant Washer.
Rhein, J. "Seven jobs that may soon disappear." September 1, 2009. Gadling blog. Accessed September 3, 2009. http://www.gadling.com/2009/09/01/seven-jobs-that-may-soon-disappear-travel-to-where-they-are-whi/
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