After the death of Edward N. White in 1941, his son, Edward P. White, took the reins as Treasurer. The younger Mr. White, a World War II veteran, would lead the company for the next 20-plus years.
In 1947, the company added a mezzanine level to its mill building for storage of boxes. M. J. Walsh was awarded the construction contract.
The White & Wyckoff calendar, which was sold worldwide for 52 years, was not issued for 1957.
In 1959, several areas of the plant were updated, and the company installed a new employee cafeteria. The cafeteria was equipped with automatic coffee and hot chocolate machines, a refrigerator, a stove, cabinets, tables, chairs, and a central dining area. The company had 250 employees at the time.
Modernization continued in 1960. The company was replacing its equipment to double production. The company was producing 1,700 items on its line and hoped to increase production by another 100. The company was attempting to streamline operations and increase its sales presence. The 182,000 square feet of production would be consolidated across four floors, totaling 122,000 square feet.
A new $25,000 offset printing press could run 8,000 23 x 30-inch sheets in an hour and 4,000 postal cards (30 to a sheet) in a minute. The company was focusing on the teenage market with its Pen Pals stationery collection in a woodgrain finish.
A new White & Wyckoff Trademark design featuring an off-center bow tie was adopted for use on the firm's stationery and letter boxes. This would be introduced at the opening of its New York showroom. The factory area would also be entirely painted.
In January 1961, the company was sold to Western Tablet & Stationery Corporation, which operated 7 stationery and tablet plants throughout the country. White & Wyckoff would become the New England division of Westab. There were no changes planned for the Holyoke operation. Later that month, the shareholders approved the merger.
Westab indicated that the Holyoke mill would be the center of the fine paper work, being transferred from the other 7 mills. In August 1961, a new press-seal envelope machine capable of producing 100,000 press-seal envelopes or 13,000 standard envelopes was installed.
In December 1962, National Blank Book purchased the White & Wyckoff mill building for $190,000. An announcement was made that the White & Wyckoff plant would close in March 1963, with operations transferred to Atlanta, Georgia. The machinery was sold at auction on March 18, 1963. It was the concluding act for a long-respected Holyoke employer.
The real estate remained with National Blank Book Co. and its subsequent names, National Blank Book Inc., Dennison, and Avery Dennison, until August 31, 1995. At that time, the real estate was sold to the neighboring Hampden Papers Inc. The Holyoke Real Estate Assessor's previous assessments show no building assessments for 1996 and 1997, so the factory buildings were likely demolished by this time.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
