Bliss hand engraves their medals

Jr.  'Tm very proud of the work of all my employees and the products they create."

Together the Bliss family and staff who are not blood-related form a team whose goal is to create the highest quality products to serve their customers' needs. "Although we all have titles, that's not what Bliss is all about. It's the teamwork," says Scott Haines. "We work together to get a particular job done while minimizing stress and maximizing results."

Family-owned businesses face unique challenges, admits Jennifer Hess. "Bur because we are family," she says, "we are all working for the same goal: a meaningful and successful business for all of us, our retailers and suppliers. This heritage is one of the strongest things I have and hope to pass on to my children."

The customers of Bliss Manufacturing include small and large religious goods stores, catalogue groups, shrines, California

From l to r, Frank Bliss Jr. and Frank Bliss Sr., at work on the Drop Press.

At the Bliss family kitchen table in the late 1880s, Henry Bliss, a hub and die cutter for jewelry manufacturers, created pans for his wife, Nina, a rosary-maker. This was the humble start of the H. F. Bliss Company, but it soon moved up in the world-and into a converted chicken coop.

Today the company, known as Bliss Manufacturing, employs 60 and creates religious jewelry in a 25,000 square-foot plant in Rhode Island. While much has changed over the last century (today a new die takes four hours to make, rather than months), one thing remains the same at Bliss: it's family owned and operated.

Frank Bliss Sr. joined his parents in the 1930s, and only recently retired at the age of 91. Another son, Ray Bliss, joined the company as a partner in the 1950s and worked as a salesman until his retirement in 2000.  The company

also has provided full and part-time work for most of Bliss's grandchildren. Ray Bliss's oldest son, Richard Bliss, followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a religious articles salesman who worked for the company in the Midwest territory for several years.

Frank Bliss Jr. is now owner and president. His wife, Jane, oversees daily operations, and their daughter, Jennifer Hess, works closely with both her parents, preparing for the day she will step into their shoes. Son-in-law Alan Hess oversees administrative / computer technology, and another son-in-law, Scott Haines, oversees manufacturing and custom tooling. Cousin Brian Bliss has worked in the machine shop for more than 15 years.

A Family Heritage

Every employee brings a unique talent to Bliss. The business would not be successful if everybody here did not put in 100 percent effort," says Frank Bliss